Big Bird: Jumbo Chicken, Spinach, and Herb Burgers with Mushrooms and Swiss

These burgers are huge. Gigantic. I could barely finish one, and I forgot to buy spinach so they could have been even larger. They were, however, quite tasty and something I am planning on making again.

I think the spinach in the burgers would help to make them less dense. Chicken doesn't have a lot of fat so it's easy to pack down, and when you do, the fat won't cook away leaving a lighter structure as it does with beef. Rachael says this serves 4, I say make 6 normal sized patties, maybe even 8. Because of my inexperience making patties, I made them a little higher than they should have been and they were a real mouthful to eat. My mushrooms came out fantastic and they were a great addition to the recipe. I would suggest tossing in some onions with them to caramelize.

This recipe clocked in at 35 minutes. Without the prep it would have been 30 min, and my ginormous burgers took a longer time to cook. I think this one is possible to make in under 30 minutes. The burgers themselves were super easy to put together, I 'd even suggest doing so ahead of time. Ground chicken doesn't grill well because of the lack of fat, so stick with a frying pan.


PS- ignore the strewn clothes in the background, waiting to be put away in my closet (moving in)

A New Start

So I haven't updated in like forever. Graduation and job searching and generally trying to live a non-online life does that. But now I've settled down and cooked a few more meals and told myself that I will update on a more regular basis. Plus my friends might actually, possibly, occasionally read this and then they can see what I'm up to, or at least miss my cooking. I cooked a few winners this past week while I was slacking, waiting for my job to start and have a few more planned. I think I might start posting other things that I make that are good too. Which is amusing considering dinner this week will be franks and beans. July 4th just got me in the mood for good, summer, unhealthy food. It makes me miss The Lake and this is one small way to recreate it. Now if I only had a penguin floaty tube and a noodle. Life would be complete.

I decided that my new digs needed some green so I bought a basil plant. I was about to get a new pot for it when I discovered that there was a window box outside my kitchen window, hanging out on the fire escape! Life these past few weeks have been like that, full of really useful surprises that just help to lift my spirits.

I started work on Monday and I'm really excited. Everyone has been helpful in making me feel at home and what I'll be working on is pretty cool. I've been able to look on as other projects are being run, and everything is so fascinating. I love learning how things are made. My other job, the flour development, is going pretty well too. I need to push myself a little more on it, but so far I've been really pleased with my results. One day, I will become a true food scientist. However, for the next very long time, I will be quite content working where I do now. I guess every job seems fabulous the first week. I have high hopes.

In fact, I have high hopes for a lot of things right now but we'll see where that leads to . . .

#366 Sweet Lemon Salmon with Mini Carrots and Dill

With the way that I made this recipe, it's more of Sweet Lemon Salmon with Mini Carrots and Cilantro. Stupid Giant. I looked all over for fresh dill but they had none! I'm sticking with Superfresh after this. So, instead of buying dried dill I just used the cilantro I had lying around since I felt like this would be one of the few times that I'd use dill. This recipe also called for a skillet that could be transfered from the stove to the oven, but I only have non-stick and after learning in my Engineering in the Kitchen class what teflon can do to a person when exposed to very high temperatures (read: teflon toxicosis) I just cooked the salmon on the skillet. The fact that Rachael called for the fish to be moved to the oven puzzled me as one of my favorite recipes from the book, Salmon with Honey Lime Glaze and Corn and Black Bean Salsa (I'll put that up eventually) uses a similar glaze but the fish is cooked only on the stovetop.

This was one of the quicker recipes I've tried so far- only 25 minutes from start to finish. It's very simple; all you have to cook is the fish and the carrots. I wound up making potatoes too since I felt like I needed something more than just carrots, as much as I love them and all, they just don't cut it as an only side dish. The carrots did need the fresh dill. Cilantro went well with the meal, but any fresh herb would give the carrots a needed kick. I would, however, use less butter than what was called for. The bag of carrots I bought was two ounces more than what was called for and I used half as much butter and I still think that was too much. In fact, I think olive oil would be a good substitute. I really liked the glaze for the fish, but it too was missing a kick. I think red pepper flakes and a little more salt would make for a good contrast between the sweetness of all the sugar and honey.

Once again, no picture. this one wasn't very impressive looking though.

#40: Mostly Green Curry Chicken Over Coconut Jasmine Rice

This recipe had to be one of the easiest in the book, or at least with the shortest directions. Chop everything. Put in pan. Cook. I actually made this for company so I got distracted and forgot to take a picture or accurately time how long this took me to make. Although the flavors were there, it lacked some color. I would suggest adding red instead of green peppers but I don't think the flavors of the red would go quite as well. Maybe yellow? Or perhaps add corn instead of peas, even though the peas were a nice touch. All of the vegetables that were added were green or white and it just needed something for contrast.

That being said, this is a winner. As I said, extremely easy, tasty and I love the coconut rice, I think I'll have to make that on a regular basis.

Time: 34 minutes, with less efficient than normal chopping time and a break to answer the door.

Things to remeber: Find something not green for garnish?

226: Chicken and Sweet Potato Curry-in-a-Hurry

I was getting bored with safe recipes. Needed something a little spicier. I didn't think that I would be able to find curry powder/paste around here, but then a friend said it's available at the supermarket. Duh. And now I realize there's an Indian grocer down the street.

2 lbs of chicken seemed reasonable when I was buying it, but while chopping I realized just how much that was. This recipe definitely makes more than the promised 4 servings. Most of her meals that call for 1 or 1.5 lbs of meat last me for 4-5 meals. This one will probably last me for at least 6 or 7 plus a lunch. I'm sure that this meal will freeze nicely though so I can break it back out in a week or two.

Next time I would cut the peppers into smaller strips (I kept them the full length of the pepper) and be more careful about cutting the sweet potatoes into thin pieces, no more than 1/2 an inch. I bought a sweet potato that more closely resembled a nerf football, and I cut it into wedges that were closer to 3/4 or 1 inch thick. The problem with this was that they needed more than the prescribed 3-4 minutes at the beginning of the recipe to cook and because they were still slightly raw, I needed to simmer the mixture longer.

Figuring that half-and-half would be comparable to light cream, since the supermarket only had a small thing of light cream and I hate wasting things, I went ahead and used the light cream. I should have referenced my What Einstein Told His Cook by Robert Wolke, because the light cream did not give the dish the same texture as regular cream or half and half would have.

After completion, my apartment smelled delicious, and my sweatshirt absorbed in the curry scent. I spent the next day sniffing my clothes :D The meal was equally delicious although it was missing some slight flavoring. I think a dash of cinnamon might help.

Total time: 37 min. (the extra simmering added time, but it still would have taken me longer than 30 minutes)

For next time: cut peppers and sweet potatoes smaller, use the biggest pan possible, use heavy cream or half and half and add cinnamon.

My gourmet dinner:

A Concept

After much pondering, I've decided on a blog theme. Something that will catapult me to the same level as veganlunchbox and pinkisthenewblog. Reviewing my Rachael Ray dinners. Honestly, as an ISTJ I document time and improvements to recipes I try so I figured I might as well document my cooking.

What got the wheels in my head turning was an article in the NY Times (I'm pretty sure) where a reporter followed some of her recipes. However, she was not such a big fan and had trouble finishing the recipes in under 30 minutes. I believed this was a travesty as one recipe (salmon with honey-lime glaze) took me about 20 to complete and plate.

For your reference, I own 365: No Repeats. And yes, I really am another Rachel R.

Extreme Reaches of Boredom

What happens when one has nothing to do for 3 weeks? She starts thinking about stuff. Not that I've done nothing- I've started the job search and have taken my knitting to the next level. Other than that, the only people that I've seen are my parents, relatives and a childhood friend. I am considering going to the movies today but because of the holiday all of the mall rats will be out and I hate going alone- it makes me feel lonely. I've done it plenty of times before but it's pretty depressing, however I think I'm at my breaking point.

I've come to some conclusions about high school while I've had the ample time to let my mind wander. I hated it. That is nothing new. I was a jock in the drama/non-athlete crowd, as in I played a few sports and loved that but the social heirarchy of high school mandated that I wasn't as cool as my teammates becaue I was good friends with the drama crowd so I never hung out with them other than sports related stuff, although they were a fun bunch, and I always had games and never actually did drama so all of my good friends ignored me for their cooler drama friends. I had a few close friends, and those were the only ones I really kept in touch with after high school.

Unfortunately, out of those close friends, I barely speak to any of them. One I saw every break for a few years and then I realized how different we had become. I don't just mean what we wanted to do with our lives were different, but it seemed like to me she had lost all direction in life and was really happy getting into bar fights and waitressing in the south. She was just so different than what she was like when we were best friends in high school. My real best friend in high school never contacted me (maybe once) after graduation but I never expected her to anyway. (I know, what a friend).

This break has been depressing because I realized how one friend that I was really close to I let drift away and we hadn't spoke in a year or so. I used to love hanging out with him and being ridiculous. Now when I im-ed him it was just awkward and forced. I just get so tired of having to be the one keeping in touch and doing all the work. A lot of people from my high school commuted to college, including this friend and one other. I finally realized that part of the reason I have to do the planning is that they never are far from school friends. For me, everyone is a few hundred miles away and I don't get to see them (other than a few people who live pretty close) during breaks so I have to relay on high school friends for any social contact with people who I'm not related to. Commuting people do not have to experience the being away from all of your friends situation because most people still live within half an hour of each other. Case and point: if I want to see anyone I have to do all the work because they have other friends. I mean, I would probably do the same thing if I commuted (although I'd probably kill myself from living with my parents first) but every now and then it's nice to have a call or something reciprocated so that I know I'm not the only one that cares. Not that I do that anymore since I've given up...

I guess I feel kind of abandoned.

Going through that and now looking for a job where I'm continually told "being average at a good school is much worse than being over-average at a state school" has put a damper on life right now. Underaverage grades? Good luck finding a job. Just think- I could have slacked off at Northeastern for 5 years and gotten a 3.5+ and had my pick of a job. However, I worked my ass off at Hopkins for 4 years and have under a 3. Should have picked the easy route! And then I would have had a new car (since I would have had a full scholarship there my parents would have bought me a car), my pick of jobs, and the possibility of drinking if I had homework due, as opposed to paying 40,000$ a year, searching long and hard for a job that interests me and only going out if my work was done or under control (once a week).

On the other hand, I found this great career website for jobs in food which I think could be a real asset. One head hunting company has emailed me back through it, but they're more agriculture than foods. And located in the midwest. We'll see.