Classic Burgers with Barbecue Spices

When you make sure to buy good quality ground beef, it's true that you can make it into delicious burgers with nothing more than a little bit of salt and pepper, and maybe some Worcestershire sauce. However, if you feel like adding a little kick to your burger meat, do I have the spice blend for you!

This spice blend is adapted from Weber's "Charcoal Grilling" and is our go-to rub for hamburgers. It's the perfect combination of spicy, sweet, salty, and pungent ingredients, and it's the only thing you need to add to your beef before forming patties. Forget the eggs, oatmeal, or bread crumbs; as Iron Chef Bobby Flay would say, these are burgers, not mini meat-loaves! Simplicity is best.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I wanted to try a blend of cream cheese and blue cheese as a burger topping; I've had it since then and it's a new favourite. The creaminess and the strong flavour of the cheese really complements the beef.

I combine roughly equal amounts of the cheeses together, spread the mixture on some pita buns and then place them on the burgers when they're close to being done. Mouth-watering meltiness ensues. Mmmmm mmmm!

With your favourite fixings and condiments (lettuce, tomato, and lots of mustard for me) these classic burgers with barbecue spices make for the perfect summery meal. Simple, cheesy, juicy...what more can you ask for on a nice, grill-friendly day?

Classic Burgers with Barbecue Spices: The Recipe
Adapted from Weber's "Charcoal Grilling: The Art of Cooking with Live Fire" by Jamie Purviance

Ingredients
1.5 lb ground chuck (80% lean)

1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pure chili powder
1/2 tsp light brown sugar
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp ground cumin

Directions
Combine rub ingredients in a small dish. Add to ground chuck and gently incorporate. Form 4 equally-sized patties. Grill or fry as usual to your liking. Enjoy!

Spicy Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

Ah, it’s finally beginning to feel like Spring. Even though it’s fairly likely that we’ll see snow again before (or even after) the season changes, it’s been sunny for the past week or so; therefore, desperate to welcome any shred of nice weather, I’ve found myself craving warm flavours. Enter this spicy sweet potato dish.

When I roast sweet potatoes, I don’t want to sweeten them one bit. No brown sugar or maple syrup (gasp!) here, no sir; I want to balance them with some fiery spice. I usually accomplish this by serving my simple roasted sweet potatoes with some chipotle mayonnaise for dipping, but this week I created a warm salad that went just as well with our first barbecued burgers of the season. (Oh, charcoal! I missed you dearly.)

I coated chunks of sweet potato with my own mixture of spices (chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, chipotle, and a bit of cayenne pepper) then roasted them with some red onion and a few smashed cloves of garlic. Once everything was soft and caramelized, I tossed it with a homemade lemon dressing.

I loved this dish! The end result had a good amount of spice that acted as a perfect contrast to the sweet potatoes and the red onions; meanwhile, the mellow, roasted garlic was a nutty taste in the background, and the acidic lemon dressing really brightened up the flavour of the salad. I couldn’t be happier; along with the warm(ish) weather we’ve been having lately, this new spicy roasted sweet potato salad is leading me, skipping, to Spring.

Spicy Roasted Sweet Potato Salad: The Recipe
Amanda's notes: There's nothing lacking, but if you'd like to add some cheese to this salad, I think feta or goat cheese would be a great match. Also, if I had had a can of corn on hand, I might have tossed it with the roasted veggies before dressing the salad.

Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp spice mixture*


1 red onion, chopped into small wedges
4-6 cloves of garlic, smashed and peeled


olive oil
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste


lemon dressing* at room temperature, to taste
1 green onion, sliced, to garnish


Directions
Preheat oven to 400F.
Toss the sweet potato with the olive oil in a large bowl. Sprinkle with spice mixture, toss to coat. Spread in a roasting pan; add red onion and garlic cloves. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and stir gently to coat. Roast for 40 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender, stirring halfway through.


Once the potatoes are tender, transfer the contents of the pan to a bowl. Drizzle with lemon dressing a few tablespoons at a time, tossing to coat, until the vegetables are coated to your liking. Taste and season if necessary. Garnish with green onion. Serve immediately.


Enjoy!


*Spice mixture
Mix the following together:
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp chipotle chili powder
pinch cayenne


*Lemon Dressing
Ingredients
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (1 lemon)
¾ cup olive oil
1 tsp whole grain dijon mustard
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste


Directions
Whisk first three ingredients together. Season to taste. Store leftovers in an air-tight container, and use as you would any dressing.

Stormy Eats

We've been hit by a storm. A lot of snow has fallen, and we're expecting even more over the next 24 hours. It is extremely messy outside, what with the blowing snow, uncleared sidewalks, and icy conditions. My walk to work this morning wasn't too bad, but as the morning progressed, conditions worsened.

Even though I wouldn't recommend that anyone go walking outside unless absolutely necessary, I still had to make the trek home for lunch. Why not just buy my lunch at work, you ask? Well, there's this furry little guy that depends on me to let him outside in the middle of the day. Oh, the things we do for little creatures.

By the time I made it home and waded through knee-deep snow to get to my front door, I was a wreck. My jeans and boots were soaked, my glasses were fogged up, my hair was a mess, and I was shivering. There was no way that I was going to eat my usual cold salad for lunch; I needed a serious pick-me-up. Omelette time!

So, I sauteed some sliced cremini mushrooms in butter, wilted some fresh spinach into the pan, and poured in a couple of beaten eggs with cream. I then folded the omelette over some grated provolone cheese. For fun, I added a few dashes of Sriracha hot sauce (which I've recently discovered and adore!)

Yum! After a couple of bites, I forgot all about my miserable walk home and how I would have to head right back out into the storm once I was done eating. The omelette was a nice change from my usual lunch, and I found it very comforting. It's amazing how even a quick little dish can really improve your mood!

Suddenly, as I was enjoying my creation, Mortie C called to tell me that our workplace had decided to close for the rest of the day. Yay! So now I'm sitting at home in a warm change of clothes, with a full belly and a snuggly puppy, while a storm rages outside. It's finally the weekend, and I couldn't be happier.

Meatballs, Two Ways

Jeff and I bought the entire box-set of The Sopranos off of e-bay, and we've been drawn into the show in a big way. In addition to making me swear like a sailor and exclaim things such as "Always with the barking, that one!!" to no one in particular when I'm playing with the dog, The Sopranos has given me a huge craving for Italian food. The other night I watched a scene in which Dr. Melfi is eating dinner with her family, and I couldn't take my eyes off a big dish of pasta with giant meatballs sitting on top of it. I just had to make my own.

I very gently mixed lean ground pork and beef with finely grated onion, minced garlic, freshly grated parmesan cheese, panko breadcrumbs (which are Japanese rather than Italian, but they're the best,) marjoram, crushed red pepper flakes, kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, and a couple of beaten eggs, and chilled it for about 15 minutes. I then lightly rolled about 2 tbsp of the meat mixture between my palms to form the balls.

After browning the meatballs on all sides in a little bit of olive oil, I threw them into Jeff's simmering spicy homemade tomato sauce for about 15 minutes to heat them through.

Ladeled generously over some fresh spaghetti, these saucy meatballs were just what I wanted. Moist and flavourful, they held together well without being too compact. Bellissimo!

But that wasn't all, folks; the next day, I had grand plans for the tasty leftovers. While I reheated the meatballs on the stove, I put a loaf of crusty bread in the oven to warm it up, cut it into two pieces, and then sliced it, taking care to leave one edge intact. To make a pocket, I used a spoon to scoop out a lot of the warm bread (which Jeff and I happily snacked on) and spread a bit of garlic butter on the inside of it.

I filled the bread with provolone cheese and the warmed up meatballs and sauce, and put the sandwiches back in the oven for a few minutes. Once the cheese was good and melted, Jeff and I eat the best lunch ever.

I totally recommend going through the trouble of making your own meatballs, just so that you can experience the likes of this sandwich. You will burn the roof of your mouth, but you will not care. Oh, I can still taste it: the crunchy bread, the tender meatballs, the spicy sauce, and the gooey cheese, all melded together into a mouthful of heaven. I am changed.

Aside from stimulating my mind for hours on end, The Sopranos has given me the best sandwich of my entire life. What's not to love? Although I can't say for sure that Carmela Soprano or Dr. Melfi would serve these meatballs to their Italian families, I'm glad to say that I satisfied my craving to the best of my abilities. There really is no limit to where a hobby cook can find inspiration; so tell me, what has inspired some of your best cooking?

Meatballs: The Recipe
Amanda's notes: Be careful not to over-mix! Once the ingredients are just incorporated, and after letting the mixture sit, wet your fingers with water and roll each meatball very gently in the palm of your hand.

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup finely grated onion
2 large eggs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1-2 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil
Tomato Sauce

Directions
Bring tomato sauce to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer. Meanwhile, gently mix all ingredients. Let mixture sit in fridge for 15 minutes. Form balls out of 2-3 tbsp of mixture. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Cook meatballs in batches, turning every few minutes to brown all sides, 8-10 minutes. Transfer the meatballs to the simmering tomato sauce, covering and turning heat to low, to finish the cooking process (10-15 min.) Serve over spaghetti or in a sandwich. Enjoy!

Roasted Apple Sauce

An adorable little girl knocked on my door a couple of weeks ago and offered to sell me some apples for her school's fundraising efforts. Who could resist? I ordered 10 lbs of local McIntosh apples; since they're such a great cooking apple, I've been dreaming of what I want to do with them ever since.
Apple sauce, which I've never made before, was the first thing on my list. While I originally had planned to cook it on the stove, I came across a few recipes that used a roasting method. Since I love what roasting does to food, my interest was certainly piqued!

Now that I've made my own apple sauce, I realize that the hardest part is peeling and coring the apples. Needless to say, apple sauce is now on my list of Things People Should Make Themselves Instead of Buying.

Since I'm much more likely to eat apple sauce on pork or cottage cheese as opposed to on ice cream, I barely sweetened mine. A couple of tablespoons of dark brown sugar were all I added; then, on a whim, I drizzled in about a tablespoon of maple syrup. I mixed the sweetened apples with apple juice and lemon juice, a few generous shakes of nutmeg, and a pinch of salt.

I poured the apple chunks into a roasting pan and nestled a couple of cinnamon sticks and a few shavings of lemon peel among them.

After roasting until the house smelled divine, I removed the cinnamon sticks and lemon peel, and stirred the apples. They just fell apart! I used a potato masher to smooth it out a little bit, but it didn't take very much work.

This apple sauce is delicious! It's spicy, with a deep, concentrated apple flavour, and just a bit of sweetness, and I'm not ashamed to say it's the best I've ever had. I'd love to try making some more with the addition of cranberries or blueberries.

I think I'll leave a little bit of it stored in the fridge for this week, and then freeze the rest in small portions. Besides eating it with pork or cottage cheese, as I mentioned earlier, can anyone suggest other ways to use it? Please let me know!

However, even if you don't, I suspect I'll be just fine eating it on its own.

Roasted Apple Sauce: The Recipe

Ingredients

4 lbs apples (12 large, 16 small) peeled, cored, and chopped

1 cup apple cider or apple juice

juice of 1 lemon

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

1 tbsp pure maple syrup

1/2 tsp nutmeg

pinch salt

2 cinnamon sticks

few shavings lemon peel

Directions

Toss apples with juices, sugar, maple syrup, nutmeg and salt. Pour into a roasting pan and add cinnamon sticks and lemon peel. Roast in a 400F oven for 45 minutes. Remove cinnamon and lemon peel, and mash with a potato masher.

Enjoy!

Spicy Salted Roasted Chickpeas

Chickpeas, also known as Garbanzo beans, are one of my favourite foods. I love them in their pureed form, as hummus, but I also like to throw them whole into salads and pasta. They’re a great way to add texture to just about any dish; although, I enjoy them so much, that I often find myself eating handfuls of them right out of the can (after draining and rinsing them, of course). I just can’t get enough!

Lucky for the chickpea-obsessed, they can be made into an amazing snack. When chickpeas are roasted, they become nice and crunchy, and absolutely addictive. Throw in a ton of salt and some spice, eat them warm out of the oven, and find yourself in Snack Heaven.

I have noticed that this recipe is featured on a lot of diet blogs, which is kind of a shame, because they are delicious enough to be enjoyed in their own right, as opposed to a passable substitution for another craving. My philosophy is: if what you want is chips, just eat some damn chips! Nothing else will satisfy, and you’ll be craving them again the next day, anyway. I don’t think it’s fair to approach these roasted chickpeas as just a healthy substitute for junk food, because you will not appreciate them for what they really are: an awesome snack that can be made at any time out of pantry items. Believe me, you will crave these; they are are that good.

I’ve been perfecting the recipe over the last couple of years, and the trick to getting the best, most crunchy texture is to dry the rinsed chickpeas as much as you can. Although you can roast them straight after rinsing with fine results, a little extra work is worth it. I even go so far as to remove the papery skins off of each chickpea, which I find makes quite a difference in the end result (but may only be advisible to the extremely anal-retentive).

I like my chickpeas to be as salty as fries or popcorn, so I really pile it on. Don’t be shy! Chickpeas are very forgiving, because they require a lot of help in the flavour department; so, you can’t over-salt them. My favourite way to spice them is with cayenne pepper, but I’ve had good results with cumin, and curry powder as well. I’ve never tried it, but I bet a sweet version could also be made, perhaps with cinnamon sugar. Mmmm…I think an experiment is in order!

Amanda’s Spicy Salted Roasted Chickpeas: The Recipe
2 servings

Ingredients
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Extra-virgin olive oil (approx. 2-3 tbsp)
Salt
Cayenne Pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 425C.
Line a cookie sheet with a double layer of paper towels. Spread chickpeas on top of paper towels. Using another double layer of paper towels, roll the chickpeas around on the pan to dry them (this will also remove a lot of the skins).

Remove the rest of the skins, if desired. Repeat drying with paper towels. 

Remove paper towels, leaving chickpeas on cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt, and add a few pinches of cayenne pepper.

Shake the pan until all chickpeas are evenly coated. (At this point, you can taste a raw chickpea to see if the salt and spice is to your liking.)

Roast for 30-40 minutes, shaking the pan every 10 minutes. Chickpeas are ready when they are browned and crunchy (and noisy when rattled).

Add more salt if needed. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Although I have yet to encounter left-overs, you could store them in an air-tight container for several days.