My burger went to Hawaii, and all I got was this T-shirt...

Racheal of Coconut Lime had a darn good idea with the Hawaiian Burger idea. Even still, I couldn't help but think of what I'd do differently. And all that thinking led to my mouth watering, my grill getting all fired up and a dinner devoured at dusk... (The only bad thing about that is the light isn't great at dusk, but the food is good!)

Hawaiian Turkey Burgers



1 lb. ground turkey breast
4 oz. canned water chestnuts, drained and chopped fine
2 Tbsp minced fresh pineapple
1 tsp pineapple juice
2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tsp barbeque sauce
1 tsp ham soup base (I like Better then Bouillon brand)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp hickory smoked salt
3/4 cup panko

4 slices fresh cored pineapple
4 slices Maui Sweets (similar to Vidalia onions)
Teriyaki sauce for basting - Soy Vay's Island Teriyaki is recommended - it's made with pineapple juice
Hoisin sauce for condiment

4 hawaiian sweet rolls, recipe follows

Combine turkey, water chestnuts, minced pineapple, juice, sauces, seasonings and panko. Use your fingers (yes...it's squishy and eww and all that....get over it!) to thoroughly mix them together. You may have to use slightly more or less panko to absorb the amount of moisture in your burgers. Form into 4 patties, fairly flat and wide so that the insides will cook completely. Brush with vegetable oil before grilling.

Grill burgers over direct heat. Use a grilling wok for pineapple and onions, since they have a tendency to soften and fall apart as they cook. Baste everything several times with teriyaki as it cooks, letting it get dark and caramelized. Serve burgers on sliced, grilled buns with onions and pineapple, and hoisin sauce if desired. We had baked beans and steamed carrots tossed in teriyaki and orange blossom honey as sides.



Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
Adapted from a recipe in the Bread Baker's Apprentice



These are beautifully light and fluffy, rich and just sweet enough. They're the closest I've been able to come to the Portuguese sweet rolls I loved so much living near New Bedford. Unfortunately, even though they taste the same, they just don't have that croissant-like texture. It must be a laminated dough. I'll have to try this same dough, but rolling a butter block into it like the danish braid.

Sponge
1/2 cup orange pineapple juice, warmed for 30 seconds in the microwave
1 Tbsp sugar
1 packet active dry yeast
1/2 cup unbleached bread flour

Whisk ingredients together and let ferment at room temp at least one hour, up to three hours.

Dough
6 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
4 Tbsp butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 tsp dark rum
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups bread flour
water (or pineapple orange juice)

1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water for egg wash

In a stand mixer, cream the butter with the sugar, salt and dry milk. Add eggs, rum and extract, mix well, then add sponge and mix. Working with a dough hook, add all of the flour. Add water, 1 tsp at a time, until the dough is soft and supple, not sticky or wet. Knead for 8-10 minutes on medium low speed. Transfer to an oiled bowl and roll dough to coat it. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 2 hours.



Divide the dough into 6-8 balls, depending on what size you like your hamburgers. Arrange them in a greased 9" x 13" pyrex baking dish, coat with nonstick spray and loosely plastic wrap the dish. If desired, cut X's in the top with kitchen shears. Let rise another 2 hours (they will touch each other and should double in size.

With 30 minutes left on the rise, preheat the oven to 350.

Brush the rolls gently with egg wash. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until tops are golden and interior reads 190 degrees on an instant read thermometer (this will insure they are still soft and fluffy inside).

East Meets West

Yes, so maybe I've been on a pulled pork kick. But can you blame me? It's inexpensive. It's tender. It's moist. It lends itself too so many international flavors. And best of all, I can prep it the night before and it cooks while I'm at work. I got a gorgeous All-Clad deluxe slow cooker as a Christmas gift. It is especially neat because of it's nonstick cast iron insert, which can be used on the stovetop for searing and then put in the dishwasher for easy cleanup. Another favorite feature is its programmable settings, so I can ask it to cook on high for one hour, low for 8 hours, then it automatically keeps my food warm until I'm ready. It makes weeknights so much easier.



I've been playing with different pulled pork flavors. Of course, traditional smoky Carolina BBQ is satisfying and Latin flavors dance on the tongue. But this may be my favorite. The asian flavors mingle with the pork's buttery undertones.

Now, I know I already paid tribute to Coconut & Lime with an original recipe. I did not intend to also make one of Rachel's recipes, but I was curious to compare her hamburger buns to mine. They're also so good that the verdict's still out. I have no idea which one I prefer. Hers are slightly softer, which I love for pulled pork, but isn't as important to me for burgers. In any case, I never want to buy buns again.

Asian BBQ Pulled Pork



5- 6 pounds boneless pork shoulder (2 smaller pieces work best)
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup Chinese black vinegar
2/3 cup kansas city style BBQ sauce
2/3 cup hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp oyster sauce
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbsp mirin
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 cups water

Grill pork over high heat, searing each side until golden. Pork should not be cooked on the inside. Put aside to rest. (You can also sear this in a cast iron pan on the stovetop if needed.)

Combine all other ingredients in the insert of a slow cooker. Add pork. Liquid should come at least halfway up sides of pork pieces. Refrigerate overnight.



Bring to room temperature. Cook in the slow cooker on low for 8 hours. Remove pork and shred (You can shred it with a spoon if you like - it's that tender). Reduce sauce until syrupy. Toss pork in sauce. Serve on whole wheat hamburger buns with crisp steamed green beans in garlic sauce.




Whole Wheat Soft Hamburger Buns



For the buns, follow Rachel's recipe, but substitute whole wheat pastry flour for 1 3/4 cups of the all purpose flour. This gives them a nutty flavor and makes them more nutritious too.

Ultimate Burgers

Burgers are so quick and easy on the grill that we make them at least once a week lately. Some of my favorites are made with ground lamb or buffalo. This is a simple but delicious burger, but what makes it is the homemade bun. We were out of hamburger buns and I wondered how long it would take to whip some up. It turns out, not too long, and they're so much better than store-bought.



Homemade Hamburger Buns - makes 4

3/4 cup warm milk
1 packet active dry yeast
1/6 cup white truffle oil (you could use veg oil, but it's not as much fun)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp brown sugar
3 cups bread flour
2 Tbsp. italian seasoning
1 tsp. garlic powder

Whisk milk and yeast together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let stand for 3 minutes. Add all other ingredients, reserving 1/2 cup flour. Mix to form a soft mass. If dough is sticky, add remainder of flour. Knead on lowest speed of mixer for 8 minutes. It should form a soft bouncy dough. Form dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl, covered with plastic wrap. Let rise for one hour, until doubled.

Divide into 4 portions, and form 4 balls of dough. Place on an oiled baking sheet and press to flatten to size. Let rise for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375F. Before baking, brush with milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake for 18-20 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes before slicing and sandwiching.



Blue Cheese Burgers - makes 2 monster burgers

1 lb. ground chuck
2 Tbsp. good blue cheese crumbles, I like gorgonzola
Worcestershire sauce for basting
4 slices cooked bacon (optional)
carmelized onions (optional)
lettuce (optional)
barbecue sauce - kansas city style

Mix blue cheese crumbles into ground chuck and form 2 huge, thick patties. Grill over highest heat, basting with Worcestershire sauce twice on each side, until a nice crust develops and burger is cooked to medium rare. Spread roll with barbecue sauce and top as desired.

Serve with a simple cucumber or caprese salad.

Slow Food to a Latin Beat

I've come across pulled pork countless times this month. First it called to me from grocery store demos, then the pages of two different magazines and right after I bought the pork shoulder to make it, one of my favorite local bloggers, Rachel of Coconut & Lime posted a Smoky Mango Pulled Pork that sounds delicious. I wanted to try one of Latin versions found in my magazine, but I couldn't find annatto seed anywhere. Then I found a recipe for korean steamed buns filled with shredded pork, and my obsession for dim sum was refueled. So I made a Latin / Asian fusion version that made a delicious pulled pork sandwich dinner and hopefully will create beautiful dim sum this weekend. That is, if it makes it that far (I may or may not have been sneaking bites out of the fridge several times a day).

Latin Inspired Pulled Pork

one 5 lb. pork shoulder
1 Tbsp chinese five spice powder

1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup cream sherry
1/4 cup Chinese black vinegar (Oh - do try - SO good!)
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. liquid smoke
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. hot chile powder
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 additional Tbsp. chinese five spice

Start the night before by searing the pork in a nonstick pan (or if you're as lucky as I am to have an All-Clad slow cooker with a cast iron insert you can sear right in the insert on the stovetop).

When the pork is browned on all sides, sprinkle it with the first Tbsp. of five spice powder and let the spices toast. Add all of the sauce ingredients and let them come to a simmer until everything has dissolved. Remove from heat and cool. Refrigerate overnight.

in the morning, set the slow cooker on low (8 hours on the timer if it has one - mine will cook for 8 hours than turn to a warm setting).

When you get home at night, remove the pork and shred it. Meanwhile, bring the liquid to a boil and reduce until it coats a spoon. Toss pork with sauce and serve on rolls.

I like to serve this with roasted potatoes and my favorite carrots:

Roasted Carrots with a Maple Chile Glaze

Toss carrots in olive oil and roast on a sheet pan for 25 minutes, until they've lost a bit of moisture, stirring occasionally (this concentrates their sweetness). Toss with 2 Tbsp. maple syrup and 1 Tbsp. good smoky chile powder.

Enjoy with a mango margarita:



1 cup frozen diced mango
1/2 cup Jose Cuervo margarita mix
2 Tbsp. Sauza Gold tequila
1 tbsp. pineapple schnapps
coarse salt
sliced lime

Blend together mango, margarita mix, tequila and schnapps until smooth. Use a slice of lime to wet the rim of glass, then dip in coarse salt. Pour in margarita and sip happily.

March Madness

Wow - has it really been almost a month? March is always one of the worst months of the year for me, since everything always seems to happen at once. This month was no exception. We had major contracting business pitfalls that started the month off with lots of arguments and tight budgets, a house guest for a week, I had one god awful observation, several late nights of long work and my students were worse than usual. On top of it all, I started my masters degree on March 3rd. It's been a lot harder than I really expected it to be, and extremely time consuming.

Throughout it all, I have in fact found time to cook. Unfortunately, I haven't been smart enough to take pictures of many of those meals, and even if I did, I'm now struggling to remember the recipes I used.

But here's a sprinkling of my March, in view of my food...

Brown Butter Sage & Roasted Cauliflower Pasta Bake


One of my favorite veggie dishes, though admittedly not extremely healthful, is my Roasted Brown Butter Sage Cauliflower, which you can find here. I wanted some baked pasta one night and thought of it. This was the tasty result -as I remember it anyway!


4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/4 medium onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped sage leaves
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped garlic
4 Tbsp. all purpose flour
4 cups 1% milk
1 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 cups shredded Italian cheeses - I used a mix of asiago, provolone, fontina, mozzarella and parmesan
1 pound rigatoni - cooked 1-2 minutes short of al dente
roasted cauliflower - follow directions on above link but do not toss with brown butter and sage
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
2/3 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup parmaggiano reggiano

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium high heat until it starts to brown. Do not let it burn. Add onions, sage and garlic and stir until garlic begins to turn golden. Add flour and mix into a paste. Let the roux cook for 1-2 minutes, than add milk and seasonings and whisk until combined. Whisk in 1/2 cheese at a time, let it melt before adding the next 1/2 cup. Continue until all cheese is incorporated. Toss with pasta, cauliflower and tomatoes and turn out into a greased 9 x 13 pyrex baking dish. Top with breadcrumbs and parmesan. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake until pasta is tender, top is brown and crispy, and sauce is bubbling, about 25-30 minutes.



I also enjoyed my favorite homemade spaghetti and meatballs, which are incredibly easy to have on hand to feed guests. The recipe makes double what we'd ever eat and they freeze so well!

Also for my future sister-in-law, we made a batch of her mom's great waffles. OK - so I may have made a triple batch and frozen lots for weekday breakfasts! But they're SO good! Here's the single batch recipe.

Everyday Waffles



2 eggs
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract

Whisk all ingredients to combine. Try not to overmix. Let batter sit while waffle iron heats up. Follow manufacture's directions to make waffles.


Since it was her birthday, and my boyfriend was nursing a chocolate cake craving, I made her a decadent cake. I based this one on Epicurious.com's most talked about recipe. The cake was wonderfully moist and tender and packed a huge punch of raspberry flavor.

Double Chocolate Raspberryliscious Cake with Chocolate Frosting



Cake
3 oz. semisweet chocolate- I used Baker's semi-sweet chocolate chunks
1 1/2 cups chocolate raspberry flavored coffee
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups Scharffen Berger cocoa powder <-- the best I've found outside of Italy
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup toasted hazelnut oil
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp double-strength vanilla extract
1 tsp raspberry extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease at least three 9 inch cake pans. - For four layers use 4 pans. Melt chocolate into coffee in a double boiler until mixture is smooth. Sift sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt together into a large mixing bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat eggs for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add oil, milk, lemon juice and extracts until well combined. Add dry ingredients slowly until just moistened. Divide between pans and bake for about an hour. Let cool on baking racks until completely room temperature.

Frosting
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/4 cup chocolate raspberry flavored coffee
1/2 tsp double-strength vanilla extract
1 tsp raspberry extract
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Melt chocolate and butter together in a double boiler. Add coffee and extracts and whisk until smooth. Mix in powdered sugar to make a frosting. Use immediately, as it will start to harden.

Assembly



3-4 cake layers
3/4 cup seedless red raspberry jam, I like Smuckers
frosting
1 cup fresh raspberries
powdered sugar

In between each cake layer spread at least 1/8 cup raspberry jam. If you will finish this cake within 24 hours, add a layer of fresh raspberries in the middle. Frost only the top of the cake, not the sides. Top with fresh raspberries and dust with powdered sugar right before serving.



In the most recent issue of fine-cooking, they had some yummy looking baklava recipes. I can't wait to try the chocolate hazelnut one, but I didn't have any hazelnuts in the house. Here's the one I made instead. I will never buy store bought baklava again. It was pretty easy and SO good!

Baklava




1 lb. unsalted pistachios, roasted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp freshly ground green cardamom

1 lb. phyllo dough, thawed in the refrigerator overnight if frozen
10 oz. melted unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup frangelico or amaretto liquor
pinch freshly ground green cardamom

After roasting and cooling the pistachios, combine them in a food processor and add sugar and spices. Use short pulses to chop nuts and combine ingredients.

Unfold phyllo dough and stack layers flat on plastic wrap on the countertop. Cover with plastic wrap and a damp paper towel. When you must uncover, do it quickly and do not let the phyllo dry out. Brush a 9 x 13 pyrex baking dish with butter, add a sheet of phylo and brush lightly with butter. Continue layering sheets and brushing with butter until 1/3 of package has been used. Trim excess as you go. Sprinkle about half the filling lightly over the phyllo. Do not press it down. Repeat phyllo layering. Sprinkle other half of filling, repeat phyllo layering until the entire package is used. Brush the top of the pastry with butter and sprinkle with coarse turbinado sugar. Plastic wrap pastry and put in freezer for 1/2 an hour.



Preheat oven to 350. Cut chilled phyllo on the diagonal in both directions to create a diamond pattern. Let the pan come to room temperature before baking or the glass might shatter. Bake 40 minutes or until golden. Cool completely on a rack.

Combine sugar, orange juice, liquor and cardamom in a small saucepan and stir until all sugar has dissolved into a syrup. Retrace knife marks in pastry to make sure the pieces are still separated. Pour the hot syrup slowly and evenly over cool pastry. Allow it to sit for at least an hour before digging in.




Also from that issue of fine cooking, I was inspired by the pizza dough recipe with stromboli ideas. I had promised my boyfriend I'd make him pepperoni rolls that he loves, but with 3 separate rises, they're just too time consuming. I made a double batch of pizza dough instead and and used the same fillings. It came out even better. I also made a couple ham and cheese stromboli with leftover Easter ham, that I couldn't even take a picture of because they disappeared so fast.

Since the fine cooking recipe is copyrighted and I did not change it at all, I am not posting it here. However, any good pizza dough will work. The key is to make it the day before and let it sit overnight in the fridge. The fermentation allowed by this really develops the flavor. Make enough dough for four 10 inch pizzas.

Pepperoni Stromboli



pizza dough recipe, divided in half
2 cups jarred four cheese tomato sauce
1 1/2 cup sliced, then finely chopped pepperoni
2 cups Italian shredded cheeses - a mix of provolone, fontina, asiago, mozzarella, and parmesan
italian seasoning
olive oil
garlic powder
parmesan cheese

Roll out half of pizza dough into a long rectangle. Spread on half of tomato sauce, leaving one long edge dry for an inch along the end, top with half of pepperoni, cheese and italian seasoning. Fold over dough at the ends, then roll up like a jelly roll and seal by pinching dough together. Repeat to make 2nd stromboli. Let rise slightly for 30 minutes on a baking sheet lined with parchment. In the meantime, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Before baking, cut 4 slits through all layers to prevent stromboli from bursting, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder and cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating the pan after 10 minutes. Slice and enjoy.

For Ham and Cheese Stromboli, use a mixture of whole grain Dijon mustard and maple syrup in place of the sauce, a mixture of chopped ham, carmalized onions and mushrooms deglazed with a little sherry for the filling, and shredded jarlesburg cheese. Prepare the same way.


Phew - this has been one long post. Bear with me for last night's meal. I've been seeing a lot of recipes lately for fried catfish sandwiches. Unfortunately I had no sandwich rolls in the house and no desire to get them. But they did inspire this meal:

Oven Fried Tilapia with Braised Radishes and Garlic Parmesan Roasted Pee Wee Potatoes



I know what you're thinking - radishes? Cooked? But these beauties are no longer sharp, just delicate sweet sour jewels. The pee wee potatoes were Oh so cute and I couldn't resist them at the store.

Garlic Parmesan Roasted Pee Wee Potatoes

1 lb. golden pee wee potatoes
6 large peeled garlic cloves
olive oil
coarse kosher salt

1/2 cup parmesan
1 Tbsp. garlic powder

Preheat oven to 400. Toss potatoes and garlic with olive oil and salt in a 8 inch square baking dish. Bake until soft. Toss with parmesan and garlic powder while still screaming hot.

Braised Radishes
3 small bunches of radishes, trimmed of greens and roots and rinsed
1/4 medium red onion, diced
1 1/4 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar - preferably chianti or cabernet vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt

Combine all in a saucepan over medium high heat. Bring liquid to a boil and let it reduce down as it cooks the radishes until it is syrupy and there is very little liquid remaining. Radishes should be tender at this point. It will take about 20 minutes.


Oven Fried Tilapia
2/3 cup cornmeal
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chile powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
4 3-4 oz filets of tilapia
nonstick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 450. Mix cornmeal together with seasonings. Set up a dredging station. Coat tilapia in egg, then in cornmeal mixture. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place tilapia on sheet and spray lightly. Bake for 6 minutes, turn over and spray lightly again, then bake for anther minutes or until just done.

Smoked Cheddar Italian Grilled Cheese

Ingredients:
2 pieces multigrain bread
2 oz. hickory smoked cheddar
1 oz. thinly sliced small hard sopressata salami
2 basil leaves
white truffle infused olive oil (I like Trader Joe's brand)


Directions:

Divide the cheddar into 4 slices. Lay two on one piece of bread. Top with salami, basil, the remaining cheese, and the other slice of bread. Brush both sides of the sandwhich with truffle oil. Cook in a nonstick pan over medium heat until bread is crisp and cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

My two cents:
I had a craving for grilled cheese, and this was one of the best I ever made. Fragrent and flavorful, it was a great lunch.