Turkey Burger with Arugala

Adapted from: The Neely's Stuffed Turkey Burger

Summa time!!!! Makes you want to crank up a certain sublime song and pull out the grill.

Because I live in Miami grilling isn't exclusive to summertime, but it is definitely encouraged. There's just a feeling when it's summer, maybe its the old memory of freedom, but it makes you want to do anything and everything cliche.

I dont love the taste of regular ground beef, in fact I strongly disklike it. But that doesn't mean I dont want to feel like a red blooded american, I want me a burger!

I opt for a turkey burger which is coincidentally also a healthier version, 1 point for me.

I paired this turkey burger with arugula tossed in a lemon vinaigrette. Arugula has an enjoyable bitter taste and it really paired great with the burger.  I also added some sautted mushroom and onions. Yummmm

Cooking time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 burgers

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Vidalia onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp soy sauce
Salt and black pepper

Cooking:
1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat
2. Mix garlic, onion, turkey, mustard, soy sauce and salt & pepper together
3. Divide mixture into 4 patties
4. Grill the burgers until cooked through about 5 to 8 minutes


Lemon Vinagrette (adapted: Giada De Laurentiis)
1 package of arugula
1 lemon juiced
2 tbl of olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Mix lemon and olive and oil together
2. Season with salt and pepper
3. Toss with arugula

Coffee Cake Muffins

 I bribe people with food.

Its true, im not proud of it, but I do what has to be done. Whether its people at the bank, doctors office, dentist office, dry cleaners you name it.

Its not that I exchange baked goods for payments. But when you bring someone food they automatically associate you with the feeling of sweet sugar love hitting their stomach, and you quickly become a favorite and memorable customer.

Its genius and it works.  

I'll give you an example:

Me (to mechanic): "how long will it take to check my engine."
Mechanic: "you'll have to come back and check at the end of the day."
Me: "Oh by the way I brought you these coffee cake muffins."
Mechanic: "Thanks!" ( while eating a muffin) "Let me see if I can have someone check it out right now."

Thank you Coffee Cake Muffins. Thank you.

Adapted: Sweet Tooth
Servings: 24 muffins
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

Muffins
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sour cream

Streussel Topping
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled

Milk Glaze
1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tbsp milk

Baking:

Muffins
1. Preheat the oven to 350, line two muffin tins with liners
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together
3. In a separate bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (should be pale yellow)
4. Add in eggs one at a time, mixing after each one
5. Add vanilla
6. Add flour mixture and sour cream into butter mixture
7. Fill lined muffin tins with batter evenly

Streusel
1. In bowl mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt
2. Cut small cubes of butter into mixture
3. With clean hands crumble butter and flour with your hands until it is combined but still crumbled


1. Press half of the stresuel into the top of the muffins
2. Sprinkle the rest of the streusel on top of the muffins
3. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
4. Cool for 10 minutes, remove and let dry until room temperature

Milk Glaze:
1. Whisk powdered sugar and milk
2. Drizzle over muffins ( best to do over parchment or wax paper)

Portobello with Pesto & Prawns

There's 3 parts to this dish, all equally simple, and equally savory.

There are many ways to make a portebello mushroom: roasted, grilled, or sauteed. I prefer roasted, though all 3 methods taste similar. I love the way vegetables taste after roasting, caramelized and  smoky at the same time. Feel free to make the portobello anyway your heart desires.

I am not gonna go into exact amounts of mushrooms or shrimp because you can really tailor this recipe to how many people you're feeding. If it's a dinner for 1 you can roast 1 or 2 mushrooms and 5 or 6 shrimp. If it's 4 you're serving, roast about 6 mushrooms and 1 lb of shrimp.

The pesto recipe is a large amount no matter how many you're serving, so I freeze the leftover for other dishes like pesto pasta or paninis. ( this post is dedicated to the letter p)

Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

Portobello Mushrooms
 Mushrooms
olive oil
Kosher Salt & pepper

Pesto (adapted: Giada De Laurentis)
2 cups of baby spinach
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted
2 tbl lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp of lemon zest
1/3 cup of olive oil
1 clove of garlic, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese

Shrimp
Shrimp
Olive oil 
Garlic
Lemon
Salt & pepper

Cooking:

Mushrooms:
1. Wipe mushroom caps with wet paper towel
2. Brush both sides with olive and sprinkle with salt and pepper

Pesto:
1. Toast walnuts over the stove on a frying pan for about 4 - 5 minutes
2. In a blender combine spinach, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, and walnuts
3. Gradually add in the olive oil
4. Add in the parmesan cheese
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste

Shrimp:
1. Heat olive oil in pan
2. Add garlic and let cook for 2 minutes
3. Add shrimp and season with salt and pepper
4. Squeeze 1 half - 1 whole lemon
5. Cook for about 7 minutes until shrimp are pink

To assemble: Fill the mushroom cap with pesto and top with shrimp

Blueberry Scones

Adapted: Martha Stewart
Mmmmm, scones i love them for so many reasons.

Really just about two.

The first being they make me feel classy. There isn't anything exotic about the ingredients to a scone,  but everytime i say "i'll have a scone please" I muster up an image of big hats and tea.

The second reason is much more practical and that is that I love a baked good where there's a base recipe and an interchangeable star ingredient. Ive made these same scones with fresh cranberries as the star and they were deliciously tart and sweet.

This time I made them with fresh blueberries and they were the perfect mid morning snack.

Servings: 8 scones
Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
2 cups flour, plus extra for surface
8 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup (plus 1 tablespoon) half-and-half
1/2 cup of blueberries
1 tsp cinnamon

Cinnamon Sugar mixture
1. Mix 3 tbl of sugar with 1 tsp of cinnamon

Baking:
1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Whisk together flour, 5 tbl of sugar, baking powder and salt
3. Mix in cold butter and beat until the butter is the size of peas
4. Add 2/3 cup of half and half
5. Fold in blueberries
6. Dump the dough on a floured surface and knead 5-10 times
7. Pat dough into 1 inch
8. To get a triangle shape find a square item in your kitchen to cut the dough, then cut the square in half. If you dont have a square just use a cup or any cookie cutter you have, any shape will be delicious
9. Brush the top of the scones with the remaining half and half and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar
10. Bake 12- 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown

Rose Cake

Perfect Cake for Mother's Day! I have to be honest though, I actually made this cake for a royal wedding party, but my procrastination has made it just in time for Mother's Day.

I became infatuated with the idea of making buttercream roses when I saw one of my favorite food bloggers post it. She even included a tutorial, so how could i not try! (Rose Cake Tutorial From I Am Baker)

As long as you have a pipping bag, these roses are very easy to make and quite the crowd pleaser! I made this cake with my sister and in order to cut down some time we bought our buttercream from our supermarket's bakery, but any buttercream recipe will work. We also added mint leaves from our garden to fill in empty spaces and to add color.


I filled the middle of the cake with raspberry buttercream, which added an extra layer of flavor and color. To make this pink icing i just mixed my regular buttercream with raspberry jam to taste. 

The cake recipe is from my grandmother, my original baking hero, who taught me love through sugar and to only lick the spoon once (that one never really did stick, sorry grams) This post is dedicated to her and my mom. Happy Mother's Day!


Ingredients:
Cake
1 3/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of shortening (Crisco)
2 eggs, room temp
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour
2/12 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups of milk

Baking:
1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. Cream the sugar and shortening
3. Beat eggs in 1 at a time, on low speed
4. Add vanilla and speed up mixer for 1 minute
5. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a seperate bowl
6. Add flour mixture and milk to the batter, alternating starting and ending with flour
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean

Assembly
1. When cakes are cooled flip over and apply a layer of buttercream (or raspberry buttercream)
2. Place 2nd layer on top and gently press down with palms of your hand
3. Apply a light layer of buttercream on the top of cake, so the roses have something to stick to, and a thicker layer around the sides
4. Rose the top of your cake

Fav of the week!

Home grown cucumbers! My vegetable garden has been a mixed bag of passes and fails. My greatest pass thus far has definitely been my cucumber plant! I strated it from seeds and it took off right away. I transfered it to the raised bed, only to have it out grow every other plant and start attaching itself to the lawn. It reminds me of the plant from Little Shop of Horrors (without the cravings for blood.)

If you want to try planting something this summer I highly suggest cucumbers! Just make sure you have plenty of room, preferably a wall or fence for the plant to climb.  I get about 3 to 4 cucumbers a day, I cant give them away fast enough. Interesting cucumber recipes to come!

Pb & J Bars

ROADTRIP! (say in frat bro voice)

Having me on your ROADTRIP means two things: rest stops and snacks. lots of both.

The conversation with my fellow roadtrippers usually goes like this,

me: " Need to stop at the next bathroom!"
roadtrippers: " Again?! We just stopped."
me: "Did I mention I made these homemade peanut butter and jelly bars!"

This bribe usually entertains my friends and family for the first 3 bathroom stops. Luckily these bars were so good, I got away with minimal complements for all my pit stops!

Easy to make and easy to pack up, peanut butter and jelly bars are a great twist on a childhood classic.

Follow this link from Ina Garten
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/peanut-butter-and-jelly-bars-recipe/index.html

Quote of the week

"You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food from fresh ingredients." 

- Julia Child