Adirondack Red Wing Burger (from Rachael Ray)

I really like hamburgers. I mean I really, really like hamburgers. So I really pay attention when they are done well, and when they are done badly (like at my job's cafeteria). Rachael Ray also apparently likes hamburgers, and this recipe is one of her's. Its really tasty, and I wish I had come up with it myself. She called it her "Adirondack Red Wing Burger", because she's from upstate New York, and the elements of the burger are pretty much the ingredients for buffalo wings, but in burger form. If you want the original recipe, here it is. I made some changes, but its her recipe. That is my picture though. :)

Ingredients
    * 2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
    * 1 carrot, finely chopped
    * 1 rib celery with leafy tops, finely chopped
    * 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
    * 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
    * 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey or chicken
    * 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
    * 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
    * Salt and pepper
    * 2 tablespoons butter
    * 1/4 cup hot sauce
    * 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
    * 4 deli-sliced cheddar cheese
    * 4 sandwich-size English muffins, toasted
    * 1/4 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
    * 1/4 cup pickle relish

 Preparation

In a small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon EVOO, 1 turn of the pan, over medium heat. Add carrot, celery, onion and garlic, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Reserve the skillet.

Mix the turkey, dill and poultry seasoning into the vegetable mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Form into 4 patties.

In the reserved skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon EVOO over medium heat. Add the patties and cook, turning once, until firm, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add the butter to the skillet to melt, then stir in the hot sauce. Add the patties back to the skillet, turning to coat in the sauce. Top each with some of the blue cheese and a slice of cheddar. Tent with foil, turn off the heat and let stand until the cheese is melted.

Top each muffin bottom with some lettuce, a patty, some relish and a muffin top.


I didn't use any lettuce, relish or english muffins, because I don't like relish, and I didn't have any lettuce or english muffins, but they were still great. So good, that a couple days later, I made them again, this time with ground beef instead of turkey, and they were still delicious.

Peppercorn Pork Loin with Balsamic-Mustard Gravy

2 lb. Boneless Pork Tenderloin, cleaned
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1/2 cup to 1 cup fresh ground pepper
1 tbsp. basil
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. garlic

Balsamic-Mustard Gravy

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Trim the tenderloin, and remove any unwanted pieces of fat.
Rub the mustard over all of the tenderloin, covering it.
Combine pepper, basil, salt and garlic in a shallow dish.
Roll the meat in the dry spices, until covered.
Place the tenderloin in a roasting pan in the middle of the oven.
Roast until the internal temperature is 160 degrees (about 45 minutes)
Remove the pork loin from the oven, and let it rest for about 5 minutes. (This lets the juices settle, and keeps the meat moist.)
Slice the loin on the diagonal, and plate.
Serve with root vegetables (I prefer carrots and potatoes) and gravy.
For presentation's sake, I put the gravy in a squeeze bottle, and add it to the plate that way, but spooning it over is just as effective. As long as it makes it to your stomach...

Penne Carbonara

1 lb. Penne Pasta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
8 slices of bacon
1 egg
1 tbsp. heavy cream
Ground Black Pepper to taste

Bring a pot of salted water to boil.
crack the egg into a pinch bowl, and whisk the yolk and white together, with heavy cream. Set aside.
Fry the bacon until crispy. When cooked, crumble to bacon into small pieces. Drain the bacon fat and discard. Keep the pan handy.
When the water boils, cook the pasta until al dente.
Drain the pasta, and immediately pour the pasta into the hot bacon pan, after the bacon is cooked and the fat has been drained. Add in the bacon crumbles. Pour the egg over hot pasta, and mix everything together. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the pasta and serve immediately.

Sake-Soaked Cherry Burgers with Garlic-Herb Cheese

Garlic-Herb Cheese

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. dried basil

2 tsp. dried oregano

2 tsp. dried sage

2 tsp. parsley

Salt to taste

White Pepper to taste

Hamburger

1 lb. Lean Ground Beef

½ cup Sake-Soaked Cherries

1 clove Garlic, minced

2 tsp. Balsamic Vinegar

1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

¼ tsp. Sea Salt

¼ tsp. Fresh Ground Pepper

2 tsp. mustard

Mix all garlic herb cheese ingredients in a bowl. Use a spatula, not a hand mixer. Set aside.

Mix all hamburger ingredients gently in a bowl. Form the meat into a ball.

Score the ball in a “cross” pattern, and separate into 4 equal parts.

Form each part into a patty, about ½ inch thick. Put a small impression in the center of each patty.

Cook burgers on a grill or frying pan, until desired temperature (I prefer well done for burgers, but that’s me.) If you fry them, be sure to use a spatula to press them down as they cook, or they round out like meatballs.

Spread the cheese onto one side of the hamburger bun, and place each burger on the cheese. Top the burger, and eat it. :)

Full Disclosure: This recipe is an adaptation I found here. I used my own soaked cherries, in place of their cherry puree, and added an herb cheese spread.

Filet with Whiskey Vinaigrette and Sauteed Parmesan Potatoes

2 8 oz. Beef Filets

Salt and Pepper to taste
Garlic Powder to taste

3/4 cup Whiskey

1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar

5 tbsp. Unsalted Butter

3 medium potatoes, skinned

3 scallions, diced

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Season filets with salt, pepper and garlic powder on both sides.

Put 2 tbsp. butter into a medium-high heat pan.

Add the filets, and brown on all sides.

Pour 1/2 cup whiskey and 1/2 cup vinegar into pan with filets.

Cover pan and simmer for about 15-20 minutes depending on how you like your steak.

Dice the potatoes into bite-sized pieces.

Season the potatoes with salt and pepper.

Saute the potatoes in 3 tbsp. butter, until golden brown, about 1o-15 minutes.

Remove steaks from pan and let rest for about 3-5 minutes.

Add scallions and cheese to the potatoes and fold together, being careful not to mash the potatoes.

Deglaze pan with 1/4 cup whiskey, 1/8 cup vinegar and 1 tbsp. olive oil.

Pour vinaigrette through a sieve and reserve liquid.

Slice filets and plate each one over the potatoes. Serve the vinaigrette over the filets.

Simmering filet is a great way to cook it. It makes the filets really tender. We were able to eat the steaks with butter knifes, and that's not an exageration.