Straight Up Ballin'...

I have an embarrassing confession to make: back in the early days of my cooking career, when I was teaching myself how to cook, a significant portion of my burgeoning recipe portfolio came from Rachel Ray. Yes, I know, she's incredibly annoying and foodies love to pick on her, but before she had her own talk show and dog food line, and she was known predominately for her show "30 Minute Meals" and not for her myriad catchphrases, she wasn't so bad.

I would watch her every day when I got home from class and was just starting on my homework. If whatever she was making caught my eye and didn't feature too many ingredients I didn't care for, I would try to give them my best shot. If you think about it, the "30-Minute Meals" concept is really perfect for someone who is learning to cook: the recipes can't be too complicated or demanding, and if you totally screw everything up, the relatively small investment of time creates an atmosphere in which it is okay to fail.

One of my favorite early Rachel Ray recipes was actually not one that I saw on her show, but rather, one that I accidentally stumbled across while surfing the Food Network website. I had been feeling ambitious that day, and performed a search for dumpling recipes with the thought that I might as well learn how to make one of my favorite foods.

One of the top hits, was for a Hungarian-inspired Rachel Ray soup that that actually didn't have dumplings at all, but rather turkey meatballs. I wasn't really sure where she got off calling them dumplings, but the recipe called to mind Italian wedding soup due to the mini-meatballs, and since I harbor a soft spot in my heart for Italian wedding soup, I decided to give it a try anyway.

I made a few modifications to her recipe, eliminating peppers and substituting regular paprika for the smoked paprika she called for since the smoked variety could not be located in the St. Louis grocery store I frequented in college. Nonetheless, I was ultimately quite satisfied with my results, and I ended up making the resulting soup over and over for my friends and non-red meat eating roommate while I was in school.

I kept making the soup with relative frequency until I met Justin, who deemed the dish bland. Because he wasn't a fan, I would occasionally trot it out whenever he was feeling sick, but other than that, it fell out of regular rotation, and all my ground turkey purchases found their way into turkey burgers, which are one of Justin's favorite dishes. Since I didn't do much savory food blogging until after we met, the recipe never made it to my blog either.

Without a picture of it, however, Justin couldn't cross this recipe off his Tastebook to-do list, so he had to suck it up and eat it for dinner tonight. Having finally located smoked paprika for the Spanish lentil soup we made last month and listening to Justin proclaim it his new favorite spice, I decided to swap it back into the recipe in an effort to earn his favor, and surprisingly, my gambit paid off. He proclaimed the soup to be much less bland and much tastier, though the difference was barely noticeable in my opinion.

I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, however. If this simple change will allow me to enjoy this soup more often, I am more than willing to make it. If you choose to give this soup a try (and I think you should), feel free to use whatever kind of paprika suits your fancy.

 

Hungarian-ish Mini-Dumpling and Egg Noodle Soup

adapted from Rachel Ray

8 cups (2 1-quart boxes) chicken stock
1 pound ground turkey breast (NOT lean)
1 egg
3/4 - 1 cup plain bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated (or not) nutmeg
1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
dried parsley (eyeball it)
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 1/2 cups egg noodles
6 scallions, chopped

1. Heat stock to a boil in a large pot; reduce to a simmer.
2. Mix the turkey with the egg, bread crumbs, nutmeg, paprika, parsley, salt and pepper. Roll the meat mixture into 3/4 inch balls and add to the simmering stock. Allow the meatballs to cook for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the egg noodles and scallions, then season again with salt and pepper. Cook for another 4-5 minutes or until the noodles are tender. Serve immediately.

Getting Sloppy...

As I have gotten older, I find that I have become less and less pessimistic. I realize that most people tend to become more cynical with age, but where, as my mantra once was, "I try not to expect too much so I won't end up disappointed," nowadays I am more inclined to say, "Everything will work out just fine." I'm not sure how this happened, other than an overall improvement in mood that has come with the end of puberty and the balancing out of my hormones that came with it, but the change has made me a happier person in general.

This sense of hope that I have developed, however, does occasionally get me in trouble. For example, I recently purged my magazine rack of nearly a year's worth of Bon Appétits and Food and Wines by going through all of them and pinning the interesting recipes to my savory and sweet recipe boards on Pinterest. While I was filing all my inspiration recipes for later, I came across one from chef Ming Tsai, for Asian Sloppy Joe Sliders. I have been watching Ming on television since he was on the Food Network with East Meets West back in the 1990s, and I continue to watch him on Simply Ming on PBS, and yet I couldn't remember ever trying one of his recipes. It seemed like the right thing to do.

Nevermind the fact that I hate sloppy joes. As the name suggests, they are messy and hard to eat, which has always bugged me, but I've always attributed my disdain to the fact that sloppy joe sauce reminds me of barbeque sauce, and I can't stand that either. However, as an adult, my palate has expanded since childhood, and I hoped that this Asian-inspired sauce would be the thing to change my mind about sloppy joes and open my eyes to a new genre of sandwiches.

The ingredients seemed promising: garlic, ginger, sriracha, hoisin sauce, ground pork and ground turkey -- all things that I enjoy in other recipes. Except that as I was cooking it, and smelling it, all I could think about was, "I wish I were making those bahn mi burgers with this ground pork instead, because this looks gross." I'm not even sure what my hang-up is, because I am fine with ground meat in other scenarios, such as in spaghetti sauce, or tacos. As I spooned the filling onto my sandwich, my stomach turned. 

All things considered, the sandwiches weren't terrible; in fact, Justin liked them. The meat tasted good, but as the bun disintegrated and the meat started falling all over my plate, I thought back to all those sloppy joes I've eaten in my life, and I just could get past my disdain. Though I'd had high hopes that I could bring myself to enjoy sloppy joes by changing the flavor profile, it just wasn't going to happen for me. 

If sloppy joes are your thing, then by all means, go for it with this recipe. As long as you enjoy Asian flavors, you'll probably enjoy this unique twist. As for us, it's a good thing Justin liked these sandwiches, because he'll be polishing off the leftovers all on his own.

Asian Sloppy Joes

adapted from Ming Tsai

2 tablespoons canola oil
2 medium red onions, finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped celery
3 tablespoons sriracha
2 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 pound ground turkey
1 pound ground pork
1 cup hoisin sauce
1 cup drained canned diced tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
hamburger buns
Shredded iceberg lettuce and spicy pickles (optional), for serving

1. In a large, deep skillet, heat the canola oil until shimmering. Add the onions, celery, sriracha, garlic, ginger and a generous pinch each of salt and pepper and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes. Add the ground chicken and pork and cook, stirring occasionally to break up the meat, until no pink remains, about 5 minutes. Stir in the hoisin, tomatoes and lime juice and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Spoon the sloppy joe filling onto the bottom half of each bun. Top with shredded lettuce and pickles and serve.

Burger Bash - Day Three

Sadly, my week of burgers ended not with a roar, but with a whimper. Clearly, I used up all my new recipe luck for this endeavor with the Asian pork burgers, because today's attempt at turkey burgers was almost the most disappointing of the bunch, even if they were technically tastier than the lamb burgers. As it turns out, I am the kind of person that can't resist messing with a good thing when it comes to the kitchen. I already have a turkey burger recipe that I've been making for years that I absolutely love to pieces (and Justin does too; it is one of his favorite meals now.)  It combines many of the classic flavors (cranberry, apple, celery, onion) that one associates with turkey during Thanksgiving, and it never fails to please. 

Nonetheless, when I spotted a different turkey burger recipe on a blog a few weeks ago, I was intrigued. It had a Martha Stewart pedigree, and it combined a lot of flavors that I love: green onion, mustard, and Gruyere cheese. Maybe I would be able to add a second turkey burger recipe to my repertoire for a little variety, I thought. After all, isn't variety the spice of life?

Wrong. This recipe proved to me that occasionally, it is better to stick to what you know. The addition of Gruyere to the patty imparted an odd, and to me, unnecessary additional savory element that also bordered on the over-salted. The mustard and onions were nice, but with the cheese, and my two favorite burger toppings already folded into the burger, I was at a loss for what to put on my burger, since it was crying out for a little extra moisture and textural interest. I ended up with cranberry mustard, my go-to sauce for turkey burgers, but it was a bit of mustard overkill.

Mostly my biggest problem with these burgers was the addition of breadcrumbs to the meat mixture. I know some people add breadcrumbs as a binder for homemade burgers, but to me, they always impart an unpleasantly smooth texture, like meatloaf or meatballs. I don't mind that homogeneous texture in those dishes, but to me, a burger should have a coarse toothsomeness that reminds you that you are eating meat. I should have just left them out when I saw them on the ingredient list, but I wanted to heed Martha's wisdom and follow the recipe as written. Predictably, I ended up with burger patties that had an unnatural texture, unbecoming of a burger, in my opinion.

Next time I'm craving a turkey burger, I'll return to my tried-and-true recipe. Not that that will be any time soon -- now that we've worked our way through the pile of hamburger buns on our kitchen counter, I think I've had more than enough grilled meat patties for a while...

Let's Talk Turkey...

It feels like a huge amount of my time is taken up with meal-planning now that I'm making a conscientious effort to prepare dishes that both utilize cost-effective ingredients and the items I already have on hand. So far, I'm enjoying it, but it's definitely an adjustment compared to the more spontaneous attitude I used to take. This week, for example, I actually drew up a table of ingredients in the fridge that need to be used before we leave this weekend for five days, and came up with a strategy for how everything would get used. The leftover chipotle chilies from last week's chicken tacos? They'd go into mashed sweet potatoes that I had originally purchased to try out as an unconventional pizza topping, but wouldn't have time to get around to before we leave.

Ground turkey was on sale this week, so I decided to dust off my much beloved, albeit underutilized turkey burger recipe in order to use up some celery that was starting to wilt. The leftover buns from the turkey burgers will get turned into garlic bread later this week, to accompany some refrigerated ravioli that I was able to find a deal on. Very little goes into my refrigerator these days without a plan.

The meal we ended up with was a delicious, quick mid-week dinner. Usually, I'm drawn to elaborate, complicated recipes that don't translate well to workday dining, but with Justin's help and a recipe from (I'm embarrassed to admit this, but she does have some good ideas on occasion) Rachel Ray, we had dinner on the table in under an hour.

I particularly liked the technique for making the mashed sweet potatoes, which came from Alton Brown. Instead of boiling, Alton recommends steaming root vegetables (and that goes for potatoes too) before mashing them, because they cook faster and absorb less excess water. The chipotle added a smoky, spicy note that Justin really enjoyed, so I think this side dish will definitely be entering regular rotation around here, especially in light of my recently discovered fondness for sweet potatoes. I kind of want to eat them all the time now...

Cranberry Bog Turkey Burgers

adapted from Rachel Ray

1 1/4 lb ground turkey

1 small red apple, finely chopped

1/2 white onion, finely chopped

1 rib celery, finely chopped

seasoned salt, to taste

dash of Worcheshire sauce

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix by hand until homogenous. Shape into four equal-size patties. Spray a grill pan or large skillet with Pam and place over medium-high heat. Cook the patties 5-6 minutes per side until completely cooked through. Serve on toasted hamburger buns with cranberry mustard and provolone cheese. 

Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes

adapted from Alton Brown

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 chipotle chili, finely chopped

1 teaspoon adobo sauce from canned chipotles

1/2 teaspoon salt

Put cubed sweet potatoes in a steamer basket and place over a pot of simmering water that is no closer than two inches from the bottom of the basket. Allow to steam for approximately 20 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are fork tender. Add butter to sweet potatoes and mash with a potato masher. Add chili, sauce, and salt, and continue mashing to combine. Serve immediately.