Southwestern Chicken Burger
February 8, 2011
Burgers are good…really good. They are the kind of quick dinner that never seems like a cop out. I can spend 30 minutes cooking dinner and everyone is thrilled. We like to eat all kinds of burgers, experimenting with different types of meat: beef, pork, chicken, or turkey, and many different flavor combinations. When cooking up burgers with chicken or turkey, I mix in egg, bread crumbs, and herbs, all which help keep the burgers moist. This burger recipe is one of our favorites.
Southwestern Chicken Burgers are super moist and flavorful. The mild taste of the ground chicken allows the garlic, cilantro, green onion, and spices to do their magic. This burger is packed with flavor and is sure to delight even the most die-hard beef burger fans. Layer the toasted buns with spicy, smokey chipotle mayonnaise and Caramelized Onion Relish. If you don’t have a grill, these burgers would be equally tasty cooked up in a skillet with a little olive oil.
Meyer Lemon Curd
February 6, 2011
Oh la la, lovely lemon curd. Lemons have always been a favorite. Growing up on the San Francisco Peninsula, we had a Meyer lemon tree. I would sneak outside to pick the lemons and eat them whole, despite my mother’s warnings that I was ruining my teeth. Now I am a bit (not much, but a bit) more sophisticated and like my lemons seeped in vodka or cooked up with butter and eggs (much healthier, I am sure).
Deep in winter when the trees are dripping with lemons, one fabulous way capture the fresh tang of lemons is lemon curd. This lemon curd is intense, lemony, creamy goodness. Meyer lemons work best here because of their balance of sweet and tart. You can use Eureka lemons (standard supermarket variety) as well, just increase the sugar.
Cheesy Onion Corn Muffins
February 3, 2011
Cornbread may be the ultimate quick bread. In under 45 minutes, basic pantry staples- flour, cornmeal, milk, and eggs- turn into hot, tender, crumbly goodness. Cornbread is a natural accompaniment to chili, but is also great with any other bean based soup or grilled meats.
This recipe is one of my favorites, I have made it many times. The onion and cheese add deep flavors to the bread. This combination not only tastes great, but the additional moisture also increases its shelf life. While most cornbread is best eaten right out of the oven, these muffins will stay moist through the day. For added color, try green onions in place of the white onions.
Big Beef Chili
February 1, 2011
I love the Superbowl, but not for the reason you may suspect. Football doesn’t hold much sway with me. What I do relish is the captive, hungry audience to feed. To me, the Superbowl is more about food than it is about the game.
A rich pot of chili may be the ideal meal for game day. It can be made ahead and kept warm on the stove or in a crockpot. Hungry guests can easily fill their bowl whenever they like. I prepare it in the morning and let it cook long and slow on the stove or in the crockpot. All that is left to do before the game is to make sure there is enough beer in the fridge and whip up some cornbread.
Weeknight No-Knead Bread
January 28, 2011
OK, so I finally tried it. I know I’m a little behind the times and most of you have already made or at least eaten the reputable “No-Knead Bread”, but for me this was a first. Back in 2006, when New York Times published a variation of this recipe it created quite a fervor. Multiple friends shared their success with the bread, but I was home with a baby who was not yet mobile. I had nothing to do but bake bread, the other, more time-consuming way, by kneading it. Truly, I paid little heed to the recipe. Then later, when Cooks Illustrated published another version, I ignored it again. At that time we were blessed with bakery seconds delivered to our door each week from an amazing local bakery. Now that I am back to work, the kids are beyond mobile, and the free bread has long since stopped gracing our table, it was time to dig out this AMAZING recipe and give it a try.
My Pantry Shelf 