Juicy Lucies (cheese-stuffed burgers) with Texas Tapenade

Have you ever had a Juicy Lucy? I hadn't even heard of them until I moved to Minneapolis several years ago. I have to say, they may be the sole reason worth suffering through a midwest winter. A Juicy Lucy is just a burger with a pocket of gooey molten cheese hidden inside. Our favorites were the lucies at Adrian's Bar and Grill - a wonderful old dive bar in south Minneapolis. Dang they were GOOOOD...

Adrian's I believe were made with cheddar but cheddar didn't seem quite right with turkey burgers for some reason so I decided to try a trio of white cheeses here and wasn't disappointed. The accompaniment - Texas Tapenade - is more a sun dried tomato pesto than a true tapenade, the Texan element being jalapeno stuffed olives. If you don't have those on hand, feel free to substitute regular jumbo green olives or even kalamata or black olives along with a good pinch of red pepper flakes for that southern heat wave element. Yeee haw!

PS - don't be upset if your burgers separate into two patties by the end of cooking exposing the cheesy goodness inside. That's just Lucy flirting with you....

Juicy Lucies with Texas Tapenade
Serves 4.
* The tapenade is great on crostini or with crackers as an appetizer or snack or on any number of sandwiches.

Burgers:
1 package (1.3 pounds) ground lean turkey
1/4 cup minced shallots (2 regular)
1 garlic clove, minced
zest of 1 large lemon
2 tablespoons shredded parmesan
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
fresh cracked pepper
4 English muffins, toasted or griddled

In a large bowl, combine the minced shallots, garlic, lemon zest, parmesan, salt, and pepper with a fork until evenly mixed. Add the turkey meat and gently combine with your hands trying to incorporate everything evenly but not overwork the meat. Set aside while you make the juicy filling.

Juicy Filling:
3 oz goat cheese
2 tablespoons parmesan
2 tablespoons shredded mozzarella
good grating fresh nutmeg
fresh cracked pepper
dash salt
splash half and half or heavy cream, just enough to bind all the cheeses together without making it too wet/mushy

Mix the cheese, nutmeg pepper and salt together with fork. Add JUST enough half and half or heavy cream to help them make friends and bind being careful not to make it to 'wet' as you'll need to form the mixture into little patties. Once combined, use your hands to make little flattened discs. I confess to getting 5 out of them and only 4 burgers of the meat mixture, so you might want to reserve the 5th patty for another use (cracker spread/etc.)

To form the juicy lucies, gather enough ground meat in your palm (about the amount it would take to make a jumbo sized meatball or a thin hamburger patty.) Gently press and turn with your hands to make a patty, ensuring you'll have enough of an 'edge' around your cheese disc so that you can seal it. Set the patty on a greased surface then set the cheese disc in the center. Create another thin patty out of the meat mixture and place it over the cheese disc. You'll need to carefully pick it up and turn the juicy lucy in your hands as you gently press and crimp the edges together, ensuring you've got a good seal. Set aside and complete the rest of the patties. (After forming, you can either refrigerate for up to 8 hours, covered, or cook right away.)

To cook, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Season the burgers on the top sides with salt and pepper. Grill or pan fry until golden on both sides - about 4 minutes per side, ensuring you don't have too high a flame so that the cheese melts through but doesn't liquify too early in the cooking process and leak out (also be careful when flipping - remembering your delicate little package inside.) Transfer to the 400 degree oven for 5 minutes to cook all the way through. Remove and let 'rest' for five minutes, lightly tented with foil, before serving.

Serve with Texas Tapenade (below) on toasted English muffins.

Texas Tapenade Ingredients:
3/4 cup sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained (reserve oil)
1 clove garlic
2 jumbo jalapeno-stuffed green olives (or regular jumbo olives plus a pinch of red pepper flakes)
zest of a small lemon (or half a large one)
2 tablespoons pine nuts (toasted)
2-3 sprigs boxwood (pistou) basil or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
1-2 teaspoons oil from the sun dried tomatoes
fresh cracked black pepper

Texas Tapenade Directions:
If you have the time or energy, give the sun dried tomatoes and garlic clove a rough chop. If not, just chuck them all into the blender and pulse a few times. Add the green olives and pulse again until there are no large chunks of olive left (unless you like your tapenade on the chunky side.) Add the lemon zest, pine nuts, basil, oil from the sun dried tomatoes and some fresh cracked pepper and pulse again until well blended. Decide wether you want to add more oil or not (there is a never ending battle at our house between my husband and me - I like my pesto on the drier side - he the liquidy side...) make any adjustments necessary and either refrigerate for up to 3 days before using or serve right away.

Beef and Portabello Double Cheeseburgers with Grilled Green Onions, Sharp Cheddar and Espresso BBQ Sauce

I don't know how many times I've gone out to eat somewhere fancy, perused the menu full of foodie fantasies, and wound up ordering the burger. If I'm being honest, a good burger is probably my favorite thing to eat on earth. Not lady like. But true.

I can't help it - I get it from both parents. While my husband inherited a double dose of sweet teeth (I'm convinced his blood is 90% sugar at this point) I might as well be part vampire. In fact, one of my fondest childhood memories with my now long-divorced parents is hunting down and enjoying a good burger at some little Texas hole in the wall. Be it country diners or truck stops or even a Whataburger when that's all that was available.

But that's not the real reason. I mean what other food is as satisfying, versatile, and fun? I'll admit that sometimes I get so carried away with all the possibilities (bacon, grilled onions, pimiento cheese, lamb burgers, pork burgers, pesto burgers - someone stop me...) that I forget the sheer nirvana that is the unadorned, simple-as-Simon burger. American Cheese. Meat. Bun. Heaven. But as fantastic as the plain ones are, they're not really worth a blog post are they?

This burger, however, is worth sharing. It requires a roll of paper towels and a pint of beer to get it down. The first patty is beef, liberally seasoned on the outside with salt, pepper, and onion powder while the second is a meaty roasted portabello. Sharp cheddar is melted over the beef and the whole thing is topped with grilled green onions. But the party doesn't start until it's all been doused in a sweet yet smokey espresso BBQ sauce (I'm lying - it's equally good without it or even with a more savory style BBQ sauce.) But as much as I love this particular combo, I'd be hard pressed to call it my absolute favorite burger. I mean how does a mother choose a favorite when she has several dozen children? She doesn't, that's how.

So instead why don't you tell me - what's your favorite burger - homemade or otherwise?

Beef and Portabello Double Cheeseburgers with Grilled Green Onions, Sharp Cheddar and Espresso BBQ Sauce
* Makes 3 burgers.
* Make the BBQ Sauce ahead of time and keep in the fridge, heating up over the stove just before serving the burgers.

Ingredients/Instructions:
* 1 lb grass fed ground sirloin, preferably 80-85% lean but not leaner than 90%
* Liberal amounts of kosher salt and pepper and onion powder, for seasoning
* Whole Wheat or Soft White Hamburger Buns
Form the meat into 3 patties, trying not to overwork the meat. Season both sides liberally with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Heat a grill or grill pan over medium/high heat and cook the burgers about 4 minutes then flip over. Let cook another 2 minutes then top with the desire amount of cheese and cook another 3-4 minutes until cooked to your liking and the cheese has melted. Remove from the heat, put on a bun and top with each with a roasted portabello, green onions, and bbq sauce if desired - recipes follow.

* 3 portabello mushrooms, stems removed and 6 stalks of green onions, white ends trimmed off, rinsed and dried
Add the above veggies to a greased, rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper and roast at 375 for 18 minutes, until the mushrooms have sunken and the onions have begun to wilt and caramelize a little (alternatively you can grill them until they've begun to brown and caramelize - about 3 minutes per side.)

* Plenty of Cheddar Cheese Slices
* BBQ Sauce (recipe follows) or your favorite homemade or store bought

Espresso Barbecue Sauce:
* From Michael Chiarello
* I like to let the sauce cool, then blend it in the blender for a smoother consistency (and to hide the garlic from my husband;) but you don't need to do this
* Recipe can be halved - it makes tons!

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons mashed and minced garlic
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 cups ketchup
2 cups honey
Grey salt
2 demitasse cups espresso (or about 1/2 cup of strong coffee or instant espresso)
Fresh ground black pepper

Instructions:
Mash garlic with the side of a knife and then mince finely to release oils.

Add olive oil to a preheated saute pan. Add the garlic and saute until it gets light brown, about 1 minute. Add cider vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, and honey and stir well. Add a pinch of grey salt, then whisk in the coffee. Add freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes.

Let cool and store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Yield: about 5 to 6 cups

Cilantro Mayo...

Sometimes the easiest way to spice up something old and familiar (i.e. the everyday burger) is to change its clothing. Cilantro mayo gives burgers a Southwestern spin along with a healthy dose of attitude. Of course you could also slather it over grilled corn with some crumbled cotija cheese for a great-off-the-grill side dish. Oh the fun of accessorizing!

Cilantro Mayo

1/2 cup light or regular mayo
large handful of cilantro, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha, or more if you like more heat
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Combine all ingredients and keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Will keep for up to two days well covered in the fridge.

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

The beauty of cooking is that you can put all of your own neuroses - all of your bizarre little notions of what's right and wrong with the world into your food. You are the king or queen of your domain, if only for the short time you spend in the kitchen. Of course, one can take this power too far - i.e. Sandra Lee's Corn Nut Kwaanza cake or Giada's infamous basil, brie, and chocolate panini...

This week, I applied my neuroses to meatloaf. For example, I don't understand putting bacon inside of it. It actually upsets me. The idea of a loaf of meat is mysterious enough without adding bacon to the equation. That said (drum roll for crazy), bacon on top of meatloaf is just dandy by me. You get all that bacon flavor infusing the meat as it bakes while the bacon itself becomes crispy and golden. Flavor + texture. Hooray for being a meat eater.

Another one of my beliefs is that ground turkey works as well (or better) than beef for this recipe. It's lighter, and not just in the calorie sense of the word, but in texture and weight, allowing the mustard and bacon and cheese to cut through. And while I've seen a lot of recipes that use mayonnaise, I can't even comment on that one. You already have an egg as a binder - would you like a side of heart attack with that?

A final note from me behind my podium... Always, always mix all of your non meat ingredients together for your meatloaf before adding them to the meat. And once you add the meat, use your hands. It's the only way to not overwork it, and even then, don't mush and mix until it's one solid, perfectly blended concoction or it will be tougher than a witches' heel. Particularly with this recipe - it's actually nice to bite into a little chunk of cheese or a ribbon of mustard here and there - just like eating a bacon cheeseburger.

What are some of your meatloaf hot buttons?

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf
Serves 5-6.

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground turkey
3/4 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar (such as Cracker Barrel)
1/4 cup seasoned Italian breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup minced shallots
good grating black pepper
2 tablespoons yellow (American) mustard
2 tablespoons ketchup
pinch kosher or sea salt
1 egg, whisked
4 slices bacon (preferably Applegate Farms 'Sunday' bacon)

Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 375 (350 if your oven runs hot.) Grease a medium rimmed baking sheet and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the cheddar, breadcrumbs, Worcestershire sauce, shallots, pepper, mustard, ketchup, salt, and egg thoroughly. Add the ground turkey, using your hands to blend it in until combined but not necessarily homogenized as one. Using your hands, sculpt the meat into a round shape, then sculpt until it's a rectangular lobe. Perfect shape isn't super import but uniformity does matter so that it bakes evenly so try and get it as uniform as possible. (If your mixture is too slippery you can either refrigerate it for 10 minutes so that it loses some of its mushiness or sprinkle in a pinch more of the breadcrumbs.)

Place on the prepared baking sheet, then place the strips of bacon over the top, long ways, patting them gently so that they 'stick' onto the meat.

Place in the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes. When it's done, the pooled grease around the edges will have blackened (don't worry - your meatloaf is not burnt - actually slightly burnt cheesy edges are DELICIOUS.) The bacon should also looked crisped and golden, and slightly curled as if you'd fried it in a pan.

Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Halloween Recipe Pairing - Spicy Adobo Turkey Burgers with The Curse of the Crying Woman

Curse of the Crying Woman, or La Llorona, is a classic Mexican horror film from 1963. If you like your horror with a bit of camp and oodles of atmosphere - you can't do much better than this. Not that I'm knocking it - believe me. For the genre many consider this film right up there with the likes of Bava. But for non film geeks - all you need to know is that the plot involves witchcraft, an old decaying mansion, and a beautiful heroine whose aunt wants to kill her. In short - all the ingredients of a great Gothic horror film!

These burgers are actually served in tortillas, and can be made even spicier if you like. Just add a little more minced chipotle in adobo, But remember - I warned you...

Spicy Adobo Turkey Burgers
Serves 5.

Ingredients:
1 (1.3 lb) package ground turkey, preferably 93% lean versus 97% or 99%
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons minced chipotle chilis, from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce
4 tablespoons minced cilantro plus extra for topping
3 tablespoons minced green onions or chives

5 flour tortillas, wrapped in foil and warmed in a low oven
Shredded cheddar cheese for topping
2 ripe avocados, skin removed and cut into slivers for topping

Instructions:
Place the ground meat in a large bowl, breaking it up a little with your fingers so you can season it more evenly. Sprinkle over the salt and cumin then give a quick mix with your fingers to incorporate (don't go overboard - you don't want to overwork the meat.) Sprinkle over the minced chipotle, cilantro and green onions distributing evenly over the meat, then fold the ingredients in with your fingers just until evenly distributed.

Form into 5 patties and set aside.

Heat a large nonstick pan over medium heat and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Add the burgers, distributing evenly in the pan and cook for about 5 minutes before flipping. Cook another 4-5 minutes, then lower the heat to low to let cook all the way through for about another 3 minutes.

Serve the burgers in the warm tortillas, sprinkling with cheese and topping with the cool avocado slices and fresh cilantro, if desired.

Spicy Pork Burgers with White Cheddar, Avocado and Green Onions

Bon Appetit featured a recipe for pork burgers this month. I was intrigued - I have made turkey burgers and chicken burgers, but never pork. My enthusiasm quickly waned however, when I realized the additional ingredients were simply garlic and chipotle chilies in adobo - basically only a quarter of the ingredients I use in my turkey burgers, which I will post this summer.

I knew I would have to fiddle...

This is what came out. If you can get yourself a hold of freshly ground pork, do so. It is LOVELY. And if not, no matter, all these spices will perk up the even the most ordinary, cellophane wrapped pack of ground pork plucked off the grocery fridge shelf.

Spicy Pork Burgers with White Cheddar, Avocado and Green Onions

Ingredients:

1 pound ground pork (not lean, preferably fresh ground from the butcher)
2 teaspoons minced chipotle in adobo plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
pinch fresh cracked pepper
1/2 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1 teaspoon half and half
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup panko

1 tablespoon plain flavored oil such as canola or vegetable

4-5 thick slices white cheddar
1 avocado, sliced
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup minced cilantro
4-5 English muffins, halved and toasted

Instructions:

Mix all of the dry burger ingredients together first in a large bowl - the dry spices, the sugar, salt, pepper, and panko. Add the half and half and green onions, chipotle and adobo sauce, minced garlic, and mix until well incorporated. Finally, add the pork and mix JUST until all the various ingredients have melded into the pork. DO NOT over work or you'll have tough burgers. Form into 4 large patties, or 5 smaller ones, depending on what size you like.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick pan over medium high heat. Add the burgers to the pan, getting a nice sear - spacing them apart to cook evenly. Do not move them once they hit the pan or you won't get a nice crust. Cook for 4-5 minutes (little longer if doing really big burgers), then flip once and cook another 5 minutes, until cooked through. Add the slices of cheese over during the last few minutes of cook time so that they can meld and melt into the patty.

Serve on toasted English muffins with the avocado slices, cilantro and additional green onions, if desired.

Herbed Turkey Burgers with Swiss on Toasted English Muffins

Superbowl Sunday was really weird this year. I didn't have a single cocktail, didn't make or eat any party food, and spent most of it sitting in front of my computer working, wistfully glancing over at the TV now and then. It was like I'd switched lives with someone boring and responsible. I didn't like that person.

The only good thing that came of it was these turkey burgers. I've had to resort to making my own since my favorite neighborhood take out place (yes WESTVILLE, you) started putting entire garlic cloves in their patties. It doesn't make for a sexy night of couch surfing, I'll tell you. In fact the last time I ate theirs I wished I could have had my tongue surgically removed.

But I did add a little Superbowl touch to mine, as I'd bought some French Onion dip for the boyfriend, and added a little to the patty mixture. You could easily substitute sour cream or even Greek yogurt if your fridge doesn't usually house such college student/bachelor pad ingredients...

Herbed Turkey Burgers with Swiss on Toasted English Muffins
Makes 5 small to medium patties.

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground turkey
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon french onion dip or sour cream
2 tablespoons panko or other breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon finely minced chives
1 teaspoon finely minced flat leaf parsley
1 clove of garlic, finely minced (if you really want to taste the garlic - use 2)
zest of 1 small lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt

fresh cracked pepper and salt, for seasoning outside of patties
1 teaspoon olive oil, for frying burgers

5 Swiss cheese slices (or 10 if you're like my husband)
5 halved, toasted English muffins

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Take the turkey meat out of the fridge and let sit out for 30 minutes (to allow for easier combining.) Add the meat to a large bowl and sprinkle over the rest of the ingredients - the coriander to the 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix (I prefer to use my hands - but feel free to use a large spoon) until well combined, but be careful not to over work - otherwise you'll fry up some darling little slabs of concrete:) Form into five (or four large) turkey patties, season with salt and pepper, and set aside. Heat a large, nonstick pan over medium/high heat, adding the olive oil and allowing to heat for 1 minute. Add burgers, cooking 4-5 minutes per side. Transfer to a greased, rimmed baking sheet and top with the Swiss slices. Put in the oven for 10 minutes, to finish cooking and allow the cheese to melt. Place on toasted English muffins, and top with herbed mayo, if desired.

Herbed Mayo (optional - for spreading on burgers:)
1/4 cup light mayo
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
zest of 1 lemon