Jalapeno Popper Burgers

Picture this:  A big juice hamburger stuff with cream cheese and fresh jalapenos on a potato roll and topped with a slice of cheddar cheese.  

Okay, you can stop drooling now.

Jalapeno Popper Burgers

1 cups seeded and chopped jalapeno pepper
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 pound ground beef
4 potato rolls, split
4 slices cheddar cheese

Preheat a grill for medium heat (I use a George Foreman Grill).  When hot, lightly oil the grate. 

In a food processor, quickly pulse together jalapenos and cream cheese.

Divide the ground beef into 8 portions and pat out each one to 1/4 inch thickness. Spoon some of the cream cheese mixture onto the center of 4 of the patties. 

Top with the remaining patties, pressing the edges together to seal.

Grill for about 10 minutes per side, or until well done, taking care not to press down on the burgers as they cook. This will make the cheese ooze out. 

Serve on buns and top with cheddar cheese.  Add whatever other toppings you like.

Pasta with Pine Nuts and Fresh Tomato Sauce

I love pasta with tomato sauce.  This sauce is lovely!  It is light and fresh because it's barely cooked. The pine nuts sauteed with garlic add flavor and texture.  For the best results select fresh tomatoes that are meaty and contain few seeds. 

Mmmm, so good.

Pasta with Pine Nuts and Fresh Tomato Sauce

2 1/4 Pounds Unrefrigerated Ripe Tomatoes (Preferably Plum)
1/4 Cup Fresh Basil Leaves
1 Tablespoon Flat-Leaf Parsley
2 Tablespoons Fresh Garlic, Chopped
1/4 Cup  Plus 1 Tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Coarse Salt And Freshly Ground Pepper
1/2 Cup Pine Nuts
1 Pound Pasta
Grated Parmesan Cheese, For Garnish


Halve tomatoes and place in a blender or food processor.  Add basil, parsley, and 1 Tbsp garlic, and oil.  Pulse ingredients in a food processor to blend.  Add to skillet and allow to warm over medium heat while pasta is cooking.

Saute 1  Tbsp garlic in 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium-low heat until soft, not brown.  Add pine nuts and continue to saute' for about 5 minutes.  Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente. 

Drain pasta, and toss it in a serving bowl pine nuts and the sauce. 

Transfer to 6 shallow bowls, and drizzle with oil. Serve with cheese.

Note:  There is no need to cook or warm the sauce.  Try it raw for a fresher flavor.

Gorgonzola-Stuffed London Broil

There I was wandering around the kitchen trying to figure out what I was going to make for dinner.  I wasn't worried because I'm a whiz at coming up with meals on the fly and making awesome food with whatever I happen to have on hand.  

In the fridge I scrounged up Gorgonzola cheese, a London broil steak, and an ever present package of bacon.  Well, that looks like that could be something amazing.  And it was!


Gorgonzola-Stuffed Flank Steak


1 1 1/2- To 2 1/2-Pound London Broil
1/2 Pound Crumbled Gorgonzola or Blue Cheese
1/4 Cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs
Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Pound Bacon


Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Select a thick steak.  With a sharp knife, slice the steak lengthwise into four strips.  Pound the meat with a mallet (I use an empty wine bottle) to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Set aside.

Sprinkle cheese and bread crumbs evenly over the steak, leaving a 1-inch border along the edge farthest from you.  

Beginning with the side nearest you., roll up the steak, gently pressing on the filling.  

Then lay the roll on three slices of bacon, or as many as it takes to cover the meat, and roll up.

Place the rolls in a baking dish, seam side down.  

Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Place in the oven and roast for 25 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve with potatoes or rice.  

Mmmm, delish!

Firewater Friday - A Roa

I was looking for a cocktail for mixers I happened to have on hand.  What I found was a simple, elegant cocktail made with melon liquor, cranberry juice and vodka.  

I don't know what the history of this drink is but it's delish!

A Roa 

3/4 oz Vodka
3/4 oz Melon Liqueur
1 - 2 oz Cranberry Juice

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker, shake 3 - 4 times and strain over ice in a cocktail glass.

Either vent or explode

Okay, so it's either vent or explode. So, I'm venting.

The other day I went to the grocery store just to pick up a few things.  I expected to be in and out, no fuss no muss.  Certainly, no aggravation.

I guess this night of the week at the store was set aside for parents to bring their unruly, unattended children.  Because they were EVERYwhere.

My first stop was the deli.  I put in my order and as I was waiting a couple with a baby and toddler came up and placed their order.  The father strategically placed his shopping cart right next to the take-a-number ticket dispenser.  The child who was seated in the cart pressed the button, took a ticket and handed it to her father - like 20 or 30 times.  And, if he didn't take the ticket from her chubby little fist quickly enough she let loose a screech with enough decibels to make anyone nearby eardrums bleed.  The other child who was toddling around outside of the cart kept wandering off, grabbing stuff and handing it to the mother, who promptly set whatever it was down in the bread rack in front of her.

They walk away leaving a minor disaster in their wake.  The deli guy calls the next number.  Silence.  Calls the number again.  Silence.  There's a line of people waiting but no takers.  Then he calls another number, then another and another.  You get the point.

Disgusted, I went to on to finish my shopping whilst dabbing the dribbles of blood from my ear.  As I approached the self check-out line and there's a youngish mom who's checking out her order with a 3 or 4 year old boy behind her.  As I pass by them, the kid somehow managed to knock over a display rack spilling it's contents across the aisle.  The mother turns to see what happened, grabs him by the wrist and pulls him to her side.  If you think she made even the slightest effort to pick any of that stuff up you'd be wrong.  She just went back to ringing up her groceries.  Of course, the child was screaming at the top of his lungs the entire time.

I bagged my stuff and went over to the ATM to deposit a check.  And somewhere no too far away a chorus of disgruntled children began a symphony screams, cries and shrieks.  This was as good a time as any to make like Bo Peep and get the flock out of there.

I left the store and headed to my car.  There is a mother in front of me with her cart stuff with groceries and two little ones trailing slowly behind.  They're holding up traffic because she and her entourage are walking at a long diagonal across the lane to their car. 

I made it to my car and home.  Somehow I managed to keep my head from exploding and I suffered only minor blood loss.  

The one thing that sticks out in my mind is that not one of those parents had any consideration for anyone else - they let their kids do whatever they wanted, wreaking whatever havoc, and didn't do a flippin' thing to keep their kids in check.

WTF is wrong with people??

No-knead Crusty Beer Bread

This is a beerific spin on my favorite bread recipe.  This bread is super easy to make, almost no work at all, you just need to plan a day ahead to get it started before you bake it; about 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours for rising

The bread comes out super crusty on the outside and moist in side.  Perfect for serving with something saucy to sop up juices with, or an oil dip it in, or slathered with butter. 

And it's made with beer.  It's practically perfect!

I made this loaf with Apollo from Six Point, I figured using a wheat beer to make bread was sort of appropriate, but you can use any beer you like.

No-knead Crusty Beer Bread


3 Cups All-Purpose Or Bread Flour, More For Dusting
¼ Teaspoon Instant Yeast
1¼ Teaspoons Salt
Cornmeal Or Wheat Bran As Needed
1 Can Or Bottle Beer


In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups beer, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but it will be okay. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. 

Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.