Recipes Discovered

Pulled Pork Sandwiches Recipe

I think Seth is getting a little impatient waiting for summer to come. He has been asking for everything barbecued recently. Who can blame him – with all the dreary weather we have had, I am ready for some sunshine as well. I made these pulled pork sandwiches last week, and I like to think they brought the nice weekend weather we just had. The pork was roasted in the oven for a couple hours, making it super tender before I pulled it apart and it in homemade BBQ sauce. Neither Seth or I really enjoy the vinegar based sauces typical of pulled pork sandwiches, so I opted for a ketchup based sauce. The cole slaw was especially for Seth, who loves it piled on his sandwiches. The creamy cole slaw did pair nicely with the smoky BBQ sauce. The sandwiches turned out great, and they also brought a sunny weekend, so who can complain about that?

Barbecue Sauce Recipe

Cole Slaw Recipe

Black Bean Burger with Chipotle Ketchup

I recently got a new Mayo Clinic cookbookthat had a recipe for black bean burgers. Since I really enjoyed the black bean burgers I made a few months ago, I though it would be fun to try a new recipe to compare them. The Mayo Clinic recipe was a lot more complex, but it had a lot different ingredients to add flavor. Plus, included in the recipe was chipotle ketchup, which sounded really good.

I made the ketchup first by combining fresh tomatoes, sweet onion, garlic, tomato paste, vinegar, a chipotle chili, cumin, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Chipotle chilis are smoked jalpenos, and the adobe sauce is a sweet vinegar sauce the chilis marinate in. They are a fairly spicy, so I like to scrape as many seeds out of the chili as I can, so the heat doesn’t overwhelm the dish. I let the ketchup simmer for 15 minutes until it was thick enough to qualify as ketchup, and then I removed it from the heat and let it cool. >> Read more

Roasted Vegetable Spread Recipe

I was working on my blog the other day and watching Good Eats when I saw Alton Brown make this Roasted Vegetable Spread. It seemed so simple, yet it looked and sounded so incredibly delicious, I went directly to the kitchen and made a batch.

I cut down on the recipe quite a bit, since I just wanted some for lunch. I used about 1/4 of a red pepper, 1/4 of an onion, 1 clove of garlic, and 1 cup of halved and sliced zucchini. I tossed all the veggies with oil, seasoned them with salt and pepper, and then roasted them in a 400 degree oven. I’m not sure how Alton roasted his vegetables for 45 minutes. Mine were definitely done after 15 minutes, which was fine with me because that meant I could eat sooner, but just make sure to keep an eye on them. >> Read more

Turkette Recipe

Although I didn’t make this recipe, I can tell you that it is absolutely delicious. My aunt made it over the weekend, and the leftover just keep getting better and better. Turkette is similar to porkette or pulled pork, but it’s made with turkey obviously. After roasting a turkey, my aunt pulled the turkey off the bone, shredded it, and added it to her slow cooker with the broth from the roasting pan. Of course, she doesn’t have an exact recipe (she’s another old school cook like my mom), so I don’t know the exact measurements on the spices, but she added fennel, oregano, basil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste. She also adds some water if there isn’t enough broth to moisten the turkey. After cooking the turkey on low for a few hours (at least 3, up to 8 she says), the turkette is served on buns. Our favorite topping is sweet pickled relish, but I’m sure there are other good ones. It’s a little bit different, but it makes a great sandwich!

Savory Turkey Burger Recipe

Since Seth and I were stuck packing on the 4th of July, I thought I would at least try to keep with tradition and make burgers for lunch. I’m not a big fan of red meat and prefer a turkey burger to a hamburger, so that’s what we had.
Ground turkey is pretty easy to find in the stores now. I usually go with the ground turkey breast since it’s leaner, but the dark meat is more moist and has a little more flavor. I also sometimes mix the two together. I add a lot of seasoning to the burgers since turkey is drier than beef. Thyme and sage go really well with turkey, and I also add minced onions and garlic (or a minced shallot), salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Cranberries are outstanding in these burgers as well. I haven’t tried adding the walnuts. After mixing all the ingredients together lightly (don’t overwork the meat), I shaped them into patties and fried them over medium heat for about 7 minutes a side. I would normally grill them, but the grill isn’t currently in working order.

I have added a variety of cheeses to the burgers, including Swiss, muenster, and cheddar. I decided to go with brie this time, which was interesting because the brie just melted into a thick liquid. I ended up spooning it out of the pan and onto the burgers, which worked out pretty well and tasted great. While the turkey burger obviously doesn’t taste like the traditional burger, I still think it’s very good. It has a terrific flavor from all the seasoning and cheese, plus it retains moisture from the onions and garlic. Served on a wheat bun with lettuce and a little Russian dressing, and it makes one exceptional burger.