Pear and Gorgonzola burgers

It seems the All American Burger went Italian for a day!

Burgher is the ultimate american comfort meal, and well, leave it to an Italian to mess with it....but don't worry, it's all for the better!
As far as the beef, I chose 80/20.....you need the 20% of fat to keep the meat juicy, but if you want to use a leaner meat, buffalo is what I recommend, it's very flavorful.
I only seasoned the meat with salt and pepper and 1 tbs of worsheshire sauce. I formed the meat into small 2.5" diameter burgher patties to fit on the mini brioche buns I purchased at the store.
I cooked for about 5 minutes on each side keeping them medium rare and about 2 minutes away from the meat being done I placed 1 bartlett pear sliced onto the grill to cook. Keep the pear on the grill until the marks are clear then remove it, yo don't wanna over-cook it or it will fall apart.
I dressed the brioche with a light coat of mayo and ketchup, then place a nice leaf of escarole lettuce and a ring of thinly slice onion.  I place the pear and my burger on top, coated with a generous amount of gorgonzola cheese, the heat from the burger will melt it to perfection!
Enjoy it!!!

ah the summer heat...

yes yes, summer is a time of fun and of course the sun...but I have to say that after a while one could get a bit tired of all the summer fun at the beach and the heat. Don't get me wrong, there is a certain appeal to being able to wear a short sleeve t-shirt in december knowing that the rest of your family is stuck getting up extra early to defrost their windshield ...
But come on here we are in October...and what do I get instead of the mood setting fog, well a heat wave! It's been well over the expected 75 degrees of perfect southern Californian weather for far too long! 97 degrees, ahhh! I need the fall to come! i'm craving stews accompanied by rich burgundy wines, I want to slow roast a festive turkey and churn polenta.
but...TOO HOT TO COOK!!!!
So here are a" No - Cooking needed" recipe that could help relieving the summer heat.

Pear and Arugula salad :

Ingredients:

2 pears - diced and drizzled in Lemon juice.

1 5 oz Organic Baby arugula package

4 oz of crumbled Feta cheese or Blue Cheese according to your preferance

1good handful of maple pecans

a good drizzle of sweet italian dressing.

Sweet Italian Dressing:

2 parts Red wine vinegar to 1 part agave, a drizzle of extra vermin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:

Well there aren't really any directions to this beside plate and enjoy!!!!!!! such a simple dish that is sure to cool you down a bit during those hot summer days.

the memorial day blues

Everyone always looks forward to the long memorial day weekend. Usually 4 days of sun filled barbecues , family and friends at a park or at the beach if you are lucky enough to live in SoCal.
but let's be hones, as much as one can love a good ol' bbq chicken plate, or a nice juice perfectly seasoned steak....but the time Memorial day Monday actually comes....aren't you tired of even the sound of the word bbq? ......this is why this year, after a friday,Saturday and sunday night filled with grilled meats we decided to put a spin on the Monday night grilling tradition. we left behind the heavy and expansive meat and opted for another American Classic: The grilled cheese sandwich.
I consider this sandwich a perfect blank canvas you can work with to create so many different and easy dinners, the Spanish have their Tapas parties...well, we now have a grilled cheese party full of bite size cheesy surprises.

- Sweet Surprise grilled cheese -

Make sure your grill is nice and hot. Prepare your bread, I chose sourdough for this, by spreading a thin layer of butter on the both the outer sides of the slices, this helps giving the bread that nice crispy golden brown appearance. Then spread a nice layer of fig jelly on one slice and place your preferred amount of brie on the other slice. Grilled the sandwich on both sides until the cheese is melted and the bread has nice grilling marks and a nice golden tone.

-Italian date night grilled cheese -

Butter the outer layers of the bread slices. Place 2 slices of havaarti cheese on one slice of bread followed by two thin slices of Prosciutto di Parma, enough thinly cut date slices to cover the whole sandwich and top it all with a couple of fresh basil leaves,cut into small pieces and a couple more cheese slices. grill the sandwich on both sides until golden brown and the cheese is fully melted.

- Salty Bites grilled cheese -

In a small bowl combine, 10 small diced kalamata olives, 10 large green olives and a tbs of  capers and 1 tsp of pimientos pieces. Add 1 to 2 tbs of extra verging olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic, minced, and a little orange zest. Add a pinch of pepper and a sprinkle of chile flakes. mix well.

Butter the outside of your bread slices, spread a generous amount of the olive salad you just prepared then covered it with two thin slices of french Fontina cheese. Add a few leaves of Arugula and place two more slices of fontina cheese on top. Cover and grilled until both sides are golden brown and the cheese is fully melted.

- Grilled Cheese  Alla Romana - 

Butter the outer sides of the bread.Flip them over and place a couple of thin slices of mozzarella fresca on the bread, two or three ( depending on the size of the bread you chose) thin slices of heirloom tomato, three filets of anchovies, some chopped fresh italian parsley and top it again with a little extra mozzarella fresca. Close the sandwich up and grill until the cheese is melted and the bread in golden brown. 

- Midwestern grilled cheese - 

Lightly butter the outer sides of the bread. Spread a small amount of Honey mustard on one of the inner sides of bread. Place two slices of sharp cheddar over the mustard and top them with a few pieces of bacon cooked to the desired crispness. Add a couple more slices of cheese and top it off with a few thinly slices of green apple.Coat the inner side of the other bread slice with some softened butter and grill the sandwich until all the cheese is melted and both sides of bread are golden brown.

polpette napolitane

Now this is a blast from the past! I remember first having those in a school trip to the Amalfi coast in 1993. Crispy on the outside, perfectly moist in the inside,rich and not greasy at all. Pretty much, the perfect Meatball! ....and still simple in the making.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb ground pork

1 lb ground beef

1 bunch of flat leave Italian Parsley minced

2 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 french baguette - just the white inner part

1/2 cup of whole milk

3 large eggs

1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 ball of fresh mozzarella - cut into small cubes

unseasoned bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste.

TO MAKE THE MEATBALLS: 

Place the white inner part of the baguette cut into small pieces, in the milk.  Place a generous amount of bread crumbs onto a large dish.While the bread is absorbing the milk preheat the oven to 350 and start preparing the meat.

In a large bowl combine the ground pork with the ground beef, salt and pepper, garlic and the parsley. Mix by hand until even, then add the eggs and the Parmesan.Mix again. Add the bread after squeezing the milk out of it and mix again until all the ingredients are nicely combined. Form into balls by hand and  add one cube of fresh mozzarella in the center then roll into bread crumbs.  Once all the meatballs are formed heat up 2 to 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in a skillet. Once the oil is sizzling hot, place the meatballs in the pan and brown on both sides. Once they are golden brown remove them from the skillet and place them into a baking dish. Bake them in the oven at 350 for 25 minutes.

I wanted my meatballs with a simple tomato sauce. For this I heated up 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in a skillet, added 1 crushed garlic clove and some black pepper. After a couple of minutes, when the garlic became fragrant but not brown, I added 4 fresh ripe tomatoes crushed and I added about 1/4 cup of white wine and 2 tbs of unsalted butter. I cooked this on medium heat until it reduced to half the size and the creamy thick consistency of a sauce was reached. I served it over the meatballs and thought it perfectly complimented the creaminess of the meatballs without taking away the simplicity of Italian cuisine. 

Usually I make the meatballs large enough to stand out on a dish but for our Christmas party  I prepared smaller bite size version of them and served them with lollipop sticks to turn this dinner dish into a perfect Mess -Free Appetizer. In this case I didn't use a tomato base sauce but I served them with a side of Parsley and fresh garlic gremolata dip. However you chose to serve them I am sure you will enjoy them quite a bit.