Smoky Eggplant and Pickled Beet Sandwich April 4, 2013

I have so many new recipes to post! I will try to get them all on here, but today you’re getting a sandwich. It’s simple, it’s vegetarian, it’s packed with fresh herbs, it’s healthy, it’s satisfying….and it’s a fantastic way to use up your pickled beets before the next crop is ready to be pickled! I used golden beets and brioche burger buns – any variety of pickled beet will work and you just need to find a bun or sandwich bread that is soft (a chewy crust would not be ideal here). Potato buns, focaccia, brioche and soft dinner rolls would work well. I also used a tahini sauce in place of the garlic mayo….it worked, but I think the mayo would be better. If you’re mayo adverse, a tapenade with extra garlic would be really nice.

Enjoy!
Katie

makes 4 hearty sandwiches, barely adapted from Bon Appetit

Eggplant and Mayo:

1 large eggplant (1 1/2 pounds), sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds
1-2 T  olive oil
1/2 t smoked paprika
salt and pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 t Sherry vinegar

Preheat oven to 400°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, then spread 1 T oil right onto the foil covered pan. Place eggplant slices on the pan in a single layed and rub the top side of each slice with a little extra oil (or spray with Pam). Season with paprika, salt, and pepper. Roast until golden and tender, 30-40 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Whisk garlic, mayonnaise, and vinegar in a small bowl; set aside.

Do ahead: the eggplant and mayo can be made one day ahead and refrigerated.

Beet Salad and Assembly:

6 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup mixed tender fresh herb leaves (such as flat-leaf parsley, dill, and mint), chopped
1/2 cup chopped pickled beets
1/4 cup chopped olives
2 T capers, drained
1/2 T olive oil
4 buns or 8 slices bread
6 ounces feta, thinly sliced

Toss scallions, herbs, beets, olives, capers, and oil in a medium bowl to combine.
Spread cut sides of bread with garlic mayo (or tapenade). Top one slice of bread with eggplant, feta, beet salad and a second slice of bread.

Summer Staple – Turkey Burgers for every occassion June 5, 2012

This is a post in honor of my niece and nephew who just had their first baby (a boy named William). They came to visit about a month ago (pre-baby) and made us these amazing burgers, which I have since made several times. They freeze really well, but they also only take two minutes to throw together, so making a bunch in advance isn’t necessarily worth the effort. Aside from the ease of assembly, these burgers have many attributes; they are moist and stay together beautifully – I have yet to have one fall apart on the grill; the flavour is lovely, yet neutral, so you can top them any way you want to (above, we used goat cheese and sundried tomato pesto; heaven); the kids LOVE them (this is the only way my daughter eats zucchini) and they are way healthier than your standard beef burger. All in all, exactly the kind of recipe you need in your repertoire for the coming summer. Try these, you won’t regret it. Thanks for the recipe Sam and Steve, and congratulations, we can’t wait to meet William!

1 lb ground turkey (or chicken, though it’s a little harder to work with)

1 medium zucchini, grated (I use my food processor)

1 tsp each, garlic and onion powder (fresh onion and garlic could be substituted, my kids are sometimes just texture sensitive, so this adds flavour without any weird chunks)

1/2 tsp smoked sweet paprika (sub hot paprika or cayenne if you like things spicier)

salt and pepper to taste

Fresh herbs – I haven’t tried this yet, but plan to once my herb garden comes into its own. The neutral flavour of the turkey and zucchini would lend itself well to whatever fresh herbs you have kicking around; sage, basil, oregano, rosemary. You could chop it and throw it right in the burger or use it as a topping.

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mixing with your hands until just combined. Divide into 4-6 balls (depending on how big you want them) and shape into patties. Refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Preheat the grill to high. Cook 5 minutes a side; burgers should be white and staying together, but still moist, and since they are not fatty, they won’t shrink in size much.

Topping suggestions:

Fresh basil, tomato and thick sliced bococcini

Goat cheese and sundried tomato pesto

Goat cheese and fresh salsa (think Katie’s nectarine or avacado salsa’s)

Goat cheese and tapenade (are you sensing my love of goat cheese yet?)

Gruyere, grilled apple slices and fresh sage

 

Enjoy!

Ky

 

Chicken chorizo pork burgers with grilled Pink Lady apples April 2, 2012

I decided to try my hand at this after a lovely girls night out at Blue Star Diner, where I was, of course, the only person to go for the giant, fatty pork chorizo burger and homemade shoestring fries. But it was totally worth it, especially when I came home and realized that I had some chicken chorizo (from the amazing Missing Link at the farmer’s market) and lean ground pork sitting in my freezer, which meant I could replicate this using healthier ingredients and smaller portions, thus enabling me to re-enjoy this meal without all the guilt. Here’s what I did:

1 lb lean ground pork

1 lb chicken chorizo sausage (raw), casings removed

Combine pork and sausage in a bowl, mixing with your fingers, but being careful not to squeeze too much (makes the burger tougher).

Form into 8, 1/4 lb patties, set aside.

Toppings:

Pink Lady apple slices – brushed lightly with butter and grilled on the top rack while the burgers were cooking. This is a must, the sweetness is amazing with the spiciness of the chorizo

Cheddar slices (gouda or gruyere would be lovely here as well)

Bacon

Mustard

Buns – I used Sour Cream rolls which were soft and perfect, but any old burger buns will do

Once your have everything prepped, preheat your grill to medium high, then cook the burgers for about 6 mins a side, adding the cheese for the last minute if you like it melted. Flip the apple slices when you flip the burgers and they should come out just right. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Ky

BBQ Chicken in the oven September 14, 2011

I have a growing list of things to post and have also been pulling out some fall favourites (cowgirl soup and pumpkin foccasia with the gruyere, so perfect on a cold fall day) but this is one I wanted to be sure to post right away because I can see myself eating this all winter. It’s a great chicken thigh recipe that I threw together at the last second since I had planned on having a BBQ, but I was too cold to brave going outside. I took a scan of the possibilities over at Everybody Likes Sandwiches (she seems to be a great lover of chicken thighs, which I already had thawing on my counter) and came across this. I had to make some adjustments based on what I had in my house, but this was lovely. It actually reminds me of some pork side ribs my mom used to make and I think next time I will have it with rice like she always served her ribs, and then the time after that, I am going to shred the chicken, pop it on a bun and top it with the sauce for a pulled chicken sandwich. As is was, it went very well with roasted corn on the cob and summer squash roasted with apples and cinnamon. Enjoy it how you will, but give it a shot.

PS If you like heat, this dish would lend itself well, I would just add some cayenne or chipotle pepper to the sauce.

6 chicken thighs, skin and fat removed (this takes two minutes and getting thighs with the bone in adds a lot of flavour)

1 small onion chopped

3 big roma tomatoes, diced (or a small can of diced tomatoes)

1/4 cup, packed dark brown sugar

1 Tbsp molasses

3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp worchestershire sauce

1/2 tsp each, salt, fresh ground pepper, and thyme

1/4 cup yellow mustard

1/4 cup salsa (ketchup would work, but not be as good)

1. Preheat oven to 375. Place chicken in a small glass dish, so they are squished together in there and top with onions.

2. Mix together remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour over top of chicken. Pop it in the oven and cook for 1 1/2 hours.

3. Remove chicken to plate and cover with tinfoil. Pour sauce into a pan and bring to boil to reduce by half.

4. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.

Enjoy!

Ky

Smoky, Sloppy, Spicy Chicken Sandwich February 28, 2011

It looks like we’re all getting our recipes from the same place this week,  because I also found this recipe on Everybody Likes Sandwiches (ELS). There’s a great Southern-style barbeque and smoke house near our place called Holy Smoke. Lately, we’ve found ourselves there about once a week for a smoky pulled pork sandwich or a stack of spicy, smoky ribs. Really, I can’t get enough of it. I wanted to make something at home that would satisfy my craving for a messy, smoky, sticky, barbeque-y sandwich without the hassle of setting up a smoker in the back yard and trecking through the snow to operate it. This sandwich, slightly adapted from ELS, was everything I wanted for flavour with the bonus of using chicken thighs to change things up.

Hold onto your socks: this is a spicy one!

Katie

4 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
salt & pepper
3 t cumin
1/2 – 3/4 t chipotle powder
3/4 t dried thyme
3 t olive oil

1 2/3 cups apple cider vinegar
3 t kosher salt
3 t ground white pepper
1 t dried chili flakes
1 1/2 T white sugar
3 T packed brown sugar (or just short of 1/4 cup)
1 t fresh ground black pepper
1/3 cup ketchup

1/3 medium green cabbage head, shredded or finely chopped
2 medium carrots, grated
1/3 medium red onion, grated

2-4 ciabatta buns

Mix together salt & pepper through thyme, then rub well into chicken thighs. Combine vinegar through ketchup and set aside. Heat oil in a cast iron skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat. Sear chicken a couple minutes on each side until nicely browned. Pour 2/3 of the dressing over the chicken and pop into a 450F oven for about 40 minutes until the meat falls nicely  from the bone.

Meanwhile, toss the vegetables with the remaining dressing. When the chicken is done, remove the bones and use 2 forks to shred up the chicken and mix with the sauce. Slice the buns in half and fill with chicken, then some of the slaw. Serve the remaining coleslaw on the side.

For us, this made 3 good-sized sandwiches, but I think you could stretch it to 4 if needed or just go for 2 giant ones.