Ramen Burger + Annie Chun's Giveaway

Have you heard of the latest culinary craze, the Ramen Burger?  It's a burger sandwiched between two patties of fried ramen noodles, in place of a bun.  Sounds absurd, yes?  It is absurd.  AND WONDERFUL TOO. 

I was sent some products from Annie Chun's - a variety of all natural Asian Cuisine - and someone from their team suggested I try out the new "bun" with the ramen noodles.  It was easy to do and the result was oddly fantastic - crispy Ramen framing a juicy burger, yum. Follow these simple steps to create your own at home:

1. Cook noodles in 1 1/2 cups of boiling water for 1 minute.  Drain.  (I did not use the flavor packet)

2. Divide Ramen into 2 bowls or ramekins that resemble patty size. 

3. Place plastic wrap on top of noodles and weigh down with cans - tuna worked well for me.  Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. 

4. Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat.  Carefully remove noodles from bowl and cook until golden brown on both sides. 

And now, a giveaway...

Please comment below to win all of this!  And let me know if you would try a Ramen Burger?

Giveaway Rules:

1. You must be an official follower of this blog to win (click follow icon on the right).

2. Follow me on Twitter for an extra entry (comment below twice if you do).

3. Only open to residents of U.S. and Canada.

4. Winner will be chosen at random on Monday, August 26th at 8am PST.

Cheddar Jalapeno Chicken Burgers with Guacamole

For very brief, tiny, fleeting moments... I feel put together.  The rest of the time... 

...my feet look like they should be attached to trolls, my hair is going on 5 days sans shampoo, there are crumbs in my bra and I can't remember if I've put deodorant on.  Did that paint you a pretty picture?  Where should I sign up to model?  That same messy feeling applies to my blog.  Occasionally, I snap a great picture.  But the rest of the time, I have about -30 seconds to get my camera because if I don't eat 30 seconds after that, I'll have a 4 year-old asking for something and a 9 month-old screaming her head off.  Why am I venting to you??  Because that photo above does this chicken burger ZERO justice.  It was so good.  It looks burnt to a crisp, but it wasn't.  It was juicy and full of heavenly flavor and I devoured it.  All it needed was Carson's homemade guacamole as a topping, nothing else.  The perfect accompaniment to the slightly spicy, cheesy burger.  You've got to make these.    

If you click here, you'll see a fancy photo with a fancy burger that is put together.

And you'll find the recipe, please enjoy.  

Patsy's Turkey Burgers with Garlic Mayo Dip

Guess what?  If you send me recipes, I will make them.  Most of the time.  If they sound deliciously irresistible, that is.  No pressure.  A friend/reader constantly sends me recipes and I have them all bookmarked.  I finally got around to these turkey burgers, named after one of her relatives.  Ground turkey mixed with all sorts of vibrant, somewhat southwestern ingredients, fried up as sliders and dipped in a tangy garlic mayo.  She recommended topping them with avocado, which I did, and I also added mushrooms and served them over sourdough toast.  They were superb.  Patsy probably doesn't follow a recipe, since she invented these, but I tried to throw one together for you.  Send me more recipes!  Send me more recipes!  But only if they're irresistibly delicious.      

Patsy's Turkey Burgers with Garlic Mayo Dip
(Makes approx. 15 sliders)
Printable Recipe

Burgers:
1 lb. ground turkey
1/4 cup chopped parsley or cilantro (I used cilantro)
5 or 6 chopped green onions (tops and bottoms)
Poblano pepper, finely chopped
Anaheim pepper, finely chopped
1 large egg
1 T mayo
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used panko)
1/2 tsp salt

Mayo:
1/4 cup mayo
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced

Throw all burger ingredients in a bowl and mix with a spoon or your hands.  Form them into slider size (or regular burger size if you wish).  Heat olive oil over medium-high heat and saute the burgers until cooked through (roughly 5 minutes a side if you're making sliders).  Whisk mayo ingredients together and serve.

Food trucks a go go - tacos and burgers in the West!

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

If you were burger deprived in childhood, weep no more - Mr Burger is here!

This is one spiffy food truck operation, with two trucks dotting Melbourne now.  You'll find one semi-permanently tucked off Therry Street near the Vic Market, and one regularly roving around Melbourne including the western suburbs!

I love their clean, zippy design.  Ordering's a toss up between the "classic"Mr Burger with mustard, mayo and more, the Mr Meat with bacon and BBQ sauce, or the Mr Veg with a falafel patty.

Fries are pretty standard but hot, salty and crisp - everything you could want!

I reckon these are damn fine burgers.  Both patties that day were a little pink, which I like - it's popular in the States to have your hamburger done medium.  Often Aussie burgers taste like the sum of their parts, with dry-ish meat patty and chunky lettuce and tomato.  Not so at Mr Burger - everything gooshes together to make a juicy, meaty party in your mouth.  Love!!!

But what's this?  Two food trucks for the price of one!  Dos Diablos have also starting spreading their brand of tasty hellfire across the West.

Loving the vintage-y truck, complete with crossed pitchforks at the front.  Everything here's gluten free...

...and we love a pulled pork or "carnitas" taco, well-seasoned meat loaded generously onto a proper corn tortilla and dressed up with tomatillo salsa and a little shredded cabbage.  Wickedly good fries, too, tossed with seasoned salt and squirted with spicy ketchup.

Best of all - tomorrow, Saturday 9th Feb, Mr Burger will be at Pilgrim Street Park and the Horsey Park!  (Bristow Reserve, Seddon and Shorten Reserve, West Footscray).  As for Dos Diablos, keep your eye on their Facebook page for today and tomorrow's tasty incarnations!

This Bud’s For You.

I talk about my family a lot here. Mostly my mom and dad, but also Aunt Babe and my paternal grandparents, Janie and Paw Shaffner. And, of course, Breeda (family by proxy). Although it’s been almost five years since I’ve seen any of the Shaffner posse, and about ten years since I’ve been able to go back to spend Christmas with them, we keep in touch to a degree via social media and updates from my dad. And though we all differ greatly spiritually, politically and socially (and socio-politically) we all love each other and I miss them terribly. Especially around the holidays.

I know. I sound like a broken record since I say that every year. Around the holidays.

Let’s see here, I can tell you that my Uncle Doug and his wife, Aunt Janice, have both had some health issues, but they seem to be on the up and up now. Cousin Carey is very happily married, been doing some travelling and tattooing himself. His sister, my cousin Lisa, sometimes has some pink in her hair and  is very exercisey and in shape (damn her). Aunt Babe moved in with her daughter Noel in Alexandria. Scott and Dolly and their kids live pretty close to Richmond and Scott just visited with my dad today. My dad tells me they are simply amazing parents. Uncle Pat and Aunt Trish always seem strong. Pat, as always, is the big brother, oldest of the sibs and essentially patriarch of the Shaffner clan. His daughters, Kim and Missy are both happily married with kids and great jobs and much success.

But what, or rather on whom, I want to focus today is Uncle Joe. Uncle Joe and Aunt Connie. Aunt Connie is my dad’s sister, and if you followed the paragraph above you can pretty much put together this particular cluster of Shaffners. You see, Uncle Joe passed away rather unexpectedly a couple of days ago. And with this news, I am left a little bewildered and, of course, quite sad.

When Dad and I made our annual Christmas trek to Roanoke, we always, always stayed with Connie and Joe. Dad would stay in the front bedroom upstairs and I would sleep on the couch downstairs by the Christmas tree. Suffice it to say, this was torturous geography when I was a child; the temptation of all of the beautifully wrapped presents just begging to be opened. It was also torturous from ages 18-28 when I drank a little too much holiday fun times and the family assembled in the living room EARLY Christmas morning - way earlier than I was ready to start the holiday coffee and present opening. But it was the ritual. And ritual is very important to me (I’m not sure why).

There seemed to always be a cat or two around. Usually at least one of them was finicky or scared or mean or fragile or an escape artist or never came out from the basement. There was always a fire in the fireplace. Uncle Joe always had a can of Budweiser in his hand. Until the Christmas Eve dinner at Aunt Babe’s. Then it was wine. A big beef tenderloin (mouth-watering and delicious) was an annual tradition and the centerpiece of our Christmas Eve dinner, which Joe was responsible for after Aunt Babe tapered off her chef-sponsibilities. But even back when Aunt Babe bought it and cooked it everyone would laugh about how Joe would show up and immediately warn her not to cook it too long. He was also a gun toting, very far right wing, Republican. And he was my Uncle Joe. He was family.

It’s funny. When I was in high school I dyed my hair a lot and often pierced things. I especially loved going to Roanoke for Christmas for the expressions on my family’s faces. The shock value. In college, I considered myself a bit of an upstart, and I loooved to protest almost anything I could involving government. I was very easily the leftiest lefty of the Shaffners. And probably lots of other families as well. Again, I still think there was some satisfaction in the shock value of that, too. I almost looked for some extreme sentiment to spill out of Uncle Joe’s mouth so that I could heave a huge sigh and clomp out of the room. And though I still lean pretty far to the left, what I love about my family, and people, and hell, this country, is that we all get to have those opinions and we get to talk and laugh and argue about them. And who better to experience all of those things with, who has to stick by you through decades of change, hair dyes, piercings and political protests? Your family, that’s who.

I’ve been looking back at Connie’s online photo albums that she’s been archiving for years. There are tons of pictures of the entire family spanning as far back as my Great Grandparents. I was particularly drawn to the ones from the seventies, with Connie, Joe and my mom and dad and their hippie friends, everyone with long hair - so iconic, camping at The Fiddler’s Convention in 1972, in New England in 1973, and Okrakoke in 1974. They all look so rad. My mom laughed as she told me about one of these trips to Okrakoke where everything seemed to be going wrong. Dad stabbed through his hand with a knife while trying to shuck an oyster, Mom was pregnant and wasn't in the mood to have sand in her pants and big green flies feasting on her. Joe insisted on camping as planned. Ordinarily Joe would have emerged victorious, but not this time. Mom and dad checked into a hotel with Joe kicking and protesting all the way. But so very Joe. Such a contrarian. So badass.

Idiosyncratic, nuanced, difficult, compassionate, generous, kind, opinionated, honest, interested, interesting, intelligent, a great cook, camper, fisherman, smoker of meats (and cigars), true to himself and good to his family. Salt of the Earth. That’s what comes to mind when I think hard about Joe.

Normally I would wrap up this post with a recipe, or sometimes a restaurant review. This time I decided to drive out to an old hamburger stand, deep in the Valley; Bill's Hamburgers. It's been there, unchanged, with it's eight (8) stools, since 1965 (which is really old by LA standards), and run by 85 year-old Bill who is as salty as his burger. Bill, and his jokes-to-offend-and-enchant every race, creed, sex, and color, has been there since day one flipping his burgers - and on the very same griddle that is but a few years his junior. Joe would like this guy and this spot, for sure. So I grabbed Maggie and six pack of Budweiser (in the can) to sit on the side of the road, eat a burger and make a toast. 

This one's for you Uncle Joe.

One year ago: M.B. Post
Two years ago: Homemade Pasta
Three years ago: Griiled Cheese Night at Campanile

Guest Post ~ Go Greek BBQ

by my dear friend Beth...

(photos by my dear friend Katy)

Is summer really over after Labor Day??  I say no, not in my house.  Too many delicious late "summer" veggies to digest and incorporate into yummy food.  But, because the rest of the world does recognize Labor Day weekend as an end to pool days and a beginning to sweaters and football season, my hubby Brad and I decided to throw a big backyard BBQ this year.  Originally, we thought we'd just have a few close friends over... cut to 25 adults + 7 children... not really sure how that happened??

Helpful Hint #1: 

After numerous weekend parties I've FINALLY come to the conclusion that once your guest list hits 10 you might as well tack on an extra 20 or so people because at that point, does it really matter?

Helpful Hint #2: 

In an effort to actually ENJOY yourself at your own party (which is a challenge for any host) it's important to spend time planning your menu and making as much as you can the day or night before. 

Helpful Hint #3: 

Pick 3 main dishes you want to do well and make a lot.  I find when you try to make too many dishes, portion control becomes an issue, not to mention expense.  On that note, let's get to the grub, shall we?

Menu:

For the main course I picked turkey burgers, and in an effort to go a tiny bit more "gourmet" I found a super easy and great recipe for Greek Turkey Burgers.  Here's the trick: add 1/4 cup of chicken stock for each pound of meat.  It really helps keep the burger from falling apart and adds a bit of flavor.

Ok now for the easy part: I purchased Trader Joe's delicious Tzatziki sauce for the topping.  

That plus some lettuce leaves are all I offered for condiments and not one complaint!  For 25 burgers I used 5 lbs. of ground turkey.  I mixed the meat the night before, made all the patties and arranged them on layers of waxed paper so they'd be ready to go.      

For people that weren't in the mood for burgers, I made a Grilled Eggplant Salad, courtesy of the wonderful and beautiful Giada.

Can I tell you how yummy this was?  Plus, it totally satisfies any vegetarians, pescatarians, or whatever "arian" guest you invite as a main course.  I grilled the eggplant the morning of and because it doesn't need to be refrigerated and can be served at room temp, just let it sit out until the party.  Although, be sure not to add the goat cheese until the last minute. 

Also that morning, I rinsed lettuce and cut it (I know, you're supposed to tear lettuce not cut it, but did I mention I have an 18 month-old son? Knife = easy time saver, period).

  

Helpful Hint #4:

If you want to prep a big salad before a party, after you rinse it the day before or morning of, throw it all in a brown paper bag.  It helps absorb moisture and avoids smashing leaves into a baggie.  Then, right before the party, make your salad in the bowl and put cold, damp paper towels over it until it's time to eat.  

When I have time I like to try and make a special drink.  I found this recipe for Strawberry Lemonade from Real Simple and guess what?  It's really simple!  For this particular party, I was anticipating some beautiful pregnant women and so I put a bottle of Kettle One on the side, so everyone could enjoy!  Plus who doesn't enjoy a little PYO (Pour Your Own) cocktail : )

Helpful Hint #5:

For dessert, if you don't have an amazing baker in your life like Siri, go with a classic: ice cream sandwiches and popsicles.  Nothing says EASY like opening a box.  Plus, the kiddies always love the task of helping pass out dessert.

And finally, Helpful Hint #6:

When your friends offer to bring something, don't be afraid to take advantage of it, say YES!  Of course, it's easy for me to say yes, because I have wonderfully talented friends aka Siri and Katy - queen of creative creations, yummy appetizers and usually something involving cheese!  So I don't just say "yes" when they offer I YELL "yes please!"

Happy Hosting, xo Beth

Deep Dish Bacon Cheeseburger Deluxe

One food that I don't think I'll ever get enough of is pizza.  How can you not love pizza.  It's protein, carbs, dairy, and veggies (kind of), all melted together to make a glorious slab of happiness.

Also being a fan of bacon cheeseburgers, I was very excited to see Shelby's Bacon Cheeseburger pizza and knew it would not be long until I'd be whipping this up.

It meets every expectation of deliciousness, and is quick and fun to make.  I think my favorite part is the whole wheat flour in the crust.  It adds a sweet and soft element to the pizza that I just loved.

Deep Dish Bacon Cheeseburger Deluxe
By Grumpy's Honeybunch

Ingredients

For the crust:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1-3//4 cups white flour
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 packet rapid rise yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tbsp olive oil
Cornmeal to coat the bottom of pan

For the sauce:
3 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp mustard
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

For the toppings:
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 large left over hamburger, cooked (I just browned and crumbled 1/2 lb ground beef)
4 slices bacon, cooked until crispy and broken into pieces
Lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onion to garnish, if desired

Directions

To make the crust, combine the whole wheat pastry flour and 3/4 cup of white flour with the salt, sugar, and yeast.  Pour the warm water and tablespoon of olive oil over flour mixture and stir to combine.  Mix in remaining 1 cup flour.  Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, adding more flour as needed.  Spray a mixing bowl (I usually use the one I mixed the dough in - I just wash it out first) with cooking spray.  Place dough in bowl and then turn over. Cover with a towel and let rise approximately 45 minutes or until dough doubles in size.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Punch down dough and let rest for 10 minutes.  While dough is resting, make sauce.  Mix together in a small bowl the ketchup, mustard, worchestershire sauce and mayonnaise.

Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.  I use a glass pan, I like how the crust turns out crispy in this dish.  Sprinkle with cornmeal.  Place dough in pan and press the dough out, making sure to have the dough go up the sides of the pan to create the dish effect.

Spread sauce over top of dough.  Layer toppings as follows:  Sprinkle with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, spread broken up hamburger over top of cheese, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and then lastly top with cheddar cheese.

Bake in oven approximately 20 minutes or until crust is browned and topping begins to brown lightly. Remove from oven and top with bacon pieces.  Garnish with lettuce, tomato, onion and more bacon if desired.

Simple Turkey Sliders

I think I've made it clear that I haven't been in the mood to cook dinner lately.  I'll whip up a batch of cookies, no problem, but real food?  Healthy, balanced dinners?  No.  You do it for me.  

Alas, you can't do it for me, and last night Carson had to work late so I found myself slowly moving around the kitchen, trying to figure out something for the three (and a half) of us to eat.  My son suggested mini cheeseburgers, and that sounded like something I could handle.  Here's a really simple and healthy way to do that, any night of the year:

Mix some ground turkey with a little worscestershire sauce, garlic and onion powder and salt and pepper.  Form them into very mini patties (maybe 2 T worth of meat).  Heat some olive oil in a skillet.  Brown them for 4-5 minutes per side.  Add cheese (we like 2% American), let it melt.  Take whole wheat bread and cut to match size of patties.  I like to top ours with ketchup, a little mayo, a sliced pickle and some sautéed white onions.  

Simple, healthy, and Carson and I each ate 5.  What.  

What's your favorite fast food burger?

The other day I drove by a Five Guys burger joint.  It was 10:37 in the morning.  I had been wanting to try this place for a long time, so the fact that most people were still waking up and heading to Starbuck's  at that hour was only a slight problem for me.  Slowly, I drove by and read the door.  It opened at 11am!  That's still pretty early to eat a burger : (

But you're only 38 weeks pregnant a few times in your life, unless you're a Duggar, so I decided to go for it.  I walked in by my lonesome.  This girl below came running towards me, and very joyfully asked me if it was my first time.  "Why yes!" I said, also very joyfully.  Gosh it was a joyful experience.  She helped me order a Little Cheeseburger (one patty) with Grilled Onions, Pickles, Ketchup and Mayo.  Simple.  Oh and a bucket of fries.  And a diet coke, sorry baby.    

By the way, not okay with listing calories on menus.  I mean why, why why why.

Anyway, 560 calories (oh plus the buckets of fries) later, I had ZERO REGRETS.  It was so damn delicious.  Tasted like it was fresh out of a local 1950's diner.  I think my favorite fast food burger yet.  Better than In and Out, better than Fat Burger (Carson said, I've never had).  So I want to know - have you had Five Guys?  What's your favorite fast food burger?  Let's discuss.  

Guacamole Taco Burgers

I have a confession to make.

I'm done with the summer. Done. I need cooler weather, homework for the kids, and soup on my stovetop. Right now, more than anything, I need my routine back.

As much as I love the summer, sometimes there really can be too much of a good thing.  After almost three straight months of playing, swimming, packing, flying, moving, beaching, eating (a lot), and road tripping, I'm EXHAUSTED!  I love you summer, but it's time to slow down.

 Fortunately, just because summer is coming to an end, doesn't mean that we have to hibernate in the kitchen.  There is still plenty of time to enjoy fresh summer food and outdoor grilling.  And while you still have time, might I recommend these killer burgers. Reeni, who has an amazing blog at Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice (seriously, I pin almost everything she posts), came up with these, and they are as delicious as they sound. A taco flavored burger, topped with cheese and guacamole, nestled in a homemade cornbread foccacia bun. Gooey, cheesy, heaven.

So when it does finally cool down and you're wishing you had your summer back, throw these on the grill. The bright flavors will satiate your summer appetite, for an evening at least.

I'll direct you to Reeni's page for the recipe because her pictures and descriptions do this burger way more justice. Enjoy!

The Hungry Cat Burger

Last night we went out for dinner after the Voice taping to one of our favorite spots, The Hungry Cat.  It was late.  Not late by "couples sans children in New York" standards, but late by our "we had our kid and are all usually asleep by 9pm" standards.  Since it was so close to bedtime, you'd think I would have chosen something nice and light to send me off to dreamland.  No.  That's not what happened.  I ordered the burger with cheese, canadian bacon and a fried egg on top.

Hey, chicken, cow and pig - come get in my belly!

Let's just say, the burger was fantastic.  Let's also say, that I felt like a carnivorous monster and a night of disturbing dreams ensued.  

(image here)

Turkey Chickpea Burgers

I have officially completed two months of the Livefit program! I'll post progress pictures in a few days. I still have Phase III to complete, but my friend and I decided to put that on hold until January since we'd rather focus on enjoying the holidays. In the meantime we are going to continue eating clean as much as possible, as well as lifting daily to maintain the progress we've made.

It was kind of a hard decision to make, I think both of us felt hesitant to put the brakes on something that we've been working so hard on. However, health and fitness is a lifetime pursuit, and just like life, you have to take things as they come. The holidays only come once a year, and I'd hate to look back on the month and realize that I made myself miserable with stress and withholding when I could have started right where I stopped the very next month. I'm definitely not going to enjoy the holidays as I have in the past (MONTH LONG BINGE, WOO HOO!), but I'm not going to stay home from the holiday festivities because I can't stand the thought of only being able to eat off the veggie tray.

In the meantime, I'm going to continue enjoying awesome recipes like this one. Chickpea puree mixed with ground turkey, making a meaty burger with the great flavor of falafel. We ate them with those Roll Up Flatbreads and a side of sweet potato fries. It was a delicious dinner!


Turkey Chickpea Burgers
Clean Eating Magazine

Ingredients

1 (15 oz can) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup roughly chopped scallions
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 lb ground turkey breast, 99% fat free
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
olive oil cooking spray

Directions

In a food processor, combine chickpeas, scallions, cumin, pepper, salt and Worcestershire sauce. Pulse until smooth.

Transfer chickpea mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add turkey and mix by hand until combined.

Divide turkey-chickpea mixture into four equal portions, shaping each into a three-quarter-inch patty. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat skillet with cooking spray and cook patties for four to six minutes on each side.

We topped it with ketchup, mustard, lettuce, sauteed onions and pickles. YUM!

Turkey Chickpea Burgers

I have officially completed two months of the Livefit program! I'll post progress pictures in a few days. I still have Phase III to complete, but my friend and I decided to put that on hold until January since we'd rather focus on enjoying the holidays. In the meantime we are going to continue eating clean as much as possible, as well as lifting daily to maintain the progress we've made.

It was kind of a hard decision to make, I think both of us felt hesitant to put the brakes on something that we've been working so hard on. However, health and fitness is a lifetime pursuit, and just like life, you have to take things as they come. The holidays only come once a year, and I'd hate to look back on the month and realize that I made myself miserable with stress and withholding when I could have started right where I stopped the very next month. I'm definitely not going to enjoy the holidays as I have in the past (MONTH LONG BINGE, WOO HOO!), but I'm not going to stay home from the holiday festivities because I can't stand the thought of only being able to eat off the veggie tray.

In the meantime, I'm going to continue enjoying awesome recipes like this one. Chickpea puree mixed with ground turkey, making a meaty burger with the great flavor of falafel. We ate them with those Roll Up Flatbreads and a side of sweet potato fries. It was a delicious dinner!


Turkey Chickpea Burgers
Clean Eating Magazine

Ingredients

1 (15 oz can) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup roughly chopped scallions
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 lb ground turkey breast, 99% fat free
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
olive oil cooking spray

Directions

In a food processor, combine chickpeas, scallions, cumin, pepper, salt and Worcestershire sauce. Pulse until smooth.

Transfer chickpea mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add turkey and mix by hand until combined.

Divide turkey-chickpea mixture into four equal portions, shaping each into a three-quarter-inch patty. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat skillet with cooking spray and cook patties for four to six minutes on each side.

We topped it with ketchup, mustard, lettuce, sauteed onions and pickles. YUM!

Open-faced Turkey Burgers

Carson was gifted a BBQ Sauce of the Month Club for his birthday, and I love it.  I'm pretty much a fan of any monthly club.  Bacon, beer, butter - I would like to sample all of those if they exist.  We just got a BBQ Sauce, above, that has blown the rest of them away (buy it here).  Spicy, sweet, tangy, bold, perfectly balanced.  I knew it needed to be smothered on a burger.  And I was inspired to do something with English muffins after seeing this.  So I used this recipe, swapped ground turkey for ground chicken, placed it on one half of an English muffin, topped it with sharp cheddar cheese, broiled it until the cheese melted, and finished it off with BBQ sauce, a thick slice of tomato and some arugula.  Good stuff.      

Celebrating my 300th post with the Best Turkey Burgers Ever

300th post?! It's hard to believe that I've been at it that long. It's been a lot of fun scrolling through the old blog from the last two years and seeing how my tastes, and (ahem) photo skills have changed. I still have a long way to go, and a lot of things to try, so here's to hoping for another 300 posts. In the meantime, thanks so much to all of you for making it so enjoyable and encouraging me to keep going. As Biz says, I consider you all my friends!

Kim, my fellow burger admirer, this is for you! Turkey burgers aren't always what I crave, let's face it, I like my red meat! But, don't make these because they are a lighter substitute, make them because they are so juicy and delicious that you won't, for a second, wish that you were eating a beefy hamburger. I topped mine with sauteed mushrooms and blue cheese, I suggest you do the same!


Favorite Turkey Burger
From Great Food Fast, by Martha Stewart

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds light ground turkey
1/2 cup finely grated Gruyere
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup dried breadcrumbs
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
course salt and fresh ground pepper
4 hamburger buns

Directions

1. Heat grill (I used my Foreman grill) to high. In a medium bowl, use a fork to gently combine the turkey with the Gruyere, scallions, breadcrumbs, Dijon mustard and garlic; season generously with salt and pepper. Dividing the mixture evenly, gently form the mixture into four 1-inch thick patties.

2. Lightly oil the grill. Place the patties on the hottest part of the grill; sear until browned, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Move the patties to the cooler part of the grill; continue grilling until cooked through, 5 to 10 minutes per side.

3. Split the hamburger buns and toast if desired. Top with preferred toppings and place burger on buns. Get ready to say MMMmmmmmm with every bite!

31. Great Balls on Tires

Meat their balls.

My word. It has been a while, yes? Well, for your (and my own) food truck pleasure, I'm back with another rousing truckventure for you...

My buddy, Doug, lives across the street from the Frosted Cupcakery where, every Thursday, they host a food truck in their parking lot. D Smoov (he will be so happy I wrote that) emailed me this morning to let me know that a newbie, Great Balls on Tires, would be the truck du jour. Well, I do love me some word play. And balls. Of meat.  

And so it was. 

First off, this truck is hysterical. These guys have a sense of humor. Or, at least the kind I dig. This is good. They also had quite a long line. Which could be bad except I was feeling patient and, of course, I was happy about the support of the people for the truck.

Okay. Brass tacks. According to their website, “Great Balls of Tires, or G-BOT for short, was born from three friends’ love for all things edible. Founded by Clint Peralta, Michael Brombart and Sharron Barshishat, a Le Cordon Bleu School of Culinary Arts graduate, G-BOT serves meatballs and other savory balls of food.” It’s true, they’ve got various balls of meat, and non-meat, foodstuffs from across the globe:  Kobe beef balls on toasted brioche – the quintessential slider, Veal/Pork balls with a pancetta marinara – the Italian influence, Garam Masala chicken balls over saffron basmati rice – clearly the Indian presence, Korean BBQ, Vietnamese, hell, there is even a “Ballafel”. Prices range from $6.50 - $4.50 and most items come in twos (of course).

By the time Dougsworth and I arrived they had sold out of two three items on the menu (the tape was going up on number three as we got into the line), including the Sweet Balls ($3). So we ordered the Incrediball ($6.50): Ground Kobe beef/Applewood smoked bacon/Gruyere/wild arugula/garlic aioli/ toasted brioche and Ballywood ($5.50): Garam Masala chicken/coconut Madras curry/crispy fried onions/tomato chutney/cilantro chutney/saffron Basmati rice. We then scurried back to Sweet D’s place to indulge in our lunchaballs. Get it???

Um. I’ll be here all week.

The Ballywood was, quite simply put, exceptional. There was a swarm of colors, flavors and textures jumping around in my mouth, it remained fresh, light and a perfect portion. Those fried onions were a surprise and delight on the palate. Kudos to that dish and the ballers behind it.

The Incrediball was as good as it could be. The meat was a nice medium-rare, all of the elements involved bounced around together well, and the portions of the actual meat and the burgers were impressive. But at the end of the day, it’s another tasty slider. Simply put, not as inspired or innovative as our other dish. 

I liked this truck and its balls. Dougie D did as well. I think. He got distracted by computery world once the food was laid out. It must have been important as this lad likes his grub. But once he focused he housed his and a good deal of mine in about .37596 of a second. A decidedly good sign.

I guess I have to admit it: these guys have balls. But do they have truck nuts?

29. The Grill 'Em All Truck

I love Metallica. I have loved Metallica for some time, now - and I don’t even really listen to metal. But I do appreciate double bass drum. Growing up primarily on beats, hip-hop and jazz probably had a hand in that. But I will never forget the first time I heard Blackened. It changed something with music and me. I have put that song on countless mixes and still listen to it almost every week. I'm listening to it now. I always play it for my friends who still can’t make sense out of how unlikely it is that I would like it so much. “It’s like a symphony,” I tell them. More often than not I get either a blank stare or a "bless-her-heart" look.

And hell, I have been turning people on to Heavy Metal Parking Lot for well over a decade. I know every single line of dialogue in that epic documentary.

And I love food trucks.

So, as you may imagine, dear readers, I have been pretty geeked about the Grill ‘Em All Truck since day one. They hit the streets near the end of last year, right when I was cramming all those trucks in for my self imposed deadline, and yet I never saw them on any of my routes. Then, it took me awhile to even think about eating at any of the trucks again for a while, even though I do just love their Tweets, in particular. Then, while finishing up some work in Hollywood and on my way back home, there they were. It was an unlikely time of day and location for a food truck. Obviously, I figured they must have been there just for me. So even though I had a co-worker riding along with me, I excitedly pulled over and dragged her to the window to order, all the while explaining the story about these boys.

Manned by BFFs (so un-metal of me, I know), chef Ryan Harkins and burger aficionado/taste tester, Matthew Chernus, Grill ‘Em All is simple: heavy metal and burgers. It’s one of those, why-didn’t-I-think-of-that beauties in the world.

So, last week I ordered the Witte (California cream cheese, deep fried bacon(!!!), beer & sriracha soaked onions & garlic aioli - $8)). I wanted the Lars (seared Hudson Valley foie gras, fried egg, malt vinegar, aioli & chips - $15), but the girl I was with was not down with the foie. Hey, I had just met her. How could I have known? Neither of us were famished, and it was a hot day, so we split our burger. And Matt even told us they could cut it in half for us. Really sweet, but I couldn’t help but feel like a bit of a pantywaist.

 The Witte

We both really liked the burger. The bun was fantastic – shiny, brown and rounded at the top with enough of a crumb to keep the ginormity of the insides together. The meat was nicely cooked for me, about medium. I usually like things almost bloody, but I understand it’s not so easy to accommodate such particulars in truck-land. The deep fried bacon was decadent and awesome. The onions were a little over powered by the cream cheese, which was really the only issue I had with anything that hit my palate that day. I felt that rather than cream cheese, which coats your tongue, the burger would have been more succinct with something more acidic to cut through the powerhouse that was everything else and the grease inherently in the burger. Maybe something mustardy? Maybe a cave aged gruyere?

But still, I knew I wanted to go back. To try more. I just needed a little something else to seal the deal prior to writing this.

And what do you know? They were smack in my truckjectory today! Same location, same time. Kismet.

Same deal as last week… I showed up on the later side of lunchtime, no line, no wait.

The boys remembered me from last week. That always makes a girl feel special. I perused the menu, and really just wanted to try the most basic burger. I wanted to see what they did with bare bones. But they named that burger the Hannah Montana. Good Christ. After getting my burger cut in half last week I was going to be damned if I ordered a chunk of meat called Hannah Montana. I might as well go to the Coach & Horses and order a Shirley Temple. And those of you that know me know that would never happen.

So I ordered the Molly Hatchet (seared fennel smoked sausage gravy, apple wood smoked bacon, with a maple drizzle - $7.50). I felt very satisfied with the bravado of my order until - and I believe they both asked –  “just the burger?” To which I meekly replied, “Um, and a water?” I wanted fries, but I knew the burger wasn’t realistically going to get finished off and I hate wasting food! I’ll try the damned fries next time, guys.

Ryan then handed me 7485061 napkins and said, “You’re gonna need all of these.” This prompted me to ask my age-old truck question, “Why don’t any of you guys ever provide moist towelettes?”

Are you guys ready for this?

THEY HAD THEM!!!!!

After months and months and over 30 some odd trucks, my day had come! I could go on forever about this, but okay, the food!

This was the most delicious angioplasty I have had in recent memory. I felt like Dante, with my copy of the Divine Comedy, standing next to the entrance to hell. 

The Molly Hatchet.  Note the moist towellete on the right.

That fennel smoked sausage gravy was rich, complex, naughty but so divine. And I got it everywhere. The meat was a little closer to the done side than that of last week, but still quality. The bacon added the needed crispy, crunchy to the affair, and that drizzle of maple… that subtle, homey sweetness that perfectly complimented the bite of the sausage and the aristocracy of the fennel. This made me very happy.

This also made a huge mess. Good thing I had that moist towellete...

These fellas are doing something special and seem to be having a blast along the ride. At least, I hope that’s what those huge smiles on their faces are all about. Nothing can possibly beat that. - and it all comes out in their food.

And, apparently they cater parties - and party hard!