Author: The Blind Guy Cooks

Wake Up That Boring Burger: Jalapeño Burger

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Memorial Day is just around the corner and with it the official start of the grilling season. For some of us, the grilling season is year-round but I digress.

Countless burgers are grilled on this day and most of them will be just that: plain, boring burgers topped with mustard, cheese, a little onion and possibly a tomato.

Ingredients (For one burger)

4-6 ounce hamburger patty
2 Slices Texas toast style bread
1 Slice pepper jack cheese
1 large jalapeño
1 T Chipotle mayonnaise (recipe follows)
2 T Butter

Directions

Heat grill to medium high heat. Meanwhile, form hamburger patties and butter one side of each slice of bread. Grill the burger to your desired preference while roasting the whole jalapeño until charred and blistered. Toast bread buttered side down on coolest part of grill. Flip and slightly toast non-buttered side. Place slice of pepper jack cheese on burger to melt during last few minutes of cooking.

When jalapeño is sufficiently charred and blistered, remove from grill and allow to rest a few minutes. Slice stem from top and then slice in half length-wise.

Assemble as follows: Place burger, cheese side up, on un-buttered side of one slice of Texas toast. Top with chipotle mayonnaise and then jalapeño. Finally, top with remaining slice of Texas toast buttered side up.

Chipotlé Mayonnaise

¾ Cup Hellmann’s Mayonnaise (Not light)
2 Chipotle Peppers in Adobe Sauce (I recommend San Marcos brand)
1 T additional Adobe sauce from peppers

Finely chop chipotle peppers and whisk together with mayonnaise and adobe sauce. Set aside. This will keep for at least two weeks.

A versatile, Italian food friendly chicken: Pollo con pesto

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Here is a lightly breaded chicken breast that seems to go with most any type of Italian food. It tastes just as great with a marinara as it does with an Alfredo, or even a fresh pesto like I served it here.

Lightly Breaded, Italian Seasoned Chicken Breast

Ingredients

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into ½” thick strips
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Italian blend seasoning
buttermilk or whole milk
oil for cooking

Directions

Place chicken strips in glass bowl and cover with just enough buttermilk or whole milk to completely submerge. Let stand for approximately one hour. Meanwhile, mix flour, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning in shallow bowl.

Pour cooking oil in large skillet to cover bottom with approximately ¼ inch of oil and heat over medium high heat until shimmering. Dredge chicken breast in seasoned flour and fry for approximately four minutes and then turn and fry for three to four minutes on the other side. Set aside on paper towel lined plate.

Serve on top of your favorite pasta. Tonight I made fresh pesto. Here’s my pesto recipe.

Pesto

Ingredients

4 cups basil leaves packed fairly tight
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
½ cup grated Parmesan
4 cloves garlic
Kosher salt
Extra virgin olive oil (Start with ¼ cup)

Directions

First, toast your pine nuts by placing them in a skillet on the stove top and heating them on medium heat. Shake the pan often to prevent them from burning. It should take approximately 5 to 7 minutes to toast the pine nuts.

Place all ingredients except olive oil in food processor. Pulse several times to begin blending ingredients. Then constantly blend ingredients while drizzling olive oil into food processor. Use only enough oil to turn ingredients into smooth, thick sauce. The pesto should be able to hold a slight form. Add the pesto to your favorite pasta and blend well and serve immediately.

Use ham to make a great alternative to meatloaf: Ham Loaf

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Ham loaf with brown sugar glaze makes a great alternative to hamburger meatloaf.

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I’ve never been a big fan of meatloaf made with hamburger. It has always been somewhat bland. The great thing is, meatloaf doesn’t have to always be hamburger. Here is my recipe for a ham loaf. It calls for one pound of ground ham and one pound of ground pork. Check with your local butcher. The local Fareway here sells a ham loaf mixture that is a fifty-fifty blend of ham and pork. It saves a tremendous amount of time. The brown sugar glaze is a bonus.

Ingredients

2 Eggs beaten
½ C Milk
½ C (14 Crushed Saltine Crackers)
½ C Finely chopped onion
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
½ t dry mustard
1/8 t Black Pepper
1 lb Ground fully cooked Ham
1 lb Ground Pork

Glaze
½ C Packed Brown Sugar
2 T Apple cider vinegar
½ t Dry Mustard

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine eggs, milk, crushed crackers, onion, parsley, dry mustard, and pepper. Add ground ham and pork and mix well. Shape into loaf approximately 8″x4″ and place in a 8″x12″ glass baking pan. Make several scores on top of loaf to help catch glaze. Bake in 350° oven for 1 hour. For glaze; combine brown sugar, dry mustard and vinegar mixing well. Spoon glaze over loaf after initial hour of baking and then bake 20 minutes more basting with sauce occasionally.

That day is approaching: Irish Lamb Stew

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Okay, so it’s the week of Saint Patrick’s Day and there are all these recipes for foods to make on that day. Here is a delicious stew that is so good it is a shame not to make it anytime. Yes, it contains the obligatory Guinness.

Ingredients

½ cup all-purpose flour
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 – 3 pounds boneless lamb stew meat (preferably shoulder), cut into cubes
3 tablespoons canola oil or whatever you prefer to cook with
1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
12 ounces Guinness Extra Stout or similar beer
1 ½ pounds medium new potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut ½ inch thick diagonally
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Season flour with salt and pepper in a large bowl. You may find it easier to mix in a gallon size storage bag and simply add the lamb to the bag and shake. Either way, dredge lamb in flour mixture, shaking off excess. In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Working in batches, brown lamb on all sides, about five minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Pour ¼ to ½ cup water into pot, scraping up browned bits from bottom with a wooden spoon. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until water has evaporated and onion is beginning to soften. This will take about about 5 minutes. Return lamb to pot and stir in thyme, beer, and 1 ½ cups water. Cover and simmer until lamb is tender, approximately 1 hour.

Add potatoes, carrots, and an additional ½ cup water if needed. Cook, covered, until vegetables are tender and stew has thickened, about 1 additional hour. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in parsley just before serving.

Lamb is very wine friendly. Almost any good red wine will pair well with this dish.

Comfort Foods: Creamed Eggs on Toast

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I don’t know what it is, but I love Lent if not for any other reason but for the food. I have very fond memories of my Catholic upbringing when it comes to the foods we ate: tuna and noodles, fish fries at the Knights of Columbus, tomato soup and grilled cheese, and even a few odd ones my mother made like “rice and eggs.”

That last one sounds very weird but was always quite tasty. It was white rice cooked in whole milk that was topped with sugar and cinnamon and served with hard boiled eggs. My brother and sisters and I just ate it up. I think it was our second favorite Lenten meal following very close behind tonight’s meal; creamed eggs on toast.

There is story about me and creamed eggs on toast that my brother and sisters still bring up whenever this meal is mentioned.

As I mentioned, we loved this meal. One evening when I was no more than seven or so, I took a tremendously large helping of creamed eggs on toast. My siblings were not happy with me as it left very little for them. They demanded that I put some back but I swore that I would eat every last bite. I believe it was my brother who said, “If you don’t eat every bite, we are going to tie your hands behind your back and force you to eat it.”

Now, creamed eggs on toasts is a very filling meal and about halfway through, you guessed it, my little stomach got very full. My brother and sisters were mad. Yes, they lived up to the threat. One sister held my hands behind my table chair, the other plugged my nose so I would have to open my mouth to breath, and my brother shoveled fork full after fork full of creamed eggs on toast into my mouth.

Anyway, I still like creamed eggs on toast. I just go a little easy on the portion. In case you were wondering, I still like my brother and sisters too. Here’s the recipe. The following recipe will serve four normal people.

Ingredients

6 Hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
¼ Cup unsalted butter
¼ Cup all purpose flour
2 Cups whole milk
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
8 to 10 slices of toast

Directions

Melt the butter in a sauce pan and then add flour to make a roux. When the roux starts giving you a nutty aroma, add the milk and cook over medium high heat until the sauce thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then stir in chopped eggs, cover and keep warm.

Meanwhile, cut toast into roughly 1″ square pieces. Place toast squares on serving platter and pour creamed eggs over toast. Serve immediately.

Louisiana Oysters on the Half-Shell

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I picked up some Louisiana Oysters today. I made a very quick and simple migonette sauce for them and Susan and I were in heaven. I wanted us to have at least three a piece so I picked up eight oysters just in case there was a bad one. We got lucky and all eight looked bright and smelled like the briny sea so we each got four.

Here’s the simple migonette sauce:

Ingredients

1 small shallot finely minced
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons dry, acid white wine
1 Tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley
Grind or two of fresh ground black pepper

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate an hour or two to allow the flavors to meld. Spoon over oysters and serve.

Forget the Clown: Nutty Chicken Fingers

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Here’s a great recipe for a crispy alternative to fast food chicken nuggets that kids will love. The best part is you can make these in less time than it takes to get in the car and drive across town to McDonald’s and you won’t need to worry about what your kids are eating.

Ingredients

1 cup finely chopped pecans
2/3 cup crushed corn flakes
2 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

Directions

Preheat oven to 400° F and line 11×17 inch jelly roll pan with aluminum foil.

Combine the pecans, corn flake crumbs, dried parsley, garlic powder, and salt in a shallow bowl. Place chicken in another shallow bowl and pour buttermilk over chicken. Then roll chicken pieces in pecan mixture while pressing down on chicken to help adhere the mixture to the chicken.

Place in a single layer on the aluminum foil lined baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 12-15 minutes or until juices run clear.

Herbed Baked Salmon: A quick, easy way to prepare this delicious fish

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I really like salmon. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite fish. This recipe is very tasty and is an excellent way to prepare a quick evening meal after a hectic day. This is also one of my favorite ways of preparing salmon.

Ingredients

1 salmon fillet (1 to 1 ½ pound) bones removed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup good olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
5 scallions, white and green parts, minced
¼ cup minced fresh dill
¼ cup minced fresh parsley
¼ cup dry white wine
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425° F.

Place the salmon fillet in a glass or ceramic roasting dish. Season it with salt and pepper. Whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice and drizzle the mixture evenly over the salmon. Let it stand at room temperature 15 to 20 minutes.

Blend together the scallions, dill, and parsley. Cover the salmon fillet with the herb mixture over the salmon fillet. Slowly pour the wine over and around the fish fillet.

Roast the salmon for 10 to 12 minutes, until almost cooked in the center at the thickest part. Remove from the oven and cover tightly with aluminum foil.

Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Cut the salmon across into serving pieces and serve hot with lemon wedges.