burgers for book club

obviously this isn't my photo - the pictures i took didn't turn out as i had hoped.

(photo credit - womansday.com)

last night, megg and i hosted book club at our house to celebrate finishing the third book in the millennium trilogy - the girl who kicked the hornets nest.  (if you haven't read these books yet, go do it now.) the books are set in sweden and talk a lot about coffee, pickled herring, and frozen pizzas. in the past, when we met to discuss the first and second books, we tried to make food that went along with the theme of the book. this time we opted for a different scenario - summer sliders. i made three different kinds of mini burgers to suit everyone's tastes:

1. greek style burgers with feta aioli
2. turkey burgers with bacon and cheddar
3. bbq chicken burgers with coleslaw

the recipes for each of these was pretty simple. you can click on the link above for the greek burger recipe from cooking light. i followed the recipe exactly except i didn't add the roasted red peppers.  here's what to do for the other two:

turkey burgers with bacon and cheddar:
in a small skillet, brown about 6 slices of turkey bacon with evoo (or else it will stick) until it's really crispy. combine cooked bacon with 1 pound of ground turkey, 3-4 tablespoons worcestershire sauce, a dash of garlic and onion powder and s&p. form into mini burgers (should get between 8 and 10) and grill for about 2-3 minutes per side. top with slice of cheddar cheese and serve on mini bun with light mayo.

bbq chicken burgers with coleslaw:
season 3 chicken breasts with s&p and spread your favorite bbq sauce all over it. grill for about 5-7 minutes per side. before taking off the grill, top chicken with monterrey jack cheese and let it melt. cut each chicken breast into thirds, top with prepared coleslaw and serve on a mini bun. if you want - you can add more bbq sauce to the chicken once it's done cooking, but i slathered it enough before i cooked it.

everyone had their own personal favorites, but i really enjoyed the greek sliders.

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scalloped tomato casserole with cape cod chopped salad

when i first mentioned to the girls that i would be making a tomato casserole for dinner, i received 3 stink faces staring back at me. no one seemed to thrilled at the idea, but i told them to just trust me and go with it. the recipe is from ina garten and i knew she wouldn't let me down (she is the barefoot contessa after all). by the end of dinner, the girls were proclaiming that this meal was one of the best things i've ever made. i know i say that everything is good (because it is) but this was seriously good. it was the perfect summer dish to highlight the seasonality of fresh tomatoes. i served it with a simple cape cod chopped salad - also from ina. the only changes i made were to swap turkey bacon for regular bacon, swap blue cheese for crumbled goat cheese, swap toasted walnuts for candied pecans and add diced avocado.

my picture didn't turn out as well as i would have hoped, but one of my favorite bloggers, smitten kitchen, also made this dish. check out her masterpiece.

ingredients:
evoo
3 cups (1/2-inch diced) bread from a french boule (we found an asiago cheese boule)
16 plum tomatoes, cut 1/2-inch dice (about 2 1/2 pounds)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup julienned basil leaves
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

directions:
preheat the oven to 350 degrees. heat 3 tablespoons of evoo in a large saute pan over medium heat. add the bread cubes and stir to coat with the evoo. cook over medium to medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring often, until the cubes are evenly browned.

meanwhile, combine the tomatoes, garlic, sugar and s&p in a large bowl. when the bread cubes are done, add the tomato mixture and continue to cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. off the heat, stir in the basil.

pour the tomato mixture into a shallow (6 to 8 cup) baking dish. sprinkle evenly with the parmesan cheese and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of evoo. bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the top is browned and the tomatoes are bubbly.

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this week in the kitchen

i've got a lot of things going on this week and unfortunately will only have time to cook twice. sad, i know. the good news is that we bought a gas grill for our 4th of july cookout and it will be making an appearance for both meals this week. in fact, you can expect a lot of this summer's recipes to include our new steel dragon. here's what we got:

• grilled eggplant paninis with roasted red peppers and fresh mozzarella
• blackened salmon with mini artichoke-stuffed mushrooms

(photo credit - www.womenshealthmag.com)

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grilled chicken and peach salad

this is one of those go-to summer salads when you're craving something light for dinner. there is no real recipe for this - i just used ingredients i thought would go well together. you can substitute any kind of fruit you like for the peaches - apricots, plums, nectarines, or tangerines. i personally loved the warm grilled peaches because they paired perfectly with the cool tangy goat cheese crumbles.

ingredients:
chicken breast, sliced into strips
2 peaches
goat cheese crumbles
dried cranberries
candied almonds
spinach
balsamic vinaigrette

directions:
preheat grill pan over medium high heat with evoo. season chicken strips with garlic powder and s&p. cook for about 3-4 minutes per side. remove chicken from pan and let rest. coat pan with pam and grill peaches about 4 minutes per side until they have nice grill marks. to make salad, start with a layer of spinach leaves on a plate.  top with chicken, peaches, goat cheese crumbles, dried cranberries and candied almonds. drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette to finish.

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fried pickles for charity.

awhile back, one of my nearest and dearest asked me to help cook for a charity bbq she was putting together to raise money for the vcu massey cancer center. she called it cookout for a cause. the event was last weekend and was a huge success. we raised tons of money, drank lots of natty light (hey - it was for charity and it's cheap) and ate so many goodies. the buffet included oreo truffles, hamburgers, two types of pasta salad, deviled eggs, hot dogs, wings, pizza, fries and onion rings - this was not your typical bbq.  i brought sausage and pepper skewers, roasted vegetable quesadillas with a tomatillo avocado salsa (recipe to come), and beer-battered fried pickles - the main attraction. if you have never had a fried pickle, please get yourself to a restaurant that serves them, stat. or just let me know and i'll come make them for you - they are that good. these babies went like hot cakes. i probably made around 150 and they were gone within 30 minutes. i had people asking for more, some even begging me to get back in the kitchen. i felt like i was on top chef. 

definitely thinking fried pickles will be my staple anytime i'm invited to a bbq this summer. i'll be waiting for my invitations.

ingredients:
2  (16-oz.) jars dill pickles, drained and sliced into circles
1  large egg
12-oz. beer
1 tablespoon baking powder
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup corn starch
s&p

directions:
pat pickles dry with paper towels. whisk together egg, beer, baking powder and s&p in a large bowl. add flour and cornstarch, whisking until smooth. pour oil to a depth of 1 1/2 inches into a large heavy skillet or dutch oven. heat over medium-high heat to 375 degrees.  dip pickle slices into batter, allowing excess batter to drip off. fry pickles, in batches, 3 to 4 minutes or until golden. drain and pat dry on paper towels and sprinkle with salt right away. serve immediately for best results.

if you're in the giving mood, they are still accepting donations online. 

also wanted to give a shout out to my self-proclaimed biggest fan: erin. we love ya girl, but why haven't you become a follower on because sis said so? also, please tell your husband that carol says hello.

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