Summer grilling -- chicken burgers!

(sorry for the terrible lighting. i need help with my photography.)

It's 90-plus degrees here in Boston, very rare for April! This weather makes me want to spark up the grill and throw some burgers on. Okay, so in my case, it's heating up the grill pan, because we don't have an outdoor patio to store an actual grill. But nonetheless, summer here we come!

I decided on some ground chicken breast (1.5 lbs total), to keep it somewhat healthy.


We all know how dry chicken breast can be, so I had to think of ways to keep the meat moist. I grated up about 1/4 of a large sweet onion, then added some cumin and worcestershire sauce for nice smoky rich flavor. Of course, salt and pepper as well.


As I incorporated the ingredients into the ground chicken breast, I realized how wet it was, and how difficult it was to form the meat into patties. So, I decided to add some whole wheat bread crumbs to make the meat less wet.


This made the chicken much easier to form into patties. I used a 1/2 cup measuring cup to ensure even patty sizes, and the 1.5 lbs turned into exactly 6 patties.


As an accompaniment to the burgers, I decided on some caramelized onions. I thinly sliced the rest of the sweet onion, and slowly cooked them in some olive oil until they got nice and caramelized.



I also sliced up a package of creminis, and sauteed those to add to the burgers as well.



The burgers went on the grill (pan), and I put a cover on to ensure they cooked through. Lovely grill marks!


As a side dish, in lieu of french fries, I sliced up a sweet potato using a mandoline. To ensure they did not stick to the baking sheet, I brushed on some olive oil.


Then, I laid the sliced sweet potatoes in roughly a single layer, brushed with more olive oil, then sprinkled with salt, pepper, and a bit of cumin. They went into a 375 degree oven for maybe 15 minutes or so, until they started getting crispy.


I toasted up some wheat buns, slapped on the chicken burger, threw on some caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms, and also added some fresh arugula. The arugula added nice color, crunch, and lovely slightly bitter flavor. I served the burger with some of the sweet potato fries/chips (some were crispy and more like chips than others), and we were ready for a great summertime dinner! The grated onion definitely adds much-needed moisture without being overwhelmingly onion-y, and the cumin adds just a hint of smokiness. In fact, in retrospect, I probably would have added a bit more!



Chicken Burgers with Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs ground chicken breast (or turkey breast)
1 large sweet onion
3 to 4 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
S&P
1 package cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 sweet potatoes, thinly sliced into rounds
sprinkling of cumin
arugula, washed and dried

Directions:
1. Grate 1/4 of the sweet onion. Thinly slice the remaining onion.
2. Add the sliced onion to a pan with some olive oil. Keep the heat on medium-low to allow the onions to caramelize and not burn. Stir occassionally. Add S&P.
3. Add the grated onion, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, breadcrumbs, and S&P to the chicken. Combine thoroughly with hands. Form into patties, using a 1/2 cup measuring cup as a guide.
4. Arrange the sliced sweet potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet with some olive oil, S&P, and just a touch of cumin. Put in a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until cooked through and slightly crispy.
5. Grill the burgers until cooked through.
6. While the burgers are cooking, add the mushrooms to a pan with some olive oil, and cook until they are softened and any moisture from the mushrooms is cooked off. Add S&P.
7. Toast your buns. Who doesn't like toasty buns?
8. You are ready to assemble your burgers! Add a chicken patty to the bottom of the bun, add some caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms, then a bit of arugula. Top the burger off with the top of the bun. Serve with the sweet potato fries/chips, and some ketchup.
9. Enjoy!

Mmmm.... meatballs...

Ah, meatballs. Simple, satisfying, so comforting. I recently discovered a new food blogger (and an amazing one, at that), E. Lee of Bacon Concentrate. She's funny, clever, a great photographer, and obviously, a great cook. One of her recent recipes that inspired me is her Lamb Meatball recipe. Indeed they are verrrry tasty!

As I type this, my kitchen/dining room/living room (ok basically the whole condo) smells like glorious meatballness. I am hungry. So very hungry. But I must make it to the gym before I devour them. Must... resist... meatballs...

So, these lovely morsels of meat started with some finely chopped onion and green bell pepper. I definitely did not chop these fine enough... I think they were a bit too big.


I combined the lamb, beef, onion, bell pepper, breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley, and S&P into a large bowl.


Then I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup as a guide to make the meatballs uniform in size. I ended up with 21 meatballs.


Hello, little meatballs!


I browned them in a large pan...


And as they finished browning, I transferred them to another pot that had about 2 cups of the tomato sauce, plus the chopped garlic.


As an aside... I did not use pasta sauce for this. Rather, I got two large cans of crushed tomatoes, and added a bit of S&P and sugar to each, to make my own tomato sauce!


Back to the meatballs... after they all browned, and were all transferred to the other pot, I added the rest of the tomato sauce, and gently stirred. To get the bits off the bottom of the pan that the meatballs browned in, I added a bit of tomato sauce and basically deglazed it, then added that to the other pot. I let the meatballs simmer on low-ish heat for maybe 30 minutes or so. Note to self: Use a bigger pot next time. I almost burned down the kitchen! You can see how the sauce is almost overflowing!


As I said before, your kitchen will smell so luxuriously good. Try not to do this right before going to the gym. It can be disastrous!!! These meatballs are juicy, and bursting with flavor. I cannot wait to eat them as leftovers!


Bacon Concentrate's Lovely Luscious Lamb Meatballs
from Bacon Concentrate

Ingredients:
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 lb ground lamb
1/2 lb ground beef
1/3 cup grated parmagiano reggiano
1/3 cup grated pecorino romano
S&P
1/3 cup breadcrumbs (I used whole wheat)
1/8 tsp nutmeg (I grated mine fresh)
1 heaping cup minced fresh flat leaf parsley
6 cups your favorite pasta sauce (or like I did with crushed tomatoes)
3 large garlic cloves, crushed
olive oil

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients (except pasta sauce, garlic, oil).
2. Form into meatballs. As a guide, you can use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to ensure uniformity, or use a small ice cream scoop.
3. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat, and brown the meatballs on at least two sides (I always find it difficult to brown an entire spherical object).
4. Use caution when turning the meatballs; make sure they are not sticking! You want them to stay as cohesive as possible.
5. In a separate large pot/pan (make sure you have a lid), add 2 cups of the pasta/tomato sauce. Add the garlic.
6. Transfer the meatballs to the sauce as they brown, using a slotted spoon to drain the excess grease.
7. When all the meatballs are done browning, drain most of the grease (this is important! I neglected to do this, and nearly killed myself with grease splatter).
8. Add 1 cup of the pasta/tomato sauce to the pan to deglaze the bottom of the pan of its brown bits. Add this to the pan/pot with the meatballs.
9. Cover the meatballs with the remainder of the pasta/tomato sauce. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
10. Remove the lid, and simmer for 10 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken. And get ready for your kitchen to be covered in tomato sauce splatter.
11. Serve with pasta, or crusty bread, or polenta, or solo! ENJOY!