What's Cooking?

Happy 4th of July, readers! In the event that you are inside scouring the Web for grilling recipes, instead of outside enjoying sunshine and watermelon, we've got one last day of recipes in our 4th of July series. For our final recipe, it seemed good to end on something savory and satisfying. Though I'm still thinking of making the beef and andouille burgers I recommended a couple weeks ago, I have to admit that I find a salmon burger hard to resist. And I don't think it's just because I live in Northwest! They're simple to prepare, are generally at least moderately healthy, and have a way of filling you up without leaving you totally stuffed. Which is great, because you'll have lots of room left for s'mores, which is really what grilling is all about, right?

This recipe comes from the July 2001 issue of Bon Appétit.

Salmon Burgers with Dill Tartar Sauce

Ingredients:
10 ounces skinless salmon fillet, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup purchased tartar sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 sesame-seed rolls, split
Red onion slices
4 Bibb lettuce leaves

Directions:
1. Place salmon fillets, 3 tablespoons tartar sauce, 1 tablespoon dill, salt, and pepper in a food processor. Blend using on/off turns until coarsely ground. Form into two 1/2-inch-thick patties. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
2. Prepare barbecue to medium-high heat.
3. Whisk 1/2 cup tartar sauce, 1 tablespoon dill, and lemon peel in medium bowl to blend.
4. Grill rolls until toasted. Transfer to two plates and spread bottom halves generously with sauce. Grill patties until fish is cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Place burgers atop sauce on rolls. Top each with onion slices, two lettuce leaves, and top half of roll. Serve, with extra sauce on the side.

Makes 2 burgers.

--KitchenMaus

From flickr. And get this--it's vegan. VeganYumYum has a recipe for it.

--Spanno

I love watermelon. Almost as much as I love sweet potatoes. And, when it comes to the backyard feast this weekend, I'm in charge of bringing the melon.

Although I can eat this sweet, fleshy melon on its own, I also like to put watermelon in salads. I've tried and loved Todd English's fennel, watermelon salad. This year, I'll be making grilled watermelon salad à la Cafe Panache. And, how much more fitting of a recipe do you need for one of the biggest grilling weekends of the year?

Ingredients:

2 large slices seedless watermelon, about 1-1/2 inches thick (cut from the center)
1 medium red onion, cut into very thin strips (julienne)
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1-1/2 cups pitted kalamata olives, cut in half
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 to 16 ounces baby or tender spinach, stemmed, washed and dried
1 to 2 tablespoon finely chopped basil leaves, for garnish
1 to 2 tablespoon finely chopped mint leaves, for garnish

Directions:

1. Prepare the grill. If using a gas grill, heat it to medium. If using a charcoal grill, start the charcoal or wood briquettes; when the briquettes are ready, distribute them evenly under the cooking area for direct heat. Oil the grate.

2. Grill the watermelon slices for 2 minutes, then turn over and grill for 2 minutes, until slightly caramelized on both sides. Transfer to a plate and refrigerate for about 10 minutes, until slightly chilled.

3. Meanwhile, combine the onion, feta cheese and olives in a medium mixing bowl.

4. Cut the chilled watermelon into 1 1/2-inch cubes (discarding the rind), then add to the bowl, tossing lightly to combine.

5. Whisk together the oil and vinegar in a small bowl; add the salt and pepper. Pour the vinaigrette over the ingredients in the bowl, tossing to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours to marinate.

6. To serve, divide the spinach among individual plates. Spoon the watermelon mixture over the spinach, reserving some of the vinaigrette to drizzle on the plate. Sprinkle basil and mint to taste on each salad and serve immediately.

Serves 4. This recipe is courtesy of The Washington Post.
--Sous-Chef on the Run

PS. If you love watermelon too, try out Bon Appétit's Watermelon-Cucumber Margarita, featured by KitchenMaus back in May. Delicious!

I have a slight addiction to cooking magazines. That is, if “slight” can be used to define two towering piles of magazines at work and at home. Some commentary on what issues are at the top of these stacks:

Everyday Food: Just recipes and food tips, no health, fitness or beauty advice included. One of my favorite sections is when they feature multiple recipes for one seasonal ingredient. Who but Martha could get me hooked on roasted beets and butternut squash? A recipe I have gone back to many times is Frozen Mocha Toffee-Crunch Terrine, which is easy to make and requires no baking. My constructive criticism (because I am sure Martha can take it) is that the nutrition information should be included up front with the recipe, not just in the index; and sometimes the layout of the recipes is in a paragraph format, which can be challenging to follow in the heat of cooking.

Cooking Light: With the largest number of recipes in each issue, they don’t think that cooking light means giving up important food groups such as dessert. The health information right at the bottom of each recipes to help you decide if it works for you. A few years ago, Cooking Light had a section on brining and this recipe for Orange-Brined Pork Loin has never failed me. Sometimes their ingredients veer towards the unnatural—Egg Beaters, non-fat cream cheese…and I find myself struggling to translate ½ cup of egg beaters into real eggs. The health and travel information can be a bit distracting, but they did name Seattle their healthiest city, so I won’t complain too much.

Cooking With Paula Deen:  My slight food snobbery (and here slight actually means “a small amount”) has been jolted with beginning to read Cooking with Paula Deen. Some recipes do make your heart slow down just by reading them, heavy whipping cream, cream cheese and butter, and this is in a salad? But you can’t go wrong with “Bacon Wrapped Pretzels.” I can’t find the recipe, maybe the Surgeon General got involved.

I also read non-cooking magazines for recipes (is that like reading Playboy for the articles?). A few of my favorite recipes include Orange Maple Pancakes with Orange Syrup from O, The Oprah Magazine. Who knew that syrup could be improved on? Oprah does!

Another favorite, this one from Sunset: I don’t fancy myself an expert on Mexican food, but I really like the taste of this Chorizo and the accompanying recipe for tacos that include potato, egg and cheese.

Next, I will tackle some of the classics: Gourmet, Bon Appetit—whose covers I have considered using as wallpaper—and some smaller titles, including EatingWell and Clean Eating.

But before then: what are some of your favorite cooking magazines and why?

From flickr, via...THE DEVIL. Either that, or it's from a Google cafeteria in New York. Apparently they serve Krispy Kreme bacon cheeseburgers, a.k.a Luther Burgers.

--Spanno

Inspired by the Accidental Hedonist's angel food cake idea and the Twinkies Cookbook my husband gave me for my birthday, last weekend we threw a few Twinkies on the grill. They were quite tasty, actually. Crisp and warm on the outside, and gooey on the inside. They'd probably be great with some chocolate tucked in while grilling--a Twinkie s'more! Feast your eyes:

   

Stay tuned for more Twinkie culinary creations from KitchenMaus!

--KitchenMaus

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Independence Day than with a liquid salute to the first first lady. It’s especially nice because I found this recipe in the Little Black Book of  Cocktails, by LUPEC Boston. If you don’t know, LUPEC stands for Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails--as it says in this lovely little book, they are “a classic cocktail society dedicated to breeding, raising, and releasing nearly extinct drinks into the world.” I think this is a mission all the founding fathers and mothers (who were fond of their punches, let me assure you) would be proud of. If you have a cocktail-loving bone in your body (or like reading about cocktails, or just like reading entertaining posts written by witty folks, or like a shaken combination of all of the above), you owe it to yourself to make an Independence Day resolution to start reading the LUPEC Boston blog (at http://lupecboston.blogspot.com/) and to picking up the Little Black Book (you’ll find information on how to pick it up on the blog). As a bonus, the proceeds from the book sale go to charity.

Ingredients:
3 lemons, quartered
1 orange, quartered
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3 cinnamon sticks, broken
6 cloves
4 ounces freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice
4 ounces simple syrup
12 ounces boiling water
Light rum
Orange Curaçao

Directions:
1. In a sturdy container, mash together lemons, orange, nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, and cloves. Add the juices and syrup.

2. Pour the boiling water in the container. Let it cool, and then strain out the solids. Heat the juice mixture to a boil, and then simmer for 10 minutes. Let it cool completely, and refrigerate (overnight is good, but in a pinch, I’ll bet you could use it sooner).

3. In a punch bowl, combine 3 parts of the juice mixture with 1 part light rum and 1/2 part orange curaçao.

4. Serve over ice in punch cups or other revolutionary glassware. Top each glass with a bit more grated nutmeg and cinnamon.

--A.J. Rathbun

Today we kick off a mouth-watering week of 4th of July recipes. From appetizers to dessert, we'll make sure your menu is dynamite.

Scallops are sweet, meaty, and delicious by themselves. They don't really need anything to make them better. However, if you wrap them in bacon, you get an amazing appetizer or salad topping that's perfection in its own right.

Ingredients:
2 pounds large scallops
8 slices of bacon
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
black pepper to taste
8 wooden skewers

Directions:
1. Soak wooden skewers in water for an hour before using.
2. Combine vinegar, oil, and black pepper in a medium bowl.
3. Add scallops to mixture and toss to coat. Cover and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes at room temperature.
4. Preheat grill for medium-high heat.
5. Cut bacon into thirds. Wrap a piece of bacon around each scallop and thread onto skewers. There should be 3-4 scallops per skewer.
6. Place on a lightly oiled grill rack and cook for 3 minutes per side. When the scallop is opaque in color, remove from grill and serve.

This recipe is courtesy of About.com.

--Spanno

Well, readers, it's the end of the week, the sun's finally found Seattle, and I'm ready to hit the patio and start grilling. For this week's Recipe Roundup I've selected some mouthwatering recipes for outdoor dining. Also, make sure to check back next week when we'll be featuring a daily recipe for spectacular 4th of July cooking. And, without further ado:

• Rip's Grilled Chicken Baste features lime, mustard, and tarragon, on Ruhlman.com
• Grilled Asparagus with Parsley Sauce has double the green, on Laylita's Recipes
• Miso-Glazed Tuna Kebabs take a Nobu spin, on Epicurious
• Shrimp Tikka comes with a side of mango chutney, on Epicurious
• Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Apples makes good use of foil, on Allrecipes
• The experts at Weber tell us how to make chili on the grill
• Grilled Eggplant and Goat Cheese Burgers take a veggie spin, on Better Recipes

Also, a special shout-out to the Accidental Hedonist for suggesting grilled angel food cake. Yum!

--KitchenMaus

My favorite summer snack, paired with a cold Hefeweizen and plate of veggies, is hummus. There's nothing like being able to gorge yourself on that creamy, tangy mush knowing it's relatively healthy. This is why, in my opinion, it beats out spinach dip and ranch dip. Here's a modified version of my father's recipe.

Papa Spanno's Hummus

Ingredients:
2 cans garbanzo beans
1/2 cup Tahini
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup warm water
3 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/2 cup lime juice
2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
Frank's Red Hot (just a shot or two)
Cayenne pepper

Directions:
1. Dump everything but the cayenne pepper into a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Pour into a bowl and sprinkle with cayenne and a little olive oil.
3. Serve with a plate of veggies and cold beer.

--Spanno