Cheese-stuffed Burger and Garlic Fries

I am back, baby!

Took a little time off from this with the chaos of quarantine, finishing the semester at the university where I teach, running a few online concerts, and hosting an online singing competition. I am surprising myself with my industriousness during this period; normally, I am a very lazy person.

After an online concert today, I wanted a real treat. A burger. Nothing screams warm weather to me like a burger. This burger is stuffed with fontina, topped with grilled tomatoes, pickled scallions and garlic aioli. The side? Fries- but garlic fries. It is a good thing were are socially distancing because my garlic breath is serious.

I hope you enjoy!

Sending you healthy wishes!

Ingredients:
2 potato buns
1 pound ground beef
1 shallot, sliced into 1/4 inch rings
1 roma tomato, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
1 ounce fontina cheese, divided into 2 squares
2 large garlic clove, minced, divided
1 large russet potato
2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup mayonnaise
pinch cayenne

Method:
To start, mix together 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 garlic clove, pinch cayenne, 1/4 cup of mayo, and salt and pepper. Set aside.

Scrub the russet potato and slice into matchsticks. Mix a tablespoon of olive oil and the remaining garlic clove together and toss the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and bake on a rimmed sheet pan in a preheated oven at 450 degrees F for 15 minutes.

Add the apple cider vinegar, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt together and mix. Add the shallots and allow to pickle.

Meanwhile, toast the buns with a little butter until golden brown. Fry the tomatoes in the leftover butter and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Divide the group beef into equal portions. Flatten into 5 inch patties, place the cheese in the center, then fold meat over the cheese to make 4 inch patties. Season with salt and pepper. Cook in a grill pan over medium high heat for 2 to three minutes a side.

Create your burger: spread the aoli, add the tomatoes, pickled shallots, then burger and final bun. Cut in half to see oozy fontina. Serve with the fries and ketchup and maybe more aoli to dip. Enjoy!

Comments

Raspberry Pomegranate Jam

Tis the season to be making homemade gifts! Pomegranates are in season and their juice is a festive deep ruby red color. I knew I had to make them into a jam to give away. Straight pomegranate flavor is a little tart for me; I added raspberries for the texture of their seeds and their sweetness. This is a very simple recipe to make and will yield 6 to 7 8 ounces jars of jam or 12 to 14 4 ounce jars, if you like to give away sample sizes during the holidays. Enjoy! Ingredients: 3 1/2 cups pomegranate juice 1 cup mashed raspberries 7 cups sugar 1 tablespoon butter 1 1/75 ounce package Sure Jell Method: Sterilize your jars and lids. Set aside. In a heavy bottomed large stock pot, add the pomegranate juice, raspberries and butter. Mix well. Add in the sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil then stir in the Sure Jell. Allow to boil hard for 1 minutes. Remove from the heat and skim off any foam. Ladle into the sterile jars, twist on the lids and pr

Peek-a-boo Squares

My grandma, Mimi, taught me this recipe. I used to make this with her and my mother as a child. It is my very favorite dessert. It is incredibly easy to make, and even easier to eat. My favorite part of making this as a child was dusting every bar generously with snowy white powdered sugar. My favorite version of this dessert uses canned blueberry pie filling; I vastly prefer Libby brand over the store brand. You can make blueberry pie filling from scratch with sugar, cornstarch, bleberries, etc. but using the canned stuff is easy in a pinch and is much for nostalgic for me. Plus, I don’t notice a vast improvement over my homemade blueberry pie filling and the Libby brand; it just takes me longer to put this dessert together. I have been known to whip up a pan of these Friday night and have them disappear by Saturday afternoon. Be warned, these things are addictive! Ingredients: 3 cups of all-purpose flour 2 cups of granulated sugar 4 eggs 2 sticks of

Samosas with Yogurt Sauce

I love exploring many kinds of cuisine in my kitchen because I can control the spice level, and in the case of this recipe, the use of cilantro. Cilantro lovers out there- sub it info the parsley here. I have the gene that makes cilantro taste like soap, which limits my ability to enjoy some dishes in restaurants, but is easily rectified in my own kitchen. I hope you enjoy! Ingredients: 3 russet potatoes 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped 2 teaspoons curry powder 5 ounces peas Six 8 inch flour tortillas 4 ounces Greek yogurt Oil, salt, pepper, vinegar 4 tablespoons butter Method: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet. Scrub potatoes and cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces. Place in a large saucepan with a generous pinch of salt and enough water to cover by 1 inch. Cover and bring to a boil over high; uncover and cook until tenderDrain potatoes and transfer to a bowl. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in reserved saucepan over medium. Add chopped garlic and al

Watership Down Kitchen

Search This Blog