Pesto Chicken Burger Sliders with Roasted Red Pepper and Pesto-Hummus

Alright, I'm going be blunt. I'm pretty proud of this one. This was another instance of some weird culinary vision that I created in my head and couldn't seem to shake until I saw it executed. My first thought was to make chicken burgers, since I'm steering clear from red meat for a while but really love burgers. (This? And this?! I've made my case.) Then immediately I thought, "You know what I love more than burgers? Burger sliders!" I don't know what it is, but they're just so damn cute! And juicy. And you're eating less, even if you have four of them, right?

Anyway, Dylan and I made these last Friday before going out, and when I say they were amazing, that's an understatement. The pesto and lemon hummus spread is the perfect melt-in-your-mouth topping for these succulent chicken burgers, and the slightly warmed, soft ciabatta rolls made the whole burger literally melt with each bite. The best way to sum up these burgers is to quote Dylan's reaction. He's fairly honest with my cooking, and he never gushes unless I really hit the jackpot. So when he said, "I don't even want to go out anymore because this is already the best part of my night," I knew I found a recipe (and a boy) worth keeping.

Pesto Chicken Burger Sliders with Roasted Red Pepper and Pesto-Hummus
Makes: 5 sliders  Prep: 15 minutes  Total: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 lb ground chicken
1/2 cup pesto
3 tbs egg whites
Salt and pepper
6 tbs lemon hummus
5 large roasted red peppers
5 mini ciabatta rolls

Directions
Combine ground chicken, egg whites, and 2 tablespoons of pesto into a medium bowl and mix with hands. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Once incorporated, form the meat into 5 mini burger patties. In a large skillet, fry the burgers for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the meat is fully cooked and the juices run clear.
For the pesto and lemon hummus spread, combine the remaining pesto (6 tsp) with the lemon hummus. Before serving, briefly warm the ciabatta rolls in the oven and layer a generous amount of the hummus spread on the top bun. Assemble the burgers and serve with sweet potato fries.

Citrus Veggie Quinoa Salad

I suppose you can't really have a food blog these days and not have at least one post about quinoa, right? If you've never had quinoa, there are a few things you need to know:

1) It's pronounced "KEEN-wah", not "ki-NO-wah" or "qui-NO-wah" or any other easily mistakable pronunciation.
2) Quinoa became very popular because of influential food bloggers like Heidi Swanson, who turned an unusual grain into a multi-functional health food staple.
3) Quinoa is kind of a grain, but kind of not. It's like a seed, but more like a grain? Whatever it is, it's surprisingly really good.

So, I made a huge batch of quinoa salad to use as a grab-and-go snack, lunch and dinner this past week. Somehow I've managed to eat the same thing all week and not get sick of it, meaning I'll definitely be experimenting with more quinoa recipes in the near future.

Citrus Veggie Quinoa Salad
Serves: 10-12  Prep: 25  Total: 40 minutes

Ingredients
1 pound boxed quinoa
1 yellow pepper
1 orange pepper
1 small eggplant
2 Roma tomatoes
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
lemon juice
olive oil
garlic salt
pepper

Directions
Prepare quinoa on the stove as directed.
In the meantime, chop eggplant, pepper, tomato and green onion. Cook eggplant in a medium skillet until slightly softened, or about 5 minutes. Add the pepper into the skillet and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Lastly, add the green onion and tomato and cook for one more minute. Remove from heat.
When the quinoa is full cooked, add in mixed vegetables and toss with citrus dressing (1 part lemon juice, 1 part olive oil, garlic salt and pepper).

Pumpkin Blueberry Scones with Blueberry Glaze

I'm finally getting settled into my brand new apartment in Boston. I've hardly had time to buy groceries, let alone cook, which makes me very sad. My new kitchen is very tiny but my roommates and I are making good use of it. Cooking is such a great stress reliever for me, so after this busy week is over I'm hoping to whip up some new creations.

On that note, tomorrow marks the first official day of fall! Fall always makes me a little nostalgic because it reminds me of home. There's nothing like apple picking in New York and watching the beautiful rolling hills change to vibrant shades of orange and red at the peak of the leaves. As an adieu to summer and welcoming for fall, I created this recipe for pumpkin blueberry scones.

Cooking in between seasons is great because you combine produce that's on it's way out with new seasonal flavors. If you're having a hard time letting go of summer cooking, these scones are the perfect in between recipe to bring you around and get you excited for warm, fall comfort foods. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Blueberry Scones with Blueberry Glaze
Makes: 8 scones  Prep: 20 minutes  Total: 40 minutes

Ingredients
Pumpkin Blueberry Scones:
2 cups flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup 100% pure pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup blueberries

Blueberry Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbs milk
1/4 cup crushed blueberries

Directions
Pumpkin Blueberry Scones:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter until it is in pea-sized pieces. Mix in buttermilk, pumpkin and vanilla. Carefully fold blueberries into the dough, trying not to break them.
On a floured surface, knead the dough for 1 minute until semi-firm and moist. Roll the dough into a long rectangle. Cut in half width-wise so the dough is in two squares. Cut each square twice from corner to corner to make 8 triangular scones. Place scones on papered baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

Blueberry Glaze:
While the scones are baking, measure out 1/4 cup of blueberries and juice or push them through a strainer to separate the blueberry juice from the skin. Try to remove as much skin as possible in the process. (A little is okay - you want the glaze to be thick.) Combine the blueberry juice with the powdered sugar and milk. Wait until scones are completely cooled before drizzling the glaze on top.

Buffalo Chicken Dip with Banana Peppers

Perhaps this is a phenomena that exists only amongst my girl friends at home, but we love dip. We can polish off a bowl of dip so fast that we barely even remember eating it. I decided to come up with my own recipe for buffalo chicken dip, a favorite of my friends, for a girls night at my house. Because really, what goes better with a box of Franzia than steaming hot cheese?

Alright, so this is definitely not the healthiest post I've ever done. However, being from Upstate New York I need to recognize the glory that is buffalo chicken (wings, pizza, sub, you name it - I've tried it). Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York is credited with the creation of buffalo chicken wings, but I didn't discover buffalo chicken in other forms until I entered college. Buffalo chicken of every variety is my #1 guilty pleasure food.

This dip is perfect for a tailgate or lazy night with friends. Just make sure to wear your turkey pants!

Buffalo Chicken Dip with Banana Peppers
Serves: 10-12 people  Prep: 10 minutes  Total: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 rotisserie chicken (about 2 cups of chicken meat)
1 8-ounce package of cream cheese
1/2 cup blue cheese dressing
1/2 cup Original Anchor Bar Buffalo Wing Sauce
1 cup banana peppers, chopped or whole
1/2 cup crumbly Gorgonzola
Tortilla chips and celery

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Remove all the meat off of a precooked rotisserie chicken and chop into medium cubes. Set aside.
In a 9-inch pie dish, combine cream cheese, blue cheese dressing and buffalo wing sauce. Add chopped chicken and banana peppers and mix well. Sprinkle Gorgonzola on top and place in the oven for 20 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips and celery.

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Honey Hush Cornbread

Hurricane Irene is hitting most of New England right now, while I sit snuggled safely in my house in Upstate New York. I've been huddled on my laptop all day keeping an eye on the storm and all my friends in Boston. I can't think of a better time to introduce a new recipe dedicated to my second home.

Actually, this recipe pays homage to both my homes, here in Syracuse and back in Boston. Syracuse is pretty quaint as far as cities go, but if we're known for one thing (besides Syracuse University basketball) it's Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. This barbecue joint has been famous since I was born, originating right off of West Gennesee Street in downtown Syracuse, and has since introduced locations in Harlem, Troy, and Rochester.

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que was voted America's Best BBQ in a nation-wide search held by "Good Morning America" back in 2009. It has also been featured on the Travel Channel's show Man v. Food. Dylan and I are in a constant debate about the supremacy of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, as he is convinced there is no {insert noun} better than the one in DC. I've since gotten him to admit that it is "on par" with his favorite barbecue restaurant in his hometown. I'll accept that as defeat.

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que  Honey Hush Cornbread
Serves: 9  Prep: 10 minutes  Total: 40 minutes

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons honey*

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl, combine cornmeal, sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda and kosher salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, melted butter and honey. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and mix until moist all the way through.
Pour the batter into a greased 8x8 inch baking pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

*In the original recipe, the honey is brushed on top of the cornbread after baking. I decided to incorporate it into the batter for a richer taste throughout. Either way will do the trick!

Argentine Food Adventures

Hello all! I'm back in the States from an amazing trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. My hopes to food blog while away, to put it bluntly, failed. Between classes, being with my peers and seeing the city, there wasn't much room for personal downtime. And what little downtime I did receive, you can bet I was napping.

Before I continue with my regular recipe sharing, I want to fill you in on some highlights of Argentine cuisine.

Carbs

Most meals I ate in Argentina or received from my host family were loaded with carbohydrates. A standard day of meals would consist of a medialuna for breakfast (pictured above), empanadas for lunch, and a plate of polenta for dinner. There were so many carbs, in fact, that one was left wondering how everyone in this country was skinny. Because of the winter season, you would be hard-pressed to find an appealing variety of produce in the city, let alone one decent tomato. Since empanadas (pies filled with meat and cheese) were the cheapest option, they became a lunchtime staple amongst my fellow students.

Beef

Argentine beef is certainly something to brag about. The grass fed cows produce a richer, more tender cut of meat. One of my best meals in Argentina was a fat cut of beef I had at a traditional tango show that almost put me in a red meat-induced coma for the rest of my stay. My only beef (no pun intended) was when I tried to order a hamberguesa, wanting to eat something reminiscent of home, only to get a filet cut of steak on funny tasting bread. Still delicious but deceiving. This creation came from Uruguay, topped with ham and a fried egg... Not for the health-conscious.

Submarinos
Observe:

Step 1: Order a Submarino. Receive a mug of freshly steamed milk and a bar of Submarino chocolate.

Step 2: Unwrap the chocolate bar and submerge in the steamed milk like so.

Step 3: Stir the chocolate into the steamed milk for the freshest hot chocolate you've ever had in your life.

Mate

Mate is a type of tea specific to South America, particularly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. Dry leaves of mate are loosely steeped in hot water, and it requires a unique calabash gourd and a bombilla (silver straw) to drink it. The bombilla blocks the loose mate while letting in the delicious, grassy tea. These are some calabash gourds at Recoleta, a popular open-air market for artisans. Almost every person working a stand at Recoleta would be drinking mate, passing the gourd amongst their peers. The ubiquity of mate can be compared to that of Starbucks in the US, except mate is much cheaper.

Wine

It was cheap. It was delicious. It was enjoyed by all.

How to Make Lobster Rolls with Five Easy Ingredients

I finally did it! After months of dreaming about cooking up this classic New England creation, I finally made my very own lobster rolls. The sense of accomplishment was overwhelming, but the taste far outshone my pride. This was the last dinner Dylan and I cooked together before heading home for the week to prepare for my Argentine adventures. We made the lobster stuffing the night before, so all we had to do was come home after work the next day, grill up the buns, and overflow them with lobster-y goodness.

Meet Judas.

I was so excited to bring home our new lobster friends, but saddened that we would have to end their short crustaceous lives. I decided we would name them after infamous historical figures to make ourselves (meaning me) feel better about boiling them. Thus, Judas and Brutus came to be. I'd like to think Judas and Brutus had a nice little vacation in our freezer before their time came. I made Dylan cook the poor guys, and he lectured me about how if I'm going to eat meat, I should be able to kill it myself. Somehow I don't see myself hunting wild boar anytime soon.

Here are a few photos of how Judas and Brutus made if from pot to plate.

Yum! After a lot of shell cracking, I started to feel less remorse about Judas and Brutus and more excited for these lobster rolls! Once I had all my meat, I simply mixed in some mayo, lemon juice, scallions and paprika and stuck it in the fridge. Serve with some chips and, if you're looking for a drink pairing, an ice cold Landshark. Bon Appétit!

New England Lobster Rolls
Makes: 4 small rolls  Prep: 40 minutes  Total: 45 minutes

Ingredients
1- 2.5 lb lobster (or 2- 1.25 lb lobsters)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 scallions, diced
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
4 New England-style hot dug buns

Directions
In a large pot, boil lobster for approximately 10 minutes until the shell turns bright red and the lobster floats to the top. (If you're using two lobsters, you most likely will need to cook them one at a time.) Remove lobster and place in a bowl of ice water to cool.
When the lobster is cool to the touch, remove and section off into four pieces: two legs (cut at the elbow joint), the tail, and the body. Begin breaking the legs to remove the meat, including the claws and leg joints. Bend the tail backward to crack the shell, and push the meat up through the end. Don't miss the meat in the fins of the tail!
Once you've extracted all your meat, chop it into small pieces. While the meat is still warm, mix in the mayo, scallions, paprika and lemon juice. Season with salt and peppers and refrigerate for no less than 1 and no more than 24 hours.
Before serving, butter the inside of 4 New England-style hot dog buns and toast until golden brown. Fill with lobster stuffing and serve with a side of chips.