Ginger Lime Turkey Sliders with Peanut Slaw

Last weekend was my SEVENTH year running Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage, and I have a serious case of the post-Ragnar blues.
I ran around 15.5 miles! My final leg was just under 7 miles, all hills, and I almost stepped on a snake! We jammed out hard to some 2AM Celine Dion, had a few epic dance parties and costume changes, mastered the art of glow-stick dancing (ahem, raving?), and wondered how that one team next to us at the brewery managed to run after consuming so many burgers and beers. And extra sides of ranch. Also, this year, a few other teams copied our name! We�ve been Chafin� the Dream since 2009, so it was annoying to see other folks stealing our swagger. Imitation�something to do flattery�blah blah� Nope, get outta here with that. #theoriginalchafers

Anyway. I feel like I've been super MIA on the blog this summer, but I just haven't been cooking much. Instead I've been running, swimming, gardening, eating popsicles, seeing Dashboard Confessional and Third Eye Blind (!!!) with my girlfriends, and binge watching Sopranos. These sliders are maybe the only dinner I've actually cooked in the month of July!

Turkey sliders! The patties are Asian-inspired with fun flavors like ginger and lime, which goes great with the sesame-peanut slaw! I actually liked them wrapped in lettuce even more than with a bun, and that's surprising, because this girl loves big buns, hun. 

Ginger Lime Turkey Sliders with Peanut Slaw 
Makes 10-12 small sliders

Peanut Slaw

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 squirt of Sriracha

Half a head green cabbage, sliced thin (and diced, if desired)

2 green onions, sliced thin

2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

1 handful peanuts, chopped

1/2 teaspoon black sesame seeds

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, Whisk together mayo, lime juice, peanut butter, sesame oil, and sriracha. Add cabbage, green onions, and cilantro. Toss until coated. Add salt and pepper to taste, and toss in peanuts and sesame seeds just before serving. 

Sliders

1 pound ground turkey

1 inch chunk of ginger, grated

1 clove garlic, grated or minced

1 Green onion, sliced thin

Zest from 1 small lime + splash of lime juice

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

Panko bread crumbs

Salt & pepper

Mix turkey, ginger, garlic, onion, lime zest and juice, and soy sauce together (with your hands), until combined. If the mixture seems too wet and loose, add a bit of panko to bind it. Separate into about 10-12 small slider-sized patties, and salt & pepper both sides of each patty. Chill for at least 30 minutes so they firm up a bit. 

Heat grill, brush with oil, and grill patties until charred on the outside and cooked through. 

Serve on slider buns or in lettuce cups, with peanut slaw and extra sriracha! Also, not pictured but a great addition: avocado!

July 4th Burger Roundup

A few years ago Serious Eats released this amazing, comprehensive guide called the United States of Burgers, and apparently I was super unhappy with Washington's representative burger. I wrote a post about it when the article was released, and never ended up hitting publish. With the 4th of July just around the corner, there's no better time to resurface a ton of awesome all-American burger inspiration. Aside from Will Smith saving the world from aliens, what's more American than a burger on Independence Day!? USA, USA!


In addition to the Burgers of America, here are a few recipes, old and new, from around the interwebz for your July 4th cookout/picnic/bbq/get-together/pool party/food-fest. 

• My ode to the 50th (and most tropically amazing) state, Hawaiian sliders with grilled pineapple (pictured above). 
• This turkey banh mi burger is fusion at it's best (just like America!). 
• These chorizo garlic shrimp burgers are Mexican-inspired, along with 95% of food I love in the US. 
• And these Xi'an style lamb burgers are Asian-inspired, along with 95% of food Evan loves in the US. 
• These Carolina burgers with mustard bbq sauce are pledging so much allegiance to the flag of the USA.
• These are packed with fried mozzarella, caramelized peaches, balsamic drizzle, and stars-and-stripes forever.
• Jessica basically deserves a spot on Mt. Rushmore thanks to these goat cheese-guac numbers and these smoky sweet bacony beauties.
• Bev should probably join her, and bring these queso turkey burgs and these chipotle black bean ones!
• These sexy bacon burgers are totally all-American, even though Sarah's Australian. 
• Remember when I made homemade everything burgers? You can do it too, for your country!

And, because it made me laugh when I re-read it, here are my original thoughts/crazy grumblings on the Serious Eat's article. Enjoy!

Hey guys, I need to tell you about how crazy I am. Warning: this involves hamburgers.

So... I'm a crazy person. Unless you're Evan or my parents or my sister or my friends... or my cat... you might not know that about me. And even though I just mentioned my cat, I'm not talking about crazy-cat-lady type crazy right now (though I am that, too). I don't even know what kind of crazy this is... state-hamburger-pride crazy, perhaps?

I'll preface this with the fact that I love Serious Eats, and I love J.Kenji Lopez-Alt's burger articles (um, his fake shack burger... perfection). What I don't love, however, is when a totally random burger and random fry sauce (that I'm assuming everyone outside of Washington state also uses...it's basically Thousand Island dressing, people!) is declared Washington's state burger. Not necessarily Washington's best burger, mind you, but our most iconic, or the burger that most represents our state. Ok, so this is where my crazy comes out. I'm like, weirdly, irrationally upset about this. I complained so much that a friend told me "maybe it's time to write to your congressman."  

But c'mon! What about a Deluxe burger from Dick's Drive In!? Dick's was voted most-life-changing burger by Esquire, people! It beat favorites like In-n-Out and Shake Shack! That is state burger material! Or what about the bacon jam burger from Skillet or the bacon burger from Red Mill? Ok, too Seattle-centric? How about Burgerville!? It's a fast food joint founded in SW Washington that's known for its commitment to local resources and environmental sustainability... if that doesn't represent our Earth-friendly-recycling-crazed state, I don't know what does. What about something with wild mushrooms or salmon or apples on it, for crying out loud!? Gah!

How did this travesty happen!? Breath Amber, Breath. See...crazy-town.

Now, look at these burgers, and go a little nuts yourself.

BBQ Chicken Flatbread Pizzas with Cherries and Corn

I was kind of dreading Father�s Day this year. All of the first holidays and events without him are hard. But the impending punch in the gut of Father�s Day�all of the gift guides in my inbox, the grilling recipes for dad online, the Father�s Day golf/BBQ/fishing/woodworking/drinking themed everything everywhere�it had me in a major funk these last few weeks. Luckily we celebrated in the most amazing way possible, which really helped me (and my sister and mom) get through the day. Rather than having a somber memorial last summer, which he would have hated, we waited until last weekend, and had a big blow-out celebration of life. He loved being a dad, and he loved summer solstice, so there was no better time to raise a glass and toast an awesome man, who lived life to the fullest.


My dad loved good food, good drinks, laughter, jokes, friends, and family. He was a good-timin� kinda guy, and we sent him on his way in true JFK (my dad, not the pres) fashion. Friends and family (about 70 people!) came from all over the place: southern, northern, and central California, Oregon, North Carolina, Texas, Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, and all over Washington. We ate an insane amount of smoked meat, toasted terrible shots of slivovitz, told tons of stories, and looked through years and years of hilarious and fantastic photos. Evan and our friend Robb arranged an epic bean bag/ corn hole tournament: three courses, 19 teams, 39 total games. Amanda and I were The Zombies (which was my dad�s old horse-shoe team name), and we came in second (we lost to the, ahem, Bunghole Bros).

That night we had the most beautiful pastel painted sunset, my dad�s favorite kind� his little gift to us. I miss him like crazy, but man, I feel so lucky that I got to have 29 years with him. So much thanks to my ma for working her little tail nearly clean off, to all her helpers, and to all our friends and family who came to celebrate. It was so cool to be surrounded by so many people that loved him. And it made this Father�s Day way less sucky.

So anyway, long story short: I just haven�t really been in the kitchen lately. Totally unrelated to everything above, I did manage to make quick grilled flatbread pizza, and figured you should probably know about it. Since it�s officially summer, we�re putting a bunch of summery goodness on a flatbread, and then grilling it up. Fresh corn and cherries, plus BBQ sauce, grilled chicken, and smoked mozzarella. Hello summa!

BBQ Chicken Flatbread Pizzas

3 chicken tenders (or 1 large chicken breast, cut in 3 thin strips)
Olive oil, salt, and pepper
2 flatbreads or large naan (like these)
3/4 cup BBQ sauce
1-1.5 cups grated smoked mozzerella
8-10 fresh cherries, pitted and halved (and sliced again if they�re big)
1 ear of corn, kernels cut from cob
2 green onions, sliced

Heat grill. Brush chicken with olive oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Grill until cooked through, and cut into thin slices.

Spread BBQ sauce on one side of each flatbread, and top with cheese, cherries, corn, green onions, and chicken. Grill until cheese is melted.

To make without a grill, prepare chicken as you like, then heat oven to 400 degrees F. Place flatbreads on a baking sheet, and cook for about 10-15 minutes, until cheese is totally melted.

Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs with Artichoke Jalape�o Dip

It's Memorial Day and that means it�s officially (unofficially?) grilling season! I�m extra stoked for summer this year, because our place has a tiny little yard, which we�ve spent the last month transforming into a patio oasis (with tons of help from Kyle, Benson, and Kel). 


Evan, Biscuit, and I have been spending every spare second outside. When you rent and live in the city, your own private outdoor space can be hard to come by, so we feel super lucky and happy with what we have, small as it may be. We have room to plant a few veggies, we have a crow that stalks Biscuit out there, and also, I watched a caterpillar build his cocoon! It�s basically a wildlife refuge/science class/jungle/nature hike/farm/wilderness retreat. 

We kicked off grilling season on our new little patio with bacon wrapped hot dogs! With artichoke jalape�o dip! Hot dogs aren�t really my favorite, but when you add cool, creamy, spicy, bacony elements, I�m all in. 

Oh, and Evan wants you to know that he's trying to get a #dadbod this summer (ie: that perfect mix of beer belly & sort of sometimes goes to the gym). Unfortunately for him, he has amazing metabolism and muscle definition that he has no right to have, no matter how many beer and bacon wrapped hot dog-filled weekends he has. Unfortunately for me, I have terrible metabolism. I basically have enough #dadbod for the both of us. 




Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs with Artichoke Jalape�o Dip
This makes a pretty big bowl of dip, which is great hot or cold, with chips or crackers.

For Dip
1 8oz package cream cheese, softened (room temp)
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups grated parmesan cheese
2 cans artichoke hearts (not marinated), drained & chopped
1/4 cup diced/canned jalape�os
garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste

Stir together cream cheese, mayo, and sour cream until combined and smooth. Stir in cheese, artichokes, and jalape�os. Add garlic powder, salt, and black pepper to taste. I usually use about 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder. Can be made a day ahead and kept refrigerated in an airtight container.

For Dogs
Hot Dogs
Bacon (1 slice per dog)
Buns
Dip
Mustard
Sriracha
Diced white onion

First, soak some toothpicks in water (the longer they soak the less they�ll burn). Wrap each piece of bacon around a dog, and secure the ends with a soaked toothpick, otherwise when they cook, the bacon will shrink up and not stay wrapped. Fire the grill to medium-high heat, and cook bacon-wrapped dogs until bacon is slightly crispy and cooked through. You�ll need to keep an eye on them and use caution, as the bacon grease dripping will cause some flames. Turn and move often to avoid fire hazard. Heat buns on grill until just toasted. 

To assemble, put a big scoop of artichoke jalape�o dip in the bun, top with dog, yellow mustard, sriracha, and a sprinkle of onion. Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Mexican-style Pita Cheeseburgers

It�s a cheeseburger! It's a taco! It�s a pita sandwich! It�s a quesadilla! It�s a burgerpitacodilla! Or something. You guys! What is this thing!?

I saw these lamb pita burgers on Bon Appetit, with the meat cooked right inside the pita, and couldn�t stop thinking about how rad they looked! But, I haven�t been feeling the lamb lately, ever since this weird thing happened with my mom�s dog. The other day my ma got Daisy a fresh lamb bone from the butcher, for her birthday. When Daisy smelled the lamb bone, she flipped out. Like, started shaking and whimpering, and ran and hid. Totally afraid of it. So I did a Google search and apparently this is a thing! A lot of dogs are afraid of the smell of lamb! I read one thing that said it�s because the strong gamey smell of lamb makes dogs think that you�re cooking and hurting living animals, like dogs, and it freaks them out! This was just a comment on a forum, so I mean, it could be total BS, but weird, right!? Ugh. So anyway, I�m just not feeling lamb at the moment� solidarity with my dog-sister. 

But, it�s sunny outside, people are starting to break out their grills, and it�s only a few weeks until Cinco de Mayo. So I�m definitely feeling cheeseburgers and Mexican food, all day every day! 

Here we mix plain ol� ground beef with some Mexican spices, pepper jack cheese, and grated onion, and spread into a pita! See the gratuitous raw meat photo above! The whole thing gets smashed together and thrown on the grill, and served with guac. The meat is moist and cheesy from the grated onion and pepper jack, and the pita gets all crispy on the outside and kind of melts together on the inside. Also, I read in the original Bon Appetit article that you can spread the meat mix on the pitas ahead of time� how perfect is that!? When it�s fiesta time, the work is basically done! Get your burgerpitacodilla on! Pitacodillaburger? Quesapitacoburger? I don�t know. Just do it! 

Pita Cheeseburgers, Mexican-style 

Makes 6-8 full pita burgers

1 lb ground beef (not the leanest, I used about 85/15. An 80/20 would work too)

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Scant teaspoon salt

Fresh ground black pepper

2 tablespoon grated white onion (about 1/4 of a large onion)

2 tablespoon fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

1 cup grated pepper jack

6-8 pitas

Serve with guacamole, sour cream, bean dip, salsa, etc. 

Mix together ground beef through cilantro until well combined, and then stir in the grated cheese. Slice open each pita, so that you have two rounds for each one. Spread about 1/4 cup of beef mixture on half the pita, in a thin layer, all the way to the edges, and top with remaining pita half. Press together firmly.

Heat grill over medium-high heat, and grill each side for about 4 minutes, until beef is cooked through. 

To cook inside on an oven-safe grill pan: preheat oven to  400 degrees. Heat grill pan on stovetop over medium-high heat, and grill prepared pita for about a minute on each side just long enough to get grill marks, then put the whole pan in the oven for about 4-5 minutes, until beef is cooked through. 

Grilled Sockeye Salmon two ways on CBC's Weekend Morning Show!

 Tomorrow I will be presenting the following grilled Salmon recipes for CBC's Weekend Morning Show with guest host, Laurie Hoogstraten.  The Sockeye Salmon is a wild caught fish from a sustainable source. They are expecting a huge run this year.  Fillets, steaks or whole can be purchased at Gimli Fish.

A classic preparation is quite simple with Lemon, Dill and butter but I thought that listeners may be interested in trying a few other ways.

For  increased enjoyment at the grill, try  a BBQ sheet available at D. A. Niels.  You can get grill marks, keep the moisture of the food and nothing falls through! Also try soaking a Cedar Plank and cooking the fish on the grill on the cedar.

 Marinating Sockeye Salmon Steak

 Marinating Honey Miso Sockeye Salmon Fillet

 Grilling on BBQ Sheet

1. Honey Miso Grilled Sockeye Salmon

1 inch fresh ginger, minced
3 tbs miso (Light coloured, available at Sun Wah or Oriental Market or other Asian markets)
1 green onion, finely chopped (or chives)
3 tbs honey
3 tbs Chinese cooking wine or Mirin
a drizzle of chili oil

A drizzle of sesame oil
1-2 fillets Sockeye Salmon

Combine first 6 ingredients until well blended. Smooth over fish and let marinade for at least one hour. Grill, skin-side down, up to 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet.   Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

2. Seared Salmon Steaks or fillets

2 steaks Salmon or one whole filet
1/2 teaspoon garlic paste
1/4 teaspoon ginger paste
1/4 teaspoon crushed pepper powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed make paste with water (always
make paste with a little water)

Put all the ingredients onto a plate in a little pile.
Sprinkle over the vinegar and mix to a paste with the fingers.
Pat the masala evenly over the sides of the fish and marinate for minimum 1/2 an hour and better still for 4-5 hours.

When ready to cook or grill,  Put 2 tablespoons oil in a pan on a high heat. Sprinkle the fish with a little(pinch) salt more on both the sides of fish , reduce the heat and add the fish. Dip fish in oil on one side, turn over onto the other side and back again so it doesn�t stick to the pan. Increase the heat medium flame and cook for 5 minutes on one side, then 5 minutes on the other.
Enjoy!

Steaks with compound butter 3 ways on CBC's Weekend Morning Show

 This morning I had the pleasure of presenting the following 3 compound butters on strip loin steaks for CBC's Weekend Morning Show with host Ismaila Alfa. 

Grill steaks to your desired doneness, recommending rare but...  :)

To be put on grilled steaks as resting.

1. Roasted Red Pepper Saffron Butter

1 cup softened butter
1 roasted red pepper
2 good pinches Saffron
1 pinch salt

Skin and seed roasted pepper. Blend together chopped pepper, butter, saffron and a pinch of salt. Drop onto a sheet of plastic wrap or waxed paper and shape into a roll. Chill until firm.

For other prepared butters, try ripe mango, butter, lime and jalape�o flakes. Try flavours that you enjoy together or ripe locally grown fruit.

2. Chive Pesto Butter
1 cup chopped chives
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup + good olive oil

Mix all ingredients in a blender or food processor.  Mix with butter as with previous compound butters. 
Can use basil pesto, arugula pesto, etc.

3. Squash Butter (apple butter)
Mix apple butter preserve with softened butter. 

*I'm likely going to add some Ras el Hanout as well to this one.