Talkin' Turkey

Are you scrambling to try and some last-minute ideas for your Thanksgiving Feast? If so, be sure to check out the TKRC November 2007 post for one of the tastiest Roasted Turkey recipes on the world wide web!!

Juicy Well-Done Burgers

I saw this recipe on America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) the other day and thought it looked pretty great and really easy. Here’s what they have to say about burgers:

Taste tests proved that well-done burgers made with 80 percent lean chuck were noticeably moister than burgers made from leaner beef, but they still weren't juicy enough. Adding a panade (a paste of bread and milk paste) to the ground beef creates burgers that are juicy and tender even when well-done. To punch up the flavor, we also added minced garlic and tangy steak sauce.

To keep our burgers from puffing up the way most burgers do, we made use of a previous test kitchen discovery: If you make a slight depression in the center of the patty, it will puff slightly as it cooks and level out to form a flat top.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 large slice high-quality white sandwich bread , crust removed and discarded, bread chopped into 1/4-inch pieces (about 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons whole milk
3/4 teaspoon table salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 medium clove garlic , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
2 teaspoons steak sauce , such as A-1
1 1/2 pounds 80 percent lean ground chuck
6 ounces cheese , sliced, (optional)
4 hamburger buns or rolls

Directions:
Step 1: Mash bread and milk in large bowl with fork until homogeneous (you should have about 1/4 cup). Stir in salt, pepper, garlic, and steak sauce.

Step 2: Break up beef into small pieces over bread mixture. Using fork or hands, lightly mix together until mixture forms cohesive mass. Divide meat into 4 equal portions. Gently toss one portion of meat back and forth between hands to form loose ball. Gently flatten into 3/4-inch-thick patty that measures about 4 1/2 inches in diameter. Press center of patty down with fingertips until it is about 1/2 inch thick, creating a slight depression in each patty. Repeat with remaining portions of meat.

Step 3: Grill burgers on hot grill, uncovered, until well seared on first side, 2 to 4 minutes. Flip burgers and continue grilling, about 3 minutes for medium-well or 4 minutes for well-done. Place cheese (optional) on each of the burgers about 2 minutes before they reach desired doneness, covering burgers with disposable aluminum pan to melt cheese.

Step 4: While burgers grill, toast buns on cooler side of grill, rotating buns as necessary to toast evenly. Serve burgers on toasted buns.

Is Cafe Rio being shady?

I love Cafe Rio just as much as the next guy. They are extremely efficient in everything they do. It seems that no other restaurant chain has figured out how to move people through the line anywhere close to as fast as Cafe Rio. In fact, Cafe Rio makes the Toyota Production System look like it is moving in slow-motion. I appreciate and admire efficiency, but I love tasty food.

Which brings me to my point: I could eat a Cafe Rio pork salad almost every day of the week...just not if I wanted to stay somewhat healthy. But don't tell anyone. Let's keep it our little secret.














You see, Cafe Rio doesn't think it is important enough to provide relavant information to customers. However, you can go to their website (http://www.caferio.com/) and read all about the company's history. Make sure to save enough time to browse through the fascinating corporate executives' bios. You can also click through the entire menu, look up the daily specials and have peace of mind knowing that everything they make is super fresh...just don't waste any of your time trying to find nutrional information.

You can get "nutritional" information at McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, Del Taco and Subway (just to name a few), but not at Cafe Rio. I guess they figure you are on a "need-to-know" basis...

I'm sure it's just a simple oversight. Nothing more than an honest mistake. Maybe they just haven't had the time to get around to figuring it out. Lucky for them, there are people out there who like to do this sort of stuff (probably in between games of Dungeons and Dragons). I found one guy's attempt (http://theboard.byu.edu/?area=viewall&id=36426) that seemed pretty reasonable to me.

Which makes me that much more suspicious about Cafe Rio not providing the real information in the first place. Are they afraid of what their restaurants would look like if people knew the salad they were about to order had 1,300+ calories?












Just to put that in perspective, NOTHING on Burger King's menu is over 1,300 calories. The Triple Whopper weighs in at 1,090; add cheese and you are still "only" at 1,250.

Wouldn't it be cool if somebody did a ground-breaking documentary about eating three meals a day at Cafe Rio for a month. Does anybody know how to say "Super-Size Me" in Spanish? Is that what it is going to take for people to realize what they are really getting at Utah's favorite fresh mexican restaurant? Maybe then, and only then, will people find a new place to flock to like moths to a porch light. I hope that day comes soon. I'd really love to be able to sit and eat my pork salad in peace and quiet for a change.

Cheese Addiction

I went to New York City last year on business. Well, sort of. I should say I went to New York to visit a store, but work just happened to pay for the trip because there was a conference being held that I needed to attend. I didn't want to visit just any store, I was on a mission to find a cheese shop: Murray's.

Murray's is a pretty well-known place for people who are into cheese. If I won the lottery, I would want to open up a cheese shop like Murray's and spend the rest of my days mastering the techinques of making world-class cheese. At least that's how the dream plays out in my head. In reality, I'd probably tire of making cheese after a while and end up just playing golf every day, but that's missing the point.

You see, I have a problem. I am addicted to cheese. Addiction sometimes makes people do strange things. Let me explain. I had never been to NYC before. I was only in town for two days, one of which was completely booked with conference activities. My flight back home left in the evening of the second day, so I didn't have time to see much. Fortunately, I had a plan.

Step 1: Wake up early and find something quick to eat for breakfast.

Step 2: Figure out NYC's public transportation system.

Step 3: Navigate my way through the never-ending maze of subways, people, cars and buildings until I arrived at Murray's.














Step 4: Take a deep breath upon entering the store. Linger for an hour or so and sample as much imported cheese as possible. Buy some stinky cheese to take back home.















Step 5: Race around Manhattan like a mad man for the remaining few hours to see (in the following order) Lombardi's Pizzeria, Canal Street, Ground Zero, the Statue of Liberty and Grand Central Station.

Step 6: Try not to lose the cheese.

The rest of the day was pretty much a blur. I arrived at JFK just in time to catch my flight home. I was exhausted, hungry and ready to go to sleep. I closed my eyes and laid my head back on the seat. And then the smell hit me. The cheese was wrapped in two layers of butcher's paper, three layers of plastic bags, stuffed into my carry-on suitcase and locked in the over-head compartment. But apparently that wasn't enough. I took a deep breath and smiled.

I may have missed out on what much of what NYC has to offer, but at least I had found what I was looking for.

August 2008 ROM - TK's Burger Mix

TK’s Burger Mix

Summer just isn’t complete without a few really good BBQs, and a really good BBQ isn’t too hard to pull off if you have a super tasty burger mix. You don’t have a good burger mix, you say? Well then, you have come to the right place. Let’s begin:

Yield:
Approx. 6 large patties

Ingredients:
2 lbs. fresh ground hamburger meat
1 egg, beaten
1/2 medium, yellow onion, pureed in food processor until smooth
3 green onions, finely sliced
2 Tbsp. steak sauce
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 slice of toast, ground into course breadcrumbs in food processor
1 package of Liption onion soup mix (optional)
Course kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper

Directions:
Step 1: Combine eggs, onions (yellow and green), steak sauce and Worcestershire sauce (and soup mix, if used) in a large mixing bowl. Stir in breadcrumbs and let sit for a few minutes.

Step 2: Add hamburger to mixing bowl and mix until everything has been incorporated. Store mixture in refrigerator until 30 minutes prior to cooking.

Step 3: Evenly divide mixture and form thick, hand-made patties. Heavily season outside of each patty with coarse kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper.

Note: Don’t be shy with the seasoning because there is purposely no salt or pepper on the inside of the meat. Coarse kosher salt is less salty than table salt and the seasoning will form a nice crust on the patties as they grill, which adds awesome flavor and texture.

Step 4: Preheat grill on high for 20 minutes before cooking. Cook over medium-high or high heat until a nice crust is formed (3-5 minutes per side) and there is just a little pink left in the center. Remove patties from the grill, cover with aluminum foil, and let them rest for 5 minutes before serving.

TK’s tip: Put the patties on the grill and don’t touch or move them until they are cooked on the first side. Flip them over once and don’t move them again until they are ready to take off the grill. NEVER squeeze them with the spatula and resist the urge to keep flipping them over. The less you bother them the juicier they will be.

Is it Impossible?

Am I the only one that has noticed that it is darn near impossible to eat an entire bag of microwave popcorn without dropping or spilling at least one piece?

No matter how hard I try, at least one piece always seems to hit the corner of my mouth or fall out of my hand. Yesterday, I popped a bag before leaving work and was carelessly snacking away while driving to the gas station. As I was getting close to the bottom of the bag I suddenly realized I was on track to eat the perfect bag. I guess the magnitude of the moment got to me. I cracked under the pressure and dropped a piece. I watched it fall (seemingly in slow-motion) onto the seat. It landed with an audible "thud".

Maybe eating the perfect bag it is like pitching a no-hitter or hitting a hole-in-one. You'll screw it up if you think about it too much or try too hard. You might even drive yourself crazy chasing after it. I suppose it will happen for me one of these days...and I probably won't even notice.

I know, I know...

So I've been slackin' about getting a recipe posted for the July recipe of the month....but I have a somewhat valid excuse. I've been out of town on vacation and business quite a bit this month. I am also trying to endure a managerial economics class that combines all the "greatest hits" from macroeconomics and calculus. It's just as much fun as it sounds.

I actually have a few really good recipes in the works, but haven't had enough time to get them typed up just yet. So I'll wait until August to post an official recipe of the month because July is pretty much shot. Take this opportunity to browse through my previous posts from last summer and find something that you should have tried a long time ago!

For those of you out there in the blog-o-sphere that need something to tide you over until then, I can tell you how to make a really tasty sandwich. I’ll spare you most of the details because if you need step-by-step instructions on how to make a sandwich you probably lack the ability to read and are just here to look at the pretty pictures…

E-BLT

No, it’s not a sandwich you make on the Internet, it’s a BLT with a fried egg in it.

Directions:

Make two slices of toast, spread some mayo on one or both of the slices, cook up a few strips of bacon, fry an egg (leaving the yolk a little runny), throw on a couple thick slices of tomato and some lettuce. Try it. Love it.

June 2008 ROM - Artisan Bread

Artisan Bread

Over the past few months I’ve been looking for a way to make rustic, european-style bread. I tried a couple different recipes, but the bread was not quite as good as I what I was after. Then I came across this “Master Recipe” from a couple of people that had supposedly perfected making artisan bread at home. They have a book called “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day” which contains the Master Recipe and then hundreds of other variations of breads, rolls, etc.

I had to make the recipe a couple of times to get it just right, but now it is really almost a no-brainer and comes out great every time. One key that I found was to scoop a one-cup measuring cup into the flour and then use a knife to level it off. By scooping the flour into the measuring cup you pack more flour into each cup than when you spoon flour into the measuring cup. More flour results in a more stable dough that will hold its shape a little better than dough that has too little flour.

Once you have the Master Recipe down, it is easy to change things up a little and add some dried fruits, roasted garlic and herbs, or whatever you think would make a great loaf of bread. The recipe should easily make 3 or 4 one-pound loaves and can be kept stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks so you can just take out a little dough at a time to make a fresh loaf each day. The only change I made was to add 2 tablespoons of honey to the recipe because it probably adds a little flavor and gives the yeast something eat so that the dough rises a little more quickly.

For more information, go to the authors’ blog at: http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/ and watch their demonstration video at: http://www.startribune.com/video/11967361.html. The video is really helpful and shows just how simple this recipe is.

There are a few things that you should consider getting to make this recipe work really well, a pizza peel and a baking stone (or at least an unglazed ceramic tile from a home-improvement store). I bought a pizza peel a few years ago for under $10 and I was able to recently find a 13”x15” baking stone at a local baking store (Kitchen Kneads on Redwood around 75th South) for $20, and it’s been awesome for making bread and pizza.


Ingredients:
3 cups warm water
1 ½ Tbsp. coarse Kosher salt
1 ½ Tbsp. active yeast
2 Tbsp. honey
6 ½ - 7 cups white, unbleached flour, additional for dusting
Cornmeal for dusting
1 cup water

Directions:
Step 1: Mix warm water, salt, yeast and honey in a large bowl. Let stand for a few minutes.

Step 2: Add flour and mix with wooden spoon or spatula just until the flour is incorporated, about 1 minute. Cover bowl loosely with lid or plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 2-5 hours. The dough can be used right away or stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Step 3: Dust pizza peel with a thin layer of cornmeal. Take a grapefruit-sized amount of dough out of the bowl and shape into ball. NOTE: At this point you incorporate some dried fruit, herbs or other ingredients as you gently shape the dough into a ball. I’ve found the easiest way is to flatten the dough, sprinkle my ingredients over the top and then fold the dough in half a couple of times as I work the ingredients in.

Step 4: Place dough onto pizza peel, dust top with flour and let rise for 40 minutes (or 90 minutes if refrigerated). You may want to loosely cover dough with a kitchen towel or place a large bowl over the top so the dough doesn’t dry out.

Step 5: Twenty minutes before dough is finished rising, place baking stone on the middle rack of the oven and a metal broiler pan (or something similar) on the bottom rack. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Step 6: Make a few cuts in the top of the dough with a serrated knife (for decoration and to control where the crust will crack as the bread is baking) and gently slide the dough onto the baking stone in the oven.

Step 7: Quickly pour a cup of water into the pan on the bottom rack and close the oven to capture as much steam as possible inside the oven. Bake at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Let bread cool for at least 15-20 minutes before cutting.

May 2008 ROM - Better Refried Beans

Better Refried Beans

This recipe was originally inspired by a tasty bean dip that is served at a couple of mexican restaurants in Las Vegas. We always loved eating the dip at the restaurants so (big surprise) I figured out how to make it at home. This makes a GREAT chip dip or can be used pretty much anywhere in the place of standard refried beans. The recipe is so dead simple to make and so much better than refried beans most people use straight out of a can. All you have to do is take the extra couple of minutes to turn something ordinary into something really great...you won't be sorry.

Ingredients:
Two 14 oz. cans of ranch-style beans
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese
1-2 Tbsp. brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Optional ingredients:
Hot sauce to taste
¼ cup salsa
Substitute one can of black beans in place of one of the cans of ranch-style beans
Canned or bottled jalapenos, finely chopped, to taste

Cooking instructions:
Step 1: Drain off most of the liquid from the beans (if using black beans, drain AND rinse thoroughly before using). Place beans in sauce pan, mash with potato masher until chunky, and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

Step 2: Add sour cream, cheese, brown sugar and cook over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture has reduced and slightly thickened. Add salt and pepper (and hot sauce, salsa or sliced jalapenos) to taste.

Step 3: Remove from heat, transfer to bowl and enjoy.

April 2008 ROM - Eclair Sheet Cake

Éclair Sheet Cake

The Approval Committee was honored to recieve this little gem from a real trouble-maker, the one and only Jul-Bug! If you like Eclairs, you will absolutely love this recipe...plus it's a lot easier to make. There may be several similar recipes for Eclair Cake out there on the world-wide web, but this is the only one that has been tested and approved by the Approval Committee. Need I say more?

Give this recipe a try the next time you are planning on having a few people over for some good times and you'll be the talk of the town...plus it will also help minimize the risk of eating the whole thing by yourself (it is deceptively light and addictive)! Keep those recipes coming!

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 stick butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
3 cups milk
1 large package vanilla instant pudding
1 8 oz. tub Cool Whip
Hershey’s chocolate syrup

Preparation instructions:
Crust:
Step 1: Boil 1 cup water and 1 stick butter, then pour mixture into 1 cup flour and slowly mix in 4 eggs, one at a time.

Step 2: Spread mixture into a large, greased cookie sheet (jelly roll pan). Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Step 3: Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Filling:
Step 1: Add package of cream cheese, 3 cups milk and package of vanilla instant pudding in a blender and blend until smooth.

Step 2: Spread mixture onto cooled crust and allow it to set up a little before spreading 1 thawed package of Cool Whip over the top.

Step 3: Lightly drizzle chocolate syrup over the top of the Cool Whip and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Step 4: Cut into squares and enjoy!

March 2008 ROM - Dead Simple Salsa

Dead Simple Salsa

Okay kiddies, it doesn’t get much easier than this salsa recipe…but don’t let that fool you! This super-tasty salsa was destined to be a recipe of the month as soon as I tasted it at a fabulous Super Bowl party a few months ago. This recipe comes courtesy of the limited-edition Hyland Family Cookbook and I’ve only made one small change to the original recipe by substituting green onions in the place of regular onions.

Do a test run or two to figure out how much heat (i.e. jalapenos) you prefer and everything else is pretty self-explanatory. The salsa is really fresh and tasty and goes great with chips, tacos, fajitas, eggs, etc. You may never buy store-bought salsa again! Thanks Audrey!

NOTE: We make this recipe with canned or bottled jalapenos instead of fresh. If you'd prefer to use fresh jalapenos, I would recommend slicing, seeding and then roasting them so they are not too overpowering.

Ingredients:
3 or 4 raw green onions, cut into 1/4-inch slices
Two 15 oz. cans diced or stewed tomatoes, drained
½ cup fresh copped cilantro
1-2 Tbsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
2-4 jalapenos, seeded and rinsed

Preparation Instructions:
Step 1: Slice onions and place all ingredients into blender and pulse for about 5-10 seconds. Check salsa for desired taste and/or spiciness and adjust if needed.

February 2008 ROM - Sesame Orange Shrimp

Sesame Orange Shrimp

This month's recipe is simple and tasty...which are both good qualities when you are looking for something new to add to your dinner rotation. The recipe comes straight from the "Everyday Food" cooking show on PBS, and it is so easy to make that I didn't even have to make any changes! The shrimp can be cooked using the same method and then coated in any number of sauces (e.g. Kung Pao, Sweet and Sour, etc.), so just try this as a starter recipe and then find other recipes for sauces that suit your taste. I've also substituted chicken in place of the shrimp (cut into 1-inch cubes) and it works just as well (just cook it a few minutes longer to make sure it's done). Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 large egg whites
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ cup sesame seeds
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1-½ pounds uncooked medium or large shrimp, peeled
¼ cup vegetable oil, plus more if needed
1 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
4 green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced

Instructions:
Step 1: In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites, cornstarch, sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper until frothy. Add shrimp, and toss to coat.

Step 2: Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Working in two or three batches, cook shrimp until golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Add more oil to skillet if necessary for remaining batches.

Step 3: Wipe skillet with a paper towel. Add orange juice, soy sauce, and sugar. Boil over high heat until syrupy and reduced to about 1/3 cup, 4 to 5 minutes. Return shrimp to skillet; add green onions, and cook until heated through and coated with sauce, about 1 minute.

Step 4: Serve over plain white rice. Makes approximately 2 servings.

January 2008 ROM - Stove Top Meatloaf

Stove Top Meatloaf

This recipe comes courtesy of one of my sister's good friends (Nalani). It took about two seconds to realize that this recipe had what it takes to be a TKRC recipe, and that was even before I made it for the first time! As soon as I heard that it used Stove Top stuffing instead of the sawdust-like, ground breadcrumbs that a lot of meatloaf recipes use, I knew we had a winner (it should also be noted that I used to eat Stove Top stuffing by the box when I was growing up because I just love the stuff like crazy...so this was pretty much love at first sight). I made a few minor changes to the original recipe, but nothing too major. This recipe is the definition of comfort food. It is as good as, if not better than, any meatloaf that I have ever tasted in all my 30 years (sorry mom)!

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground beef
1 can tomato soup
1 pkg (6 oz) chicken Stove Top Stuffing Mix (including seasoning packet)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 c. chili sauce
1 c. shredded cheese

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Mix meat, 1/2 of the can of soup, Stove Top stuffing, eggs, onion, cheese, & thyme together in a large bowl.

Step 2: Divide mixture in half and shape into two oval-shaped loaves (similar to a football or rugby ball).

Step 3: Place loaves side by side (a couple inches apart) on a rimmed cookie sheet that has been lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and bake @ 350 degrees for approximately 30-45 minutes, or until they are nicely browned and reach an internal temperature of about 160 degrees. Rotate cookie sheet half-way through the cooking time to ensure the loaves brown evenly.

Step 4: Combine the remaining half of can of soup with the chili sauce in a small bowl. Remove loaves from the oven and apply an even coating of the tomato mixture over each loaf.

Step 5: Return loaves to oven and cook for another 10 minutes, or until the tomato sauce is slightly browned.

Step 6: Remove from oven, let stand for 10 minutes, and then enjoy the best meatloaf you’ve ever tasted!