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!!!

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.

Bourbon bratwurst

Bourbon and sausages, the two giants of good ol' American culinary culture. Both staples in the everyday Americana, so to speak. It only seemed fair they'd crash at one point....and so here they did creating the perfect balance of rich sweetness brightened by a delicate kick of cayenne and smoothed by a touch of amber agave.
I chose to brown the sausages in a pan with a TBS of extra virgin olive oil to create a nice crispy texture on the outside of the meat, and then slow cooked the sausages to maintain the softness inside the casing.
 I diced a half of a large sweet onion and tossed it in a sauce pan with a little olive oil and 3 cloves of minced garlic. I moved them around for about a minute or two, not long enough for them to brown, then added my sausages to the pan as well with 1 cup of bourbon and 2 cups of chicken stock.
I left the heat on MD for about 30 minutes with the lid on. Then I added 2 TBS of Amber Agave and 1 1/2 minced fresh cayenne pepper to contrast the sweetness of the agave and the Bourbon and I cooked the sausages for another 30 minutes.
Then I thinly sliced the remaining half of the onion and sauteed it for a few minutes until tender and golden. I set those aside. I took about two strained scoops of the sauce from the pan and cooked them down with 1tbs of unsalted butter and 1/2 tsp of flour to thicken the juices to a creamy sauce consistency. I plated the sausages, placed the onions on top of them and poured my creamy bourbon sauce, I finished the plate by drizzling a little agave and sprinkling some freshly chopped parsley on top to create a little touch of color to the plate.....and had a few shots with dinner....like I said, whiskey and sausages go very well together :)