My Fabulous 50

In less than a year I will be turning 50 years old.  Quite a milestone, and I need to think about this seriously.  My blog has been a little stagnant.  When I started blogging, Nic had just left for military prep school, and Christina was entering high school. I had fun with theme parties, care packages, oodles of cookies, team dinners and family favorites.  Now the kids are off at college, and I am teaching a lot of cooking classes, but I really am not as inspired in my kitchen.  But why?  I love to cook and bake.  I need a challenge.  I need a plan.  So here it is.

50 Chefs for 50 Years

I am going to choose 50 chefs (or cooks) and cook or bake a recipe or menu of theirs and blog about it.  There'll be chefs we all know, Julia, James, Ina.  But also chefs that maybe you don't know.  Chefs that have influenced me in some way in my cooking.  Local chefs, new chefs, pastry chefs and more. I wrote my list, leaving a few spaces for chefs I may encounter or learn about this coming year.  But there is something about them that draws me in.   I will not be predictable.  No Boeuf Bourguignon from Julia.  Been there, done that. I want to find a new hidden gem, a new technique, a new challenge.   I am so excited about this, I invited friends for dinner on Sunday to make my first meal.

My first chef, is really a home cook.  Actually, she doesn't cook at all anymore.   My mom.  My first influence in the kitchen.  I have a recipe in her handwriting that I know she made a number of times for company, but I have never made nor eaten this crazy dinner.  I promise you probably haven't either!  I am so excited to make it.  The first step of a 50 chef journey.  Come along with me, won't you?

Greek Turkey Burgers

I know, you immediately think of dry tasteless burgers.  I used to make the one from Mira Lago that Oprah spoke of, but Christina doesn't like any fruit in her food. This recipe from Sara Moulton was published in our paper, and I cut it out.  When I lost it I went to the online archives and couldn't find it.  So thankfully other papers ran the same AP story.  There is nothing earth shattering about this recipe, but I am going to tell you we love these burgers.  We really, really, love the sauce.  Of course, I can never leave well enough alone, so I did make a few changes. 

The first was to double (or more) the recipe.  I have a hamburger press and hamburger papers so I make a dozen or so and freeze them between the squares of wax paper.  Christina and I could chip one off the stack and cook it up at a moment's notice.  I haven't tried them on the grill, turkey generally falls apart there, so I just pan fry in a little coconut oil.

And the sauce.  The delicious sauce.  Skip the ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise.  This sauce is blissful.  Not a tzatziki per se, but similar.  Yet so different.  We sometimes skip the bun (not Mr. Preppy) and the feta on the burger, and  I don't miss either one.  Here is my version, the original can be found here, in the Santa Cruz Paper.

Greek Turkey Burgers
adapted from Sara Moulton

1 pound package white ground turkey
1 pound package regular ground turkey
1 chopped, yellow onion
the largest bag of spinach available (at least 10 ounces) The more greens, the healthier!
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon Cavender's Greek Seasoning
Coconut oil

 

Saute the onion in coconut oil until translucent.  Add garlic and quickly cook without burning.  Add spinach in batches, adding more as it wilts and sprinkling S&P and Cavender's.  Cover with lid to speed up wilting, and stir to mix all ingredients.  I have been known to add kale, arugula or any other green wilting away in my produce drawer.  Red peppers? Mushrooms?  Why not!!  Take off the heat and let it cool.

In a small bowl combine:

2 cartons of Non Fat Plain Greek Yogurt, 6 oz. each
1/4 cup Lemonaise  (from the Ojai Cook...amazing stuff)
1/4 cup diced pepperoncini (it's easy to dice if you buy them sliced)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon dried oregano or 2T fresh
lemon juice or pepperoncini juice to thin
Fresh Ground Pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, and cover and chill.  It gets better in an hour or so.  We love the pepperoncini so we add a lot, it is your preference.  You can certainly up the mayo, or use regular mayo and add more lemon juice.  I've added kalamata olives to it, fresh parsley, pimientos even green onions.  All I can say is make extra.  We dip cucumbers in it, crackers, spread it on a turkey sandwich and eat it off a spoon.  It's that good.

When your veggies are room temp, mix them with the turkey in a bowl so they are all distributed.  The spinach will be stringy and that's ok.  Patty your burgers and either cook immediately or freeze for later.

I saute the burgers in a pan, stovetop, in a little coconut oil. Cook on a medium low so the outsides don't overcook before the insides are done. Serve with the amazing sauce, with or without a bun and Feta.   Open a chilled white and invite me over for dinner!  What are you waiting for?  Get in there and cook!

BLT Salad

Hot summer days make me not want to cook dinner.  I mean nothing.  Thankfully, I found this recipe for a BLT Salad as a part of a cooking class I taught.  The theme was Summer Entertaining, and this salad had us all swooning.   The recipe is adapted from Williams-Sonoma Cooking Together, by Erin & Tatum Quon.  It is fantastic. 

Recently the guys had Poker Night with beer and dips, and I made my BBQ Chicken Dip for Mr. Preppy to take.  The girls had salads and wine and a new game (no Bunco in the summer), Telestrations.  Which is perfect for a group of 8.  It's like Pictionary and telephone.  The best part is you can carry on conversations while playing, an important fact when 8+ women are together.   I made the salad with Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream for the ladies, and they loved it.  It is fantastic as written though.  I love a recipe that allows you to add and subtract based on your tastes and your diners.  I made it for dinner one night and cooked more bacon, as that was all Mr. Preppy was getting for dinner.  He has asked for it again, and again.  You can change out the bread if you like, whole grain, sour dough, whatever. I especially love it with chunks of avocado.  No rules.

BLT Salad

8 bacon slices, cut into bite sized pieces
1 baguette, cut into cubes
2 T olive oil
1/2 cup sour cream
2 T lemon juice
2 T grated Parmesan Reggiano
1 t salt
1 garlic clove, minced
1 head romaine lettuce chopped (lettuce kind of scrawny, so I used a lot more)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

Cook the bacon either stove top or oven, which ever method you prefer. Drain and pat the grease off.  Spread the bread on baking sheet and drizzle with oil.  Toss to coat.  I also toss a little of the bacon grease on there.  It gives bacon essence to the croutons. Bake at 400˚ for about 10 minutes, until browned and crispy.

In a blender, mix the sour cream. lemon juice, Parmesan, salt and garlic.  Puree until smooth.  Adjust the seasoning if desired.  In a large bowl, toss the lettuce, croutons and tomatoes with the bacon and dressing to coat.  Serve immediately.

So, what are you waiting for?  Get in there and cook!