Black Bean Burgers

Spring is a tempting bitch. A warm breeze passes through, some sunshine passes through the clouds, and you think, "It's Spring! Spring is here!" And you know what happens next? You get spring confused with summer, or at the very least you get early April confused with late May, and you decide that fresh veggies are just around the corner. You see one tulip and you become convinced that asparagus, tomatoes and leafy greens will soon cover your table. This is a dangerous thing to think in early April. Why? Because the next thing that happens is you open a cabinet, and you spy all those traitorous canned foods. You can't let the fresh veggies see you with the canned food! What will they think? "Out!" you cry, grabbing every can and lining them up on the counter. These must be disposed of. Preferably in a delicious way.

The tomatoes went into a delicious vodka cream sauce. I can't blog about that because it got eaten too fast and there were no photographs. That's right, I destroyed the evidence so the heirlooms wouldn't see.

Then it was just the black beans and I just staring each other down. I should have never bought two cans of beans. I had never cooked black beans before, and as soon as I had them in my possession I realized all the really good sounding recipes called for dried beans. Stupid canned beans...staring at me from their stupid metal prison, they were taunting me. I vaguely remembered a magazine recipe of a black bean burger, and the vegetarian healthiness appealed to me, as my frame seems to have picked up an extra pound or two with the cheesy egg experiments. Also appealing was that the recipe take about 20 whole minutes to make. Sounds like Monday night meal to me. I found a recipe that satisfied a lot of my pantry cleansing needs, including calling for mayonnaise. I had recently scored some Japanese Kewpie mayo, and have been dying to try it out on something.

One thing I noted in the reviews of the original recipe, some people complained it was too bland for them. People often have similar complaints about turkey burgers so I pulled out a trick from the ones I make and added some chopped green peppers to the mix, which also gave the patties a much needed kick of color.

Black Bean Burgers

Adapted from Gourmet Magazine

Ingredients:

-2 14 oz cans of black beans, rinsed and drained, divided

-3 tablespoons of mayonnaise

-1/3 cup dried breadcrumbs

-2 teaspoons of cumin

-1 teaspoon dried oregano

-1/4 teaspoon of cayenne

-1/4 cup chopped green peppers

-2 tablespoons olive oil

-4 soft hamburger buns

To top: sliced avocado, sliced tomatoes

Directions:

Pulse 1 can of beans in a food processor with mayo, breadcrumbs, cumin, oregano, and cayenne until a coarse puree forms. Transfer to a bowl and stir in remaining can of beans. Form mixture into 4 patties.

Heat oil in a 12 inch heavy skillet over medium high heat until it shimmers. Cook burgers until outsides are crisp and lightly browned, turning once, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to buns.

The result was quite tasty, very earthy but the fresh veggies gave it some much needed brightness. If I had sour cream that would have been a lovely topper for such a burger, but it had been sitting in the fridge too long and had gotten a bit too sour. I eyed my newly acquired mayo. I plunked a teaspoon and a half into a ramekin and squeezed in about half a teaspoon of lime juice. Whisked together, it made a great spread for this very heavy meal.

In the end, I think this burger makes a great base that could be taken in many different directions. I may go more Southwestern and add jalapenos. Maybe I'll wear a ten gallon hat while I do it. I may take a cue from the cumin and head to Southeast Asian, plunking some curry powder into the mix. Cause I would look hot in a sari. Any way you spice it up, its a great way to use what you have on hand to make a really quick and interesting week night dinner (or to sate some vegetarians at a cookout this summer). But me, I'm done shopping my cabinets for dinner. I'm ready to fill this apartment with fresh veggies that will appear in the farmers market soon. Really. Any minute now. Green will come sprouting out of the earth. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Resolution 2: Don't gain 20 Pounds

Well December came and went. It was fun, it was hectic, it was a tiny bit high in calories. I blame the fondue. Or the peppermint cheesecake. Or the wine and cocktails. Okay, there were a lot of calories that found their way into my diet in the month of December. But now it's January and I'm walking past all of the super obnoxious "New Year, New You" posters, because apparently no one is tired of that slogan yet. I don't need a new me. What was wrong with the old me? She wasn't perfect, but people seemed to like her. This poster is trying to make me feel insecure and change my behavior. You know who else does that? Cults. The next thing I know, I'll be dressed up in a white shirt and black tie hanging out in subway stations measuring people's thetan level. Nice try, poster. Everywhere advertising feels the need to remind that if I don't lose the holiday weight, I'm am a worthless failure. Also fun is at parties where every time I reach for a chip, someone feels the need to elbow the person next to them and go "Ah, wedding must be over, huh?" Bite me. At least I don't have the pressure of being a member of BeautifulPeople.com. Geez.

With the annoying reality check that is January, I've been trying to trim back the fat on some of my cooking. The problem with this is that I am essentially a fat purist. I don't really believe in recipes that claim to "let you enjoy your favorites" simply by substituting the ingredients with the "fat free" or "light" versions, generally affecting the taste. Then I just sit there eating the adjusted food, wishing it was the real thing and feeling sorry for myself. When I cut back, I cut back by portion size. I'll eat half of the giant burrito, and save the other half for the next day's lunch. Instantly I'll have cut the calories in half! I get the small latte, instead of the grande "non fat with skim" version. And I try to find recipes that honestly have less fat, not because they were adjusted to have less, they just naturally have less, so taste is not sacrificed. If you are looking for options from my past posts, I would suggest, Portabella Burgers (the very first recipe I posted!), Roasted Tomatoes, and Fish Tacos. This week though, I pulled out the big guns, and old classic of mine that I have been meaning to share with you for quite some time. Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce the best Turkey Burger of all time.

Turkey Burgers can be a bit tricky, easy to dry out and prone to blandness. This recipe fixes those problems by mixing in bits of green pepper and adding a fantastic balsamic rosemary marinade, so flavor abounds. As for the meat, while it is leaner, I wouldn't recommend going with all light meat. It dries out way too fast. I would recommend a blend of light and dark meat, or if you're okay with a bit more fat (and then only eating one burger) all dark meat has worked well for me many times. What makes these even better is brushing that fantastic marinade onto some sliced onion, and then grilling those as well. It's a delicious combination. The recipe was designed for a real grill, but I live in an apartment in Queens and it's 28 degrees outside. I use a Calphalon grill pan, and for my "cover" I use the lid to a crappy pasta pot that I threw out over a year ago. It's all improvisation baby. Don't think. I also use a George Foreman for the onion rings and the buns. The George Foreman doesn't come out much, I find it dries out meat really quickly, but it's genius for veggies. That thing can make some killer asparagus too. So make due with what you have, and enjoy. This is a super easy recipe, great for the middle of the week, and with any luck, it will help those jeans not feel so snug either.

Phenomenal Turkey Burgers

Adapted from Southern Living

Marinade Ingredients:

1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Burger Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey1/2 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1 tablespoon minced dried onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

4 hamburger buns

and...

Half a large onion cut into 1/2 inch slices for the Onion Rings

Directions:

Wisk together marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

Combine all burger ingredients in a large bowl. Divide into 4 patties. Baste with Marinade.

Grill, covered, over medium-high heat (350° to 400°) 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until no longer pink in center, basting each side occasionally with Fresh Herb Marinade.

While burgers are cooking, brush onions with remaining marinade. Grill about 4 minutes on each side (or 5 minutes total on a George Foreman) until onions are tender and grill marks appear.

Grill buns, cut side down about 2 minutes or until toasted.

And that's it! You just assemble your burgers, using whatever burger condiments you favor. Will's a pickles and ketchup guy, I prefer a mayo ketchup blend. It's not exactly a salad, but it isn't a big roast with buttered vegetables, which lets face it, is what first comes to mind when it's this cold out. Feel free to leave your favorite low cal recipes in the comments, I've still got a few pounds to go before I stop growling every time I see a cupcake. And Christ, there's only one month until the sweets bonanza that is Valentine's Day. Oh well. At least the wedding is over...

Betting on the Pony... Bar

This week was a bit of a whirlwind, with small bites grabbed when convenient.  On a night Will had class I even whipped out my staple of first year out of college style cooking. Annie’s Organic Peace, Pasta, and Parmesan with focaccia seasoning and whatever leftover meat is in the fridge. Yes, I cooked like I was 23. For those having the kind of night where this kind of dish is desired or required, a frozen sausage can be fried up and goes nicely in this as well. Makes about 2 servings, so if you’re not feeding a boyfriend or roommate, it makes a decent lunch the next day.

On Wednesday night I scored theatre tickets at Manhattan Theatre Club on 47th, so Will and I decided to do pub fare at a place we’ve been attempting for a month now, Pony Bar on 10th Ave. This endeavor started the week it opened, hearing about its plethora of micro-brews and being desperate for decent after work places in Hell’s kitchen we headed in, ordered beers and asked for a menu. No-go, Con Ed hadn’t given them permission to open the kitchen yet. This was distressing as food was a definite requirement if we were going to bar crawl that evening. We finished our single drink that night and moved on to a bar providing victuals. A follow up phone call when making plans about two weeks later revealed it STILL wasn’t open. With my fingers crossed, I called Wednesday afternoon and was assured food was being served. 

Apparently they were in the early phases of promoting their menu, because when I walked in there was a photographer with full set up taking pictures of an admittedly appetizing looking burger. The photos don’t seem to be on their website yet, but I would bet they’d be there soon.

Will, allured by the temptation of a model I suspect, chose the Burger and myself the Italian Sandwich. I was more then impressed with the food. Will’s burger had an excellent onion roll that had me stealing bites, it was soft with the onion adding a bit of crunch and the burger was still juicy despite Will’s puzzling affection for “medium well.” My sandwich was wholly satisfying, slightly spicy and addictive. The roll was soft and the meat perfectly portioned. An herb mayo had me rueing my inability to finish. Had I not theatre tickets I would have asked for it wrapped.

About halfway through our meals I noticed behind the bar three small bottles of Hudson Whiskey in Baby Bourbon, Four Grain Bourbon, and Manhattan Rye. Being a snob I have to point out here that technically the bourbons aren’t, to be called bourbon it has to be made in Kentucky (similar to how it’s only Champagne if it comes from Champagne, France) therefore by definition New York whisky is ineligible. But I digress.

On bartender’s recommendation we tried a shot of the Baby Bourbon, sipping and passing it between the two of us. Will commented that it was carmelly, almost like a scotch. It was a well crafted whiskey, well placed on the tongue, and like most things of craft and some elegance, expensive. The check revealed the shot to have cost $15.

 With its proximity to the theatre district but its distance from Times Square I highly recommend this place if you are looking for a bite before a show without dealing with tourists. Fair warning, it gets a bit flooded with the after work crowd so you may have to hover a few minutes for seats. The real lure of the bar is its variety of micro-brewed independent beers. Will, in his greater alcohol eloquence, will cover that on Wednesday.

For those interested the play, Accent on Youth, was very funny, witty, and involved a sense of self awareness to the construction on of a play. It was a charming way to complete an excellent date night.

Portabella Burgers

Last year Michael Pollan wrote an article in the NY Times proposing a theory on the human diet that went as follows: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Looking at my own cooking I realized that I didn't follow this theory by a long shot, I was a die hard carnivore. Blogger and Times food columnist Mark Bittman has been using a "vegan before six" approach to achieving this, and I modified that approach to "vegetarian before six" because you'll get my cheese and bread when you pry them out of my cold dead hands. Full disclosure: I've been known to cheat with sushi, ahi tuna is a seductive siren to me.

The economy being what it is, this has meant increasing my vegetarian cooking skills in the evening so that leftovers can be brought into work for lunches. It's a recession diet baby. Up until about 6 months ago almost all of my best cooking was done with meat so learning to cook without it, even on the occasional basis, has been a severe challenge. Seeing a sale on portabella mushrooms last week, I decided to test that staple of the vegetarian diet, the Portabella Burger.

The recipe I used included brushing with a balsamic vinaigrette, grilling, topping with cheese, tomato, and arugula and sticking on a grilled bun. With a brilliant stroke of luck, I had made lamb chops with a rosemary balsamic sauce the week before, and the remaining sauce was still in the fridge. Any opportunity to not waste expensive balsamic sauce I seize upon. The sauce mixed with some olive oil worked beautifully in place to the vinaigrette. Should you not happen to have such a delightful sauce in your fridge, however, store bought should work just fine.

Rosemary Portabella Burgers

Addapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients:

2/3 cup balsamic vinaigrette
2 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
4 round rolls, split
4 large portobello mushrooms; (about 5 inches in diameter), stemmed
4 slices deli-style provolone cheese
1 tomato, thinly sliced
1 cup (loosely packed) arugula leaves

Directions:

Prepare grill (medium-high heat). Whisk vinaigrette and rosemary in small bowl. Brush cut sides of rolls with vinaigrette. Place rolls on grill, cut side down. Grill until lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Transfer to plates.

Brush mushrooms on both sides with vinaigrette. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Place mushrooms on grill, dark gill side down. Close grill or cover mushrooms with small metal roasting pan; cook until mushrooms begin to soften, brushing with vinaigrette once, about 5 minutes. Turn mushrooms over. Cover; grill until tender when pierced with knife, about 7 minutes longer. Place 2 cheese slices on each mushroom. Cover; grill until cheese melts, about 1 minute.

Place 1 mushroom on bottom half of each roll. Top each with tomato, arugula, and top half of roll.

The best part? By wrapping the tomato and mushroom separately and sticking an extra piece of provolone, a handful of arugula, and a bun in a bag, I had two days of brilliant vegetarian lunches that were envied by coworkers, making me feel the appropriate level of smug. When arugula is sticking out of your sandwich, people know you aren't eating PB&J.

You will notice on this blog that a good deal of the recipes come from Epicurious. I am a Gourmet Magazine subscriber and they post many current and past recipes here along with ones from Bon Appetit. Like an 80 year old woman, I still subscribe to print publications. I get daily delivery of the NY Times and currently refuse to buy a Kindle. Someday I will probably be won over when they start refusing to bring me my lovely paper every day, but for now I revel in my stubbornness.

Last thing before I sign off for the week, I mentioned in my welcome message that I work out of a very tiny urban kitchen, and I thought the readers might like to know how tiny.

And no, there is no dishwasher.