Best Burger

Welcome, pull up a chair. I’d like to introduce you to not only the best burger I’ve ever cooked…but also the best burger I’ve ever eaten. This an Oklahoma Style Smash Burger with a Wet Garden Herb Grilled Bun topped with a Zesty Yogurt Aioli . Prep work. Do the aoili first so it melds. I used a mix of Greek yogurt, ketchup, hot sauce, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and fresh ground black pepper. Then do your herb mix. I put basil, parsley and garlic chives into my magic bullet with some olive oil and a bit of water. We waited for the rain to stop (Chase and I…it is Monday) and fired up the Blackstone Griddle. A little olive oil went down, then some diced Vidalia onions. On this, immediately, went two cubes (1/4 lb each)...

Stuffed Poblano Peppers AKA Chili Relleno

Thursday night: Stuffed Poblano Peppers AKA Chili Relleno (without the batter coating and frying). The perfect storm for this was finding some great poblano and habanero peppers at the farms market in town, and having some leftover cauliflower/saffron rice from last night. Tonight’s dinner wrote itself. I’ve been cooking some variation of these peppers for decades. Tonight was even more special because of a side that we’ve been creating lately, a combination of cauliflower rice and my saffron rice. First step is the salsa. On the skillet we tossed the peppers, tomatoes, onions and garlic. Sear all of them. Put the blackened poblanos in a bowl and cover to loosen the skins. These were tossed with avocado oil before going on the griddle. Put the...

Figs on Feta, filled with goat cheese

Fig challenge 2.0 A new bag of figs showed up on my porch today. While they were joined with a new approach on a chicken breast dinner, they were clearly the stars. In an oiled glass baking dish, a small, square slice of feta was laid down, about 1/4″ thick. On top of this went a fig (top removed) that had been partially quartered so it opened like a flower. Into that went a scoop of basil goat cheese. This was topped with a finely minced fresh thyme and some finely minced pecan. Balsamic vinegar was then drizzled on top. This baked in a 400° oven for the time it took to cook the chicken, between 10 and 15 minutes. The baked dates were lightly drizzled with some orange blossom honey. It was a wonderful side. Five star in any restaurant. The chicken was...

Slapdash Chicken Enchilada

When I do enchiladas, I usually have a huge, hours-long routine. Tonight I wanted to make a quick ‘hearty’ meal to get a dinner to a friend who got banged up in an accident, and then still get to a 6 pm Trivia at the Brewery. And I kinda wanted something that would give me and my honey an easy meal after trivia. So I decided on something I would call Slapdash Chicken Enchiladas. Which would mean that I buy roasted chicken at Food Lion (they only had two packs of leg quarters, which was OK) and canned enchilada sauce. Timeline: Get up from nap at 3 pm. Shop at 3:30. Home with provisions at 4 pm. Assemble first enchilada tray and in the oven at 4:14 pm. Second tray (our dinner) at 4:30 pm. First tray done and resting at 4:45 pm. Shower and shave. Pull...

Don’s Egg Salad Sandwich

It seems a bit silly to write up an egg salad sandwich. But this was today’s lunch and it was SO good. Served on a sourdough bread. The key to boiling an easy peal egg: Put 8 eggs in a pot, bring to a boil, turn off the heat and let sit for 20 minutes. Drain the water, pour in cool water with a pile of ice cubes. Let sit fore 2-3 minutes. While the eggs cook, make your filling. 1 cup mayonnaise is normal, I use half mayo and half yogurt1 tbsp Dijon mustard. I like ground mustard too1 celery stick finely chopped1 small red onion finely chopped1 clove garlic finely grated2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley 8 gramsJuice of half a lemonBlack pepper to tasteDash of smoked paprika Since I have a ton of basil, I actually sliced up a handful and added it. This is not part...