Quick Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burger

Posted on by Ryan — 11 Comments ↓
Quick Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burger

A number of years ago the Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burger was all the rage. Oprah had Donald Trump appear on her show since the recipe was developed at his resort, and she stated that it might be the best turkey burger in the world. About the same time we told a few friends about it too, and I think that was the real reason it went viral.

It’s a great burger. But my problem is that we’ve made it less than once a year since then. Seriously, who has time to sauté ingredients, wait for them to cool, mix the patties, and then refrigerate for TWO HOURS, while roasting pears. Personally I want to cook and be done whenever possible, and this is why restaurant recipes sometimes don’t translate well to home recipes. Advance prep is great for a busy resort kitchen trying to handle the lunchtime rush, but for me it means I’d have to plan half of my day around that one recipe.

Inventing the Quick Mar-a-Lago Burger

So I studied what makes this burger so tasty, and tried to retain the key elements while streamlining it all around. It comes together in minutes not hours, and I hope you’ll still love it as much as Oprah’s legion of fans my friends and I do.

What other recipes do you love, but feel they take too much effort or time? Do you try to find “safe” shortcuts, or follow recipes to the letter?

Recipe: Quick Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burger

Summary: This comes together in minutes not hours, and while not quite as tasty as the original Mar-a-Lago turkey burger recipe, the streamlined steps and smaller portions work well for our family as I hope they will for yours.

Ingredients

Quick Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burger

Turkey burgers don’t have to be dry, but they don’t have to be complicated either!

  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 cup Major Grey’s Chutney (look for it near the barbecue sauces)
  • 1 1/4 pounds ground turkey breast
  • 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco® chipotle pepper sauce
  • 6 whole wheat hamburger buns
  • 6 large leaves of leafy lettuce, such as butter lettuce
  • 2 medium tomatoes, sliced
  • 1/4 red onion, sliced thin

Instructions

  1. Preheat a grill to medium-high heat, and oil the grates.
  2. Place one tablespoon of Major Grey’s Chutney in a large bowl, and mash out any large chunks of fruit. Add the ground turkey, grated apple, chives, parsley, canola oil, lemon juice, salt, ground pepper, and Tabasco® sauce.
  3. Mix all of these ingredients together thoroughly, and form into patties about 3/4 inch thick.
  4. Grill until cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side. Serve with the buns, lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, and the remaining Major Grey’s Chutney. If you prefer, they can be eaten with traditional condiments instead of the chutney.

Preparation time: 25 minute(s)

Cooking time: 20 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 4-6 (makes 6 burgers)

 

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Posted in Dinner, Fast, Kid Friendly, Lunch, Recipes

Inspirational Running, Running a New Version, and Why I’m Running From Zombies

Posted on by Ryan — No Comments ↓

Today’s post is about all about getting inspired, connecting, and…RUN!!!!

Inspirational Running

Amanda at “Runninghood” (as in motherhood) is a great blogger to read if you run, parent, like to laugh, or all of the above. She’s a former teacher who has shared some really great ideas like starting a gratitude jar with your kids, and who wrote very transparently about her grueling experience at the overheated 2012 Boston Marathon in Sparrow magazine. She’s just published her review and giveaway of my Spinning Meals app and will be giving away a $50 Whole Foods gift card and a $20 iTunes gift card which I’ve contributed, after the giveaway closes Wednesday night. Head over to the giveaway post, make a couple entries (odds are favorable), and you could be the lucky winner.

Running A New Version: Spinning Meals 1.1

Spinning Meals 1.1 was released last week and includes features and enhancements you’ve asked for including: photos, online recipe sharing (facebook or twitter), planning for more than 7 days, moving shopping list items around, emailing your meal plan, and streamlined workflow for adding recipes and meals.

We launched the app three months ago, and the whole thing has been quite a journey. By far the best part has been connecting with people who have discovered the app and are seeing it change their eating and planning habits. Along those lines, please comment below or connect by email (wecare at spinningmeals.com) and let me know what else you’d like to see the app do, as we continue to improve and extend it.

Why I’m Running From Zombies

Screenshot from Zombies, Run!

Collecting items in Zombies, Run! allows you to build up your virtual township, giving you a sense of perceived progress to go along with the real progress you are making in your health and fitness but can’t immediately see!

What do zombies have to do with any of this? Well, that is the topic that ties these two threads together: running, and apps with zombies. Naturally.

Yes it’s real, and serious business. There truly is a new running app which talks to you through the headphones to make you think you’re being chased by zombies in a post-apocalyptic world, motivating you to run faster and longer. Some of the gameplay is quite impressive actually, mashing together the concepts of interval training sprints, with game theory elements such as: goods accumulation, measurable achievement, adaptive difficulty, meaningful goals, and of course fun. So as you run along in zombie-infested areas, you pick up supplies which you bring back to base…unless you’re caught up to by sprinting zombies who take your stuff. Motivating? It’s all in your head of course, so it can be if you let it.

Running Towards Reality

If this sounds silly to you then you’re probably in the majority, and that’s fine – you’re probably more balanced than the rest of us! But so far it’s been a fun experiment for me, as I’ve never been good at running for running’s sake. More importantly, I love the innovation which we are now seeing around every turn. Some software/app/website ideas will fade into memory and others will stick around, as technology finds ways to have a positive impact on our real lives. I certainly hope that’s the case for Spinning Meals. How do you feel about apps like “Zombies, Run!”? What new technology inspires you, and what falls flat on its face in your own experience? Please tell me in the comments. Happy Running!

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Posted in Fitness, Food Articles, Philosophies, Spinning Meals

Dad Appreciation: Steak with Brown Butter Red Wine Sauce

Posted on by Ryan — 8 Comments ↓
Steak With Brown Butter Pan Sauce

Happy Father’s Day!

I worked pretty hard on some fancy writing for my Mother’s Day post, but for the guys it’s going to be all meat and potatoes. Well, just meat, actually. After all, Father’s Day is a time to put aside all those reasons we should be reducing our meat consumption, and just make sure that special guy gets something AWESOME.

Brown Butter Steak Sauce

How To Clarify Butter

Butter by itself can’t withstand high temperatures, but clarifying the butter gives it a high smoke point. Use a rubber spatula to hold back all but the clear portion for this early step.

So I’ve taken the basic concept from my Brown Butter Popcorn recipe, and developed a stove-top steak method with a quick, flavorful pan sauce. Of course, if dad really wants to grill outside, by all means fire up “the barbie.” But a few years ago I got Portland’s top steakhouse chefs to admit that a very hot pan can make just as good of a steak as a grill or broiler. The bonus is that the browned bits of meat left on the pan (called fond), dissolve into a great sauce to make every bite very rich and juicy.

To all the dads out there, know that you are respected, appreciated, and a crucial part of a happy healthy family. Happy Father’s Day!!!

OK, enough words, it’s time for some meat.

Recipe: Steak with Brown Butter Red Wine Sauce

Ingredients

Steak With Brown Butter Pan Sauce

Even lean steaks taste great with this sauce, since it makes them extra juicy without needing extra fat.

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 4 8-ounce steaks of 1″ thickness, such as rib eye, sirloin, strip, or flat iron
  • salt
  • fresh ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup full-bodied red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
  • 1/4 cup chicken stock or chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 2 ounces crumbled quality blue cheese such as Gorgonzola, Roquefort, or Maytag

Instructions

  1. Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a large heavy-bottomed skillet (not non-stick). Continue cooking, swirling the pan occasionally to check color, until the butter foams and then brown particles form and turn a medium caramel brown color. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully pour the browned butter into a heat-proof pitcher, using a rubber spatula to scrape the pan clean.
  2. Slowly pour the clear part of the butter back into the pan (this is “clarified butter”), using the rubber spatula to hold back the foam on the top (see photo), and allowing the browned bits to remain at the bottom of the pitcher, as this will be added later to the sauce.
  3. Pat the steaks dry, and season liberally on both sides with salt and fresh ground pepper. NOTE: For one-inch steaks there’s no need to let them come to room temperature. In fact cold is better, to ensure they develop a good crust before the interior overcooks.
  4. Turn on the fan and heat the skillet on high, until the clarified butter just begins to smoke. Add the steaks to the pan, cover with a splatter guard or lid, and cook for exactly two minutes.
  5. Flip the steaks and reduce heat to medium high. At this point cook 1 minute for rare, 2 minutes for medium-rare, or 3 minutes for medium/medium-well.
  6. Turn off the heat, move the steaks to a platter, cover them with aluminum foil and a towel, and allow them to rest while preparing the pan sauce.
  7. Discard any fat remaining in the pan, but do not scrape it clean or remove the browned bits from the bottom. While the pan is still fairly hot, carefully add in the chicken stock or broth, red wine, balsamic vinegar, mustard, and most importantly the brown butter which had been set aside. Whisk these all together, scraping the bottom of the pan to dissolve the browned bits into the liquid. Add salt to taste.
  8. Serve the steaks topped with the sauce and crumbled blue cheese. NOTE: Be sure to stir the sauce before spooning or pouring it over the steaks, as the brown butter portion will settle to the bottom.

Preparation time: 20 minute(s)

Cooking time: 20 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 4

Microformatting by hRecipe.

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Posted in Dinner, Family, Fast, High Heat, Recipes, Techniques, Thanks

Doneness: What 100 Pounds of Ham Taught Me About Pink Pork

Posted on by Ryan — No Comments ↓

Pink is the new white! Pork Tenderloin with Gorgonzola Sauce (recipe link below)

The National Pork Board came to this year’s IACP conference to party. They were celebrating last year’s USDA change in guidelines for pork doneness, and I celebrate with them, as this is embarassingly long overdue.

When I wrote about cooking fresh pork leg in The Oregonian in ’09, the 160 degree rule was still in effect. As was widely known in the industry (commercial preparation allowed temps as low as 140 at the time), 160 is way too high and dry for a lean cut like a leg, loin, or chop, and unnecessary. I couldn’t punish my readers by instructing this, but my editor wasn’t exactly excited about publishing recommendations far below government guidelines. So I wrote a full sidebar explaining the whole issue, how the risk of contracting trichinosis from pork (the reason for the higher temperature) was essentially eliminated when pork feed regulations changed in 1980. Yes, for those keeping score at home, that’s 31 years before the recommendation change. Today, the trichinosis-causing parasite can still be found in bear meat however, so please watch out for that everyone, with all the bear meat I’m sure you’re eating these days.

For the three recipes I developed for The O that year, I roasted my way through over 100 pounds of fresh pork leg (a.k.a. fresh ham). Recipe testing is not easy folks, and it’s not surprising that my family hasn’t asked for fresh pork leg since, tasty though it is.

Pork Doneness Temperatures

Please ignore the markings on your old meat thermometers, they’re all wrong! Lean pork cuts (for example chops, loin, tenderloin) should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees, followed by a 3 minute rest period. Some pink is okay. We typically cook ours to 150, as a texture preference.

Ground pork should be cooked to 160, and cuts which are suited for slow cooking, like pork shoulder, should be cooked to 170 actually, though this is not for safety but for the tenderizing effect these cuts achieve at higher temps.

Try A Little Tenderness

If you’re trying to reduce your fat intake and you have a little room in your grocery budget, fall in love with pork tenderloin. It’s as lean as boneless skinless chicken breasts, and there are lots of great recipes out there, although I don’t recommend the pre-marinated versions you can buy. I adapted one of our favorite Bon Appétit recipes for the Spinning Meals app, Pork Tenderloin with Gorgonzola Sauce, which you can find here.

How do you feel about pink pork? Glad about the change or still a little nervous about it?

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Posted in Dinner, Food Articles

Rawesome Slawesome: Green Apple Poppy Seed Coleslaw

Posted on by Ryan — No Comments ↓
Poppyseed Green Apple Coleslaw

I’m a big fan of coleslaw. Partially because my brother-in-law makes it so well (see his recipe below), but also because it has a real purpose in life.

Sure, it might crush one’s ego to be resoundingly type-cast as a side dish the way coleslaw has been. But what slaw brings to the table is really key: rawness. That uncooked vegetable splendor (plus fruit in this case) contains enzymes which were cooked out of your: pulled pork, ribs, brisket, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, potato salad, corn, baked beans… Enzymes help digestion in a big way, but denature at about 150 F. So now that summer is essentially here, let’s give props to this “supporting actor.” And as a general rule, make an effort to always throw something fresh and uncooked on your plates at each meal. What’s your favorite way to add in something fresh?

Happy Memorial Day everyone. And while you’re enjoying your freedoms, friends, and family, print out a copy of my brother-in-law’s delicious apple poppy seed coleslaw recipe. It will take good care of you all summer long.

Recipe: Green Apple Poppy Seed Coleslaw

Summary: My brother-in-law Carl has obsessed over the perfect coleslaw recipe. Here it is, with his permission.

Ingredients

Poppyseed Green Apple Coleslaw

  • One half medium head of green cabbage, thinly sliced
  • Some red cabbage, thinly sliced (optional, for color)
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
  • 1 ounce very thinly sliced sweet onion
  • 2 granny smith or other crisp tart apples, julienned (thin strips)

For the dressing:

  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 3/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, toss together the cabbage, carrot, onion, and apples.
  2. In a separate bowl whisk together honey, rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar, mayonnaise, white pepper, salt, and poppy seeds, until smooth.
  3. Drizzle the dressing over the fruit and vegetable mixture, and toss to coat. Sprinkle with additional poppyseeds if desired.

Preparation time: 15 minute(s)

Total time: 15 minute(s)

Diet type: Vegetarian

Diet tags: Raw

Number of servings (yield): 8

Culinary tradition: USA (Southern)

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Posted in Dinner, Lunch, Raw Food, Recipes, Uncategorized

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