Turkey Burgers, you done me wrong!

So to be honest, I'm kind of on the fence about turkey burgers. About two weeks ago, I bought a pound of dark ground turkey meat. I made some Mushroom Marsala turkey burgers and the taste of the meat was so strong my husband and I could barely eat them. In fact, we didn't. Sadly, I threw them away. It was a waste of some good Marsala mushrooms. Instead of giving up on turkey burgers, I decided to try the light or white ground turkey meat. I figured it wouldn't have such a strong, gamey like taste. Well, it didn't, but it still had a hint of that strong flavor.

I just don't understand why? I love turkey!! Roast turkey at Thanksgiving never has this flavor, neither does deli meat turkey - which I can eat like it's going out of style. So why does ground turkey have this strong, kind of off-putting taste? Has anyone else noticed this? Am I just buying the wrong kind of meat? Am I buying "bad" meat? I hope not! I bought both packages of ground turkey from Trader Joe's so I don't think it was poor quality meat. Who knows. I will say, I'm quite skeptical about trying turkey burgers again. I think I'll stick to regular old beef burgers.

Anyway, for this most recent turkey burger experiment I made a batch of pesto and mixed it up with the ground turkey meat. I then topped the burgers with provolone cheese and more pesto.

I found that we both had to keep piling on extra pesto to combat that strong irony flavor of the meat. Once we had enough pesto on there they actually tasted good, but that was probably because they tasted more like pesto and cheese than actual turkey meat.

Tuscan Wedge Salad

The inspiration from this salad came from one of my favorite restaurants in Bethany Beach, DE called DiFebo's Italian Restaurant . They serve a crispy wedge of Romaine lettuce topped with chopped candied mission figs, crumbled gorgonzola and chopped walnuts. They drizzle it with a creamy balsamic vinaigrette.
In my version I used just regular sliced mission figs (didn't have the time or effort to candy them), toasted pine nuts and crumbled gorgonzola cheese.
For the dressing, I used lemon juice, aged balsamic vinegar (the expensive one I mention here that is super thick and sweet), dijon mustard, salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil. This was such a tasty, light and healthy salad, I'll definitely be adding to my repertoire!
Enjoy!
Tuscan Wedge Salad

1 head of Romaine lettuce, cut in half
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup sliced mission figs
1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
For the dressing:
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup aged balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon dijon mustard, plus more if needed for taste
salt and pepper

Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing. My measurements are rough so you may need to adjust some amounts to your particular taste.
Place each half of your wedge on a dinner plate and top evenly with your nuts, figs and cheese. Drizzle your dressing and serve.

Basil Caesar Salad with Grilled Corn and Avocado

Because it's summer and we're trying to eat good and fresh I've been really obsessed with trying new salad ideas and combinations. Here's a link to some other salad creations, Warm Spinach Salad , Wedge Salad , Kicked-up Caprese Salad . I will have another salad showstopper in a few days as well - my Tuscan Wedge.

But first to the recipe at hand! I saw the recipe for this Basil Caesar Salad in Gourmet Magazine and loved the idea, especially since I have basil growing like crazy in a pot on my patio. What a healthy, tasty way to use it up! Making pesto over and over gets a little old. I added grilled corn, tomatoes, grilled avocado and shaved provolone to the salad.

So while it was a "caesar-style" dressing, it wasn't a traditional "caesar" salad. It was very good though and with all those veggies it made the perfect compliment to a piece of grilled salmon. Enjoy!

Basil Caesar Salad with Grilled Avocado, Grilled Corn, Tomatoes and Shaved Sharp Provolone Cheese
Source: Gourmet Magazine, for the dressing

For the dressing:
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 garlic clove
1 large egg
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon anchovy paste
1 cup basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
1 package romaine hearts (1 pound), leaves separated and washed well, then halved crosswise
1 cup coarsely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Meanwhile, with motor running, drop garlic into a food processor and finely chop. Add egg, lemon juice, anchovy paste, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and pulse until combined. With motor running, add remaining 6 tablespoons oil in a slow stream, blending until emulsified. Add herbs and blend until dressing turns green and herbs are finely chopped.

Toss romaine with dressing, croutons, and half of cheese in a large bowl. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

You can grill the corn and avocado directly over the grill grates. Grill until the avocado softens and displays grill marks and until the corn chars up a bit. Let cool, chop and serve over the lettuce. Toss in one chopped tomato and shave a wedge of sharp provolone over the top for extra flavor. Serve.

MEEEEAAAAT!!

I just had to post some pictures of the glorious meat my family enjoyed over the holiday weekend. July 4th is important to me because it's not only Independence Day, but it's also the day after my husband's birthday. So we celebrate all weekend. And it works out that my husband's favorite food is hamburgers and steaks on the grill. We put a little twist on these American favorites. Hope it inspires you to bring out the best on your bbq!

Mediterranean Strip Steaks

4 steaks
4 cloves garlic minced
10-12 sprigs of fresh oregano, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 cup feta cheese
Combine the chopped garlic, oregano and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Cover the steaks and let marinate for about an hour so the flavor can soak into the meat. Grill until desired tenderness. Serve topped with crumbled feta cheese.

Gorgonzola Stuffed Burgers

There's really no need for a recipe here of course. These tasted so good! I mixed the meat with a little salt and pepper, and a small palmful of McCormick's Grill Seasoning "Hamburger". I then stuffed the patties with my favorite blue cheese, gorgonzola. Grilled and served. They tasted fantastic with some juicy tomatoes and dijon mustard.

Cocoa and Chile Rubbed Pork Chops

I saw this recipe in my June issue of Food and Wine Magazine . I love this magazine! It has so many recipes from easy to fancy. The variety is just great. And the photos are fabulous as well - definitely a source of inspiration on many levels.

This particular recipe was great. First you brine the pork chops and then you rub them with a spicy, salty, smoky and slightly sweet rub. The pork chops come out juicy and flavorful. I would definitely make this rub again. It seems like it would also be great on a whole pork loin as well. Or even chicken! Enjoy!

Cocoa and Chile Rubbed Pork Chops

2 quarts water
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
Kosher salt
Four 1 1/2-inch-thick boneless pork loin chops
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 tablespoon pure ancho chile powder
Extra-virgin olive oil for brushing

In a large bowl, combine the water with the red pepper and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and stir until the salt dissolves. Add the pork chops and let brine at room temperature for 1 hour.
Light a grill and create a cool zone. (For a charcoal grill, rake the coals to one side; for a gas grill, leave one side unlit.) In a bowl, mix the cocoa, sugar and ancho powder with 1 tablespoon of salt.
Drain the pork chops and pat dry, removing any bits of crushed pepper. Brush generously with olive oil. Roll the pork chops in the cocoa rub and pat to help it adhere. Grill over moderately high heat for 4 minutes, turning the chops once or twice until lightly browned. Transfer the chops to the cool zone, cover and grill for about 15 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the chops registers 135° for medium meat. Let the chops rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Platinum Chef Challenge #13

I almost didn't make it for Cookie's version of the Platinum Chef Challenge , hosted at her blog entitled,
Workout Then Cook! . Her five secret ingredients were:
strawberries, garlic, asparagus, cheese and mushrooms. You could pick any variety of each ingredient that you wanted, but you had to make two dishes using the ingredients and use at least two to three of the ingredients in each dish. You can get all the rules on Cookie's website. Here's a pic of my five ingredients:

I used your basic white mushroom and for the cheese I chose peppered goat cheese.

Here are my recipes! Enjoy!

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

1 cup pecans
1 egg white
2 tablespoons brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 cup of sliced strawberries
1 package of triple-washed fresh baby spinach leaves
1 4 oz package of peppercorn goat cheese
Aged balsamic vinegar (the sweet, expensive kind if you have it. If not just take some regular balsamic and make a reduction with it to thicken and sweeten it up. Just heat it over the stove in a pot for a while. About 1/4 cup.)
Extra-virgin olive oil (about 1/2 cup)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the pecans, egg white and brown sugar and spread on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with a little salt. Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Stir once and just keep an eye on the pecans to make sure they don't burn. Remove and let cool.
In a large bowl, combine your cranberries, sliced strawberries, spinach leaves and crumbled peppercorn goat cheese. Once your pecans are cool, toss those in as well. Then mix together the vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss it with your salad.

Chicken-Asparagus Bundles with a Creamy Marsala Mushroom Sauce

8 stalks of asparagus
2 chicken breasts, pounded thin
your favorite seasoning for sprinkling over the chicken (I used Mrs. Dash - you can easily just use salt and pepper.)
For the sauce:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pint of mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup marsala wine
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/2 cup of beef or chicken stock, whatever you have on hand
1/2 cup cream

To make the chicken:
Once you've pounded your breasts thin, lay them out on a cutting board. Put four asparagus spears in each one and roll them up. If needed, secure them with a toothpick. Sprinkle the breasts with seasoning of your choice and then drizzle with olive oil so they are well coated, the asparagus too. Brown them in a frying pan on the stove - this helps seal in the juices and also helps keep the roll together - and then put them into a 350 degree oven to finish cooking them. Takes about 20 minutes total. When done remove them and cover with foil to keep warm if your sauce isn't done.

For the sauce:
While the chicken is in the oven, in a large pan saute your garlic in the butter and oil. Once softened, add your mushrooms. Let the mushrooms release their juices and become tender. Then pour in your wine, dijon and stock. Season lightly lightly with salt and then pepper as well. Once it's thickened a bit pour in your cream and allow it to thicken into a saucy consistency. If it gets too thick just add a little bit of water or more stock if you have it. Serve the chicken over some rice and spoon your sauce over the top. Enjoy!

Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

I recently went strawberry picking at a local pick-your-own farm. A word to the wise: skip the strawberry picking. It was backbreaking work. I now understand why they charge $5 a pint for strawberries in the supermarket. It's a bitch picking those little red queens off the vine. First of all, the vines are more like mini-bushes that are only about a half-foot off the ground. So the entire picking process is done on your knees or kneeling. For little kids this is probably not only easy but fun. It's literally at their level. But for an adult this is something that involves way too much bending and standing back up again. My back was aching, my knees were creaking. Strawberry picking made me feel old and out of shape. Not pleasant. And when it's over 85 degrees and humid out, it makes for a less than enticing afternoon. So needless to say, this was probably the first and last time I'll pick strawberries. But hey, it's all about the experience right?? For sure right.

Anyway, I did make some scrumptious ice cream with those fresh berries. I found this recipe in my ice cream bible, ie David Liebowitz's The Perfect Scoop .

While the book recommends eating this ice cream right after it's made, an opportunity I didn't quite have considering I made this at about 10 p.m. on a random Sunday, it was still good after some time in the freezer. As mentioned, I went to bed as soon as it was done and threw it in the freezer. Sorry David! Maybe next time. It was still very good and very refreshing when I ate it a few days after the fact. Enjoy!

Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream
Source: David Lebowitz, The Perfect Scoop

1 pound fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla vodka or kirsch
1 cup sour cream (I used light sour cream)
1 cup heavy cream (I used half and half)
1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (I omitted this only because I had no lemons)
Slice the strawberries and toss them in the a bowl with the sugar and vodka or kirsch, stirring until the sugar begins to dissolve. Cover and let stand at room temp for 1 hour. Stirring occasionally.
Pule the strawberries and their liquid with the sour cream, heavy cream and lemon juice in a blender until almost smooth, but still slightly chunky.
Refrigerate for an hour and then freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.