What did I cook this weekend.....

Just polished off a big ol' Greek salad. Homegrown lettuce and onions, and some avocado, marinated artichoke hearts, red & orange bell peppers, heirloom cherry tomatoes, Feta cheese, Kalamata olives, pepperoncini slices, and grilled Greek-marinated chicken thighs and breasts, sliced up and placed atop the dressed goodness. Found some fluffy whole wheat pitas at WalMart, of all places, which were quite good! Had half a bottle of Rombauer merlot left from two nights ago so that washed everything down nicely.

Mmmm, pictures, yeah, forgot that part.

 

As did I

 

Would have liked his but no pictures?

 

Can't always work in the pics. I did salmon steaks on the grill last night and chicken & walnuts in the wok tonight, but the hungry cubs were on it before I got the camera ready.

 

I always feel like some Instagram or FB junkie when I am takin pics of food porn. I just can't always do it.

Made chicken "stir fry" tonight. Not really stir-fry, but that's what it's been called for a looong time. Think of pepper steak without tomatoes, and with an Asian twist. Then sub steak out for chicken thigh meat, or even thin-sliced pork loin - all three meats work well. Serve over noodles or rice.

And of course, no pics, so it didn't happen.

 

When the food is hot, on the table, and is ready to eat - hard to remember to take a picture!

 

I didnt take pictures, but I made spaghetti squash with a garlic/butter/parmigiano dressing (tossed) with beef/italian-pork meatballs and italian sausage... Tasted pretty solid. Honestly, the next day at work, the spaghetti squash was more infused with the dressing. A co-worker tried some and was taken back (said it tasted restaurant-quality) though she admitted to never making anything from scratch.

I thought it was good for what it was. Marinara would have been better. Im on a keto diet so its all about the fat, which is why I went with squash and the butter sauce.

 

It was liked before I even commented

 

You people not taking photos to accompany your posts are NOT satisfying my need for food porn! Tighten up! Like this...kids first day of track out from school and both officially in middle school, so Dad makes biscuits, sausage and gravy. (Okay, didn't MAKE the sausage...I just cooked it.)

 

Throw some over-easy eggs on that! :cross:

 

I will readily admit that I enjoy the hell out of all the great pictures - I just have a really hard time TAKING them! I don't have a smart phone so I have to rely on keeping my little Kodak camera in the kitchen, which somehow migrates itself out of there at will. I promise to try harder!

 

Don't apologize, it only encourages them!

 

Ok, hopefully I will be making Pepper Jelly tonight if I can get some stuff done first. I'll try to remember to take pictures.

 

I think it's about time for some grilled kangaroo steaks this upcoming weekend!

 

I guess they let you kill anything in Finland

Curious how those turn out.

 

Mainly hopes and dreams but occasionally a kangaroo or two.

 

I have some cauliflower&Yukon Gold potatoes to make a blended mash, some corn on the cobb, and I have some hand-pattied burgers to grill. I divided up the meat into balls first and then checked the weight: 2 @ 4-3/8 oz 3 @ 4-1/2 oz...not bad! More pictures will follow.

 

Went to Polanski's meat market again today, after a long hiatus. Got some fresh made Hungarian sausage & garlic sausage. Big Uns too! Juicy with a burst of flavor. A little cayenne mustard & it was hot, juicy goodness. Belly all happy now. Got more for tomorrow...I'll have to remember to get the camera out next time.:rockin:

 

As promised: cheeseburger, potato & cauliflower mash, and grilled corn on the cobb.

 

Yeah, we've got an overabundance of wild kangaroo here. Mainly because the polar bears are so drunk that they aren't fast enough to catch them.

I've posted grilled kangaroo steaks before in this thread, I don't know was it last summer or the one before that. It's awesome meat - zero fat, very tender and tasty. Better than horse, which is even better than beef, IMO.

 

Is there a different way to make burgers to grill? I have seen those frozen patties in the store, but I always assumed that people use them for playing frisbee with their dogs.

 

Need

 

Those pucks are not terrible for bringing with you to the beach or somewhere that convenience is better than quality.

There are hand formed. And they have weird doohickeys to make patties for you. Google hamburger press and be shocked and amazed at what all is available.

 

I've got a few of those burger presses. I can make 1/2lb burgers in them. The good part is portioning for a bunch of family, groups, etc. Especially now that ground chuck, or beef in general has gone way up from the drought a couple years ago.

 

I don't have one of those burger presses. It's really not hard to hand press them, so why get something else dirty that you'll have to wash.

I press my thumb in the middle to thin out the middle of the burger before I put them on the grill. That way, after they thicken, they don't look pregnant. If I used a press, I'd still push the middle down after the burger was formed.

 

I learned how to properly make a hamburger patty by hand decades ago, when I worked in restaurants. If done properly, they are round, even thickness(not too fat), and compact enough to not fall apart. If done properly, you don't need to indent the middle. I have a brother-inlaw that doesn't flatten them out enough and his turn out like meatballs when cooked. And they don't cook evenly.

There are lots of patty makers for the home, and I worked at a restaurant that had an electric one...caught the tips of my fingers in that floccer once. No way to release the pressure...so I just had to quickly pull them out. Bruised and battered, but lucky not to have lost any fingertips!

The pre-made frozen ones are convenient and are common at family events, when I'm not responsible for the meat. Good quality ones, like Bubba Burgers, aren't too bad. Not my first choice, but okay.

 

We generally make stuffed burgers so no burger presses for me. 1 pound homeground beef, make 4 thin patties, put whatever you want in the middle of two of the patties, cover with the other two, crimp the edges REALLY well, flatten out, grill. Yum.

 

But... but.... how can you do that, without this magical tool?!?!?!

http://www.buystufz.com/

 

I line the burger presses with plastic wrap, so no mess. Helps use an even amount each time & about the same size.

 

Ah, that's a good idea. I wonder if you could use parchment or wax paper. Might be easier to remove them if so.

 

Mexican breakfast gyros

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1433454897.137479.jpg

 

Wax paper and two plates.... Same ****.

Season meat, Roll meat into even sized balls, Form:

plate>wax paper>meatball>wax paper>plate. Squish to desired thickness. Best technique for having all uniform burgers.

Freeze them between wax paper for homemade Frisbees!

EDIT: Maybe I will add some spent grain next time and actually make a few Frisbees for Buster!

 

I like the way plastic wrap forms itself more easily to the mold. Deep enough to get about 1/2lb size. Plates worked, but these are more uniform to me. I do grab balls of meat as close to the same amount as I can. The presses just insure more uniformity & speed. Wax paper would work ok, but not form as readily to the inside of the press seems to me?...but whatever floats yer boat. Tossin' some more Hungarian & garlic sausage at the pit in a minute. The Hungarian was juicy & great flavor. Also made another version of my pasta salad with tomato basil vinaigrette with shredded motz in the fridge now.

 

I wouldn't feed moldy frisbees to any dog I loved, that's for sure!

I've never made patties with other than my hands, I don't press any magic dimples into the center of them, and mine don't turn out to be meatballs on the grill. Then again, I only buy ground beef that has less than 10% fat, so that might have something to do with it. Or not. Who knows!

 

I've used both, the press works much better if it's a good one.

 

My burger technique would probably piss you all off. Ground chuck, salt, pepper and adobo go into a bowl. I work the meat just a little to make sure the fat is melted into the lean. Now that the meat is mixed with the seasonings I put a blob in the center of my palm about the size of a half-dollar and use my other hand to squash it into what looks like a meat pancake. The edges are a little bit thinner than the center. Now the real horror begins... I don't use a grill, I use a flat griddle on the stove with a dab of vegetable oil to keep it from sticking. The edges and outside of the burger (as well as the cheese) is quite well done, but the center is juicy and pink. A pickle, dab of mayo, dab of mustard, and squirt of ketchup on a potato bun and its complete.

Flame away.

 

I have a cast iron griddle that's a grill on one side, & a flat griddle on the other. Or the bbq pit, depending on the weather.

 

I feel pretty sure that's the one I have... two loop handles...

 

Nothing wrong with diner style burgers.



Though I am still a fat = flavor person with meats so 80/20 or fattier for me.

 

I would love this recipe..