By now you know I love a good burger, and this is my favorite salmon burger recipe. I tried this recipe from Cooking Light last year and have made a few tweaks. I've stayed surprisingly close to this recipe and highly recommend it!
Chipotle Salmon Burgers
1/4 cup red onion
2 garlic cloves
3 chipotles in adobo sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 pounds salmon
1 lime, zested and juiced
1/3 cup cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste
6 Kaiser rolls
1 large avocado, cut into slices (optional)
Combine onion and garlic in a food processor. Add chipotles and oil and pulse. Add salmon, lime, cilatnro and salt and pepper. Next shape in 6 patties. Cook on a large skillet over medium heat about 6 minutes on each side. Serve on rolls with avocado and Mango Mayonnaise (see below)
Mango Mayonnaise
1/2 cup light mayo
1 mango, peeled, pitted and diced
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Combine all ingredients and serve on salmon burgers.
I served with roasted squash, which consists on 3 summer squash, sliced on the diagonal, roasted with salt and pepper, olive oil, crushed red pepper and garlic. Cook about 15 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Top with chopped cilantro.
I've expressed before that one of my favorite things are burgers, so naturally, I've tried experiments with all sorts of burgers. Different meats, toppings, buns- I love them all! I recently realized that I had never attempted a black bean burger, and after seeing a recipe in this month's Gourmet, I decided to give it a shot. All the carnivores loved them :)
Black Bean Burgers
3 cans black beans, rinsed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Kaiser rolls
Guacamole
Hummus
Mash beans and combine with garlic, onion, bread crumbs, oil, cilantro and spices and form into 6 patties. Cook on a nonstick skillet over medium heat, about 5 minutes on each side. Top with homemade guacamole and hummus and serve with a side of oven roasted potatoes.
I love a good burger, but I hate to make the same one twice. I decided to mix up my proteins this time and try using ground buffalo. This is a healthier alternative to beef and had a lot of flavor. I topped it off with some homemade barbecue sauce, the recipe courtesy of my roommate Luke's dad. Yum!
Barbecue Buffalo Burgers
2 pounds ground buffalo meat
1/4 cup minced red onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
1/2 medium red onion, cut into rings
6 slices sharp cheddar
6 Kaiser rolls
Barbecue Sauce:
3 cups ketchup
3/8 cup brown sugar
3/8 cup vinegar
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
1/2 stick butter
1 teaspoon garlic
1 cup water
Heat grill. Combine first 4 ingredients and form into 6 patties. Cook on grill about 6 minutes on each side. During the last minute of cook time, place a slice of cheese on each patty to let it melt. Place onion rings in foil and cook about 10 minutes on the grill. Place grilled onions and barbecue sauce on burgers and serve with sweet potato fries.
To make the barbecue sauce, just simmer all ingredients on the stove until flavors meld. Enjoy!
There's nothing I love more than cooking out with friends, and what better excuse than Labor Day weekend? Also, we have yet to have a proper housewarming party, so the long weekend seemed like the perfect time to break in the grill and have our friends over for an afternoon of food and fun. The star of the BBQ was my knock-off of Central Market's Cowboy burgers, which I affectionately call Cowgirl Burgers. I love serving these with Chile Ketchup, inspired by a chipotle ketchup recipe I saw in Cooking Light this spring.
Cowgirl Burgers
4 slices bacon
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon creole seasoning
4 hamburger buns
Fire up the grill. Preheat a skillet on medium high heat. Slice bacon into bite-sized pieces. Cook bacon in skillet until almost crisp. Combine in a large mixing bowl with beef, cheese, parsley and seasoning and mix thoroughly. Shape into 4 patties. Cook burgers on grill until cooked through, about 5 minutes on each side. Serve on hamburger buns with chile ketchup (recipe to follow).
Chile Ketchup
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
Juice from 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir. Serve on burgers or with fries.
We also treated our friends to homemade chocolate chip cookies. In high school, I went through a phase where I would bake several times a week, so I had time to search out the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. My favorite is from William's Sonoma.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In an electronic mixer, cream butter on high speed until fluffy and pale yellow. Add the sugars and continue beating until the mixture is no longer gritty. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on low speed until blended, occasionally stopping the mixer and scraping sides.
Add in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed until just blended. Add chocolate chips and walnuts.
Line a baking sheet with foil and drop on 1-inch size balls of dough. Bake until the cookies are golden brown around the edges, about 12 minutes. Cool briefly then put cookies on a wire rack to cool completely.
Some of the BBQ ladies.
