Leftover Burger Bowl

Leftover Burger Bowl

All the burger fun, but without the bun! Use up all the leftovers from a big burger cook-up in a salad bowl with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, pickles and onion. A special sauce dressing ties it all together, while also making a nice dent in your condiment collection. A side of fries wouldn’t be out of place.
Ingredients:
Special Sauce

1/2 cup (125 mL) mayonnaise

2 tbsp (30 mL) ketchup

1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp (15 mL + 2 mL) yellow mustard
2 tbsp (30 mL) sweet relish
1/4 cup (60 mL) finely diced dill pickle
4 1/2 tsp (22 mL) pickle brine
1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) minced onion
1/4 tsp (1 mL) garlic powder
1/4 tsp (1 mL) paprika

Pinch cayenne pepper

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Burger Bowl

1/2 small red onion

2 large romaine hearts, washed, dried, finely sliced

1 1/3 cups (330 mL) diced tomatoes

2 large dill pickles, cut into thin strips

1 1/3 cups (330 mL) grated aged cheddar, plus more for burgers

Pickled hot peppers or sliced pepperoncini (optional)

4 leftover grilled burgers
Directions:
For the special sauce, whisk all ingredients in a medium bowl until combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the burger bowls, thinly slice onion and place in a bowl of cold water for 15 minutes. Drain and dry.

In a large bowl, toss lettuce with enough special sauce to coat. Divide salad between 4 bowls. Top each salad with tomatoes, pickles, cheddar, onion and hot peppers, if using. Place burgers on plate and microwave on high until warm, 45 to 60 seconds. Sprinkle with cheddar and microwave until cheese has melted, 20 to 30 seconds. Cut into slices and place on salads. Serve immediately with remaining special sauce on the side.   Serves 4

 

Bacon And Cheddar Soup With Crushed Pretzels

Bacon And Cheddar Soup

With Crushed Pretzels

This soup will quickly become a Sunday lunch favourite. A crisp green salad with apples and walnuts is a great accompaniment.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp (30 mL) unsalted butter
5 strips bacon
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) onion, finely diced
2 tbsp (30 mL) garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp (30 mL) all-purpose flour
4 cups (1 L) warm chicken or vegetable stock
2 tsp (10 mL) Dijon-style mustard
2 cups (500 mL) yellow-skinned potato,
peeled and finely diced
2 cups (500 mL) grated aged cheddar, divided
1 cup (250 mL) 35% cream
Salt and white pepper (optional)
1/4 cup (60 mL) coarsely chopped pretzels
1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh chives, finely chopped

Directions:
In a large pot, heat butter over medium heat until melted. Add bacon strips and cook until fat has rendered and strips are cooked and nicely crisped. Remove from pan and let cool, then coarsely chop and set aside.

Add onion and garlic to bacon fat, and cook until onions are translucent about 20 minutes.

Stir flour into the pot until well combined. Slowly whisk in all the stock and scrape up browned bits from the bottom of the pot.

Add Dijon-style mustard and potatoes, bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are very tender.

Let cool slightly, then blend until very smooth in a standard blender or by using an immersion blender.

Return soup to the pot, add 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) cheese and cream. Simmer gently to melt the cheese. Season with salt and white pepper if needed.

Divide soup between four bowls and garnish equally with chopped bacon, pretzels, chives and remaining 1/2 cup (125 mL) cheese.
Serves 4

 

Mashed Potatoes And Loaded Mashed Potatoes ~ Instant Pot

Ingredients:

2 pounds peeled Russet potatoes, quartered
3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup low-fat 1% buttermilk
1/4 cup light sour cream, I prefer Breakstone’s
2 tablespoons whipped butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper, to taste
Chopped chives or parsley, for garnish

Directions:

Add potatoes to the instant pot and pour enough water to just cover, season with salt.

Cover and cook on high pressure 10 minutes, quick release to check the potatoes are soft. They are done when a sharp knife can easily be inserted through the potato.

Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of the water, add the butter, sour cream and buttermilk, salt and black pepper and mash with a potato masher.

Adjust salt to taste and keep on warm until ready to serve. It’s best to eat right away, but if you’re eating them later and the potatoes get dry, add the reserved water to loosen them.

Serve garnished with chopped chives or parsley.and 

Loaded Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:
4 slices center cut bacon
6 cups about 24 oz cauliflower florets
3 cloves crushed garlic
1/3 cup 1% buttermilk
1 tablespoon whipped butter
3/4 tsp kosher salt
fresh black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives, divided
1/4 cup shredded reduced fat shredded cheddar

Directions:

Cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp; set aside on a paper towel then crumble.

Fill a large pot with water, bring to a boil and add cauliflower and garlic. Boil until the cauliflower is soft, about 15-20 minutes. Drain, and return to the pot.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Add the buttermilk, butter, salt and pepper to the cauliflower and purée with a hand blender. If you don't own a hand blender, a regular blender would work fine as well.

Mix in 1 tbsp of the chives and transfer to 4 individual casseroles (3/4 cups each) or one 8 x 8 casserole dish and top with cheddar and crumbled bacon.

Bake in the oven until the cheese melts, about 5 minutes then top with remaining chives.

Mini-Rosti With Cheddar and Bacon

Mini-Rosti With Cheddar and Bacon

These mini-rösti are rich with cheese and bacon; perfect for snuggling up in front of the fire with an ale and a blanket.

Ingredients:
1½ lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes

¼ cup vegetable oil, divided
5 slices of bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces
½ cup green onion, finely diced
4 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 tbsp flour
1 large egg, beaten well
1 tsp salt

Directions:

Grate unpeeled potatoes on the large hole side of a box grater; finely chop any small pieces that can’t be grated. Place grated potatoes on a clean dish towel and set aside.

In a large nonstick pan, heat 1 tbsp (15 mL) oil over medium heat, add bacon and cook until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

With a slotted spoon, remove bacon from pan and place in a large bowl. Leave fat in pan and set aside. To the large bowl add green onion, cheese, thyme, flour, egg and salt.

Wrap the towel as tightly as possible around the grated potatoes and wring out any excess water over the sink. Add the potatoes to the bowl and mix very well to combine.

Have an ice cream scoop ready to use to form rösti. Heat bacon fat over medium heat, pack the ice cream scoop with potato mixture, tucking in any stray pieces of potato. Carefully place into hot oil and flatten slightly with a spatula, pushing any stray pieces of potato back into the rösti. Repeat until there are 5 in the pan. Do not crowd pan. 

Fry until golden and crispy on both sides, about 2 minutes per side (increase heat slightly if needed). Using the spatula, carefully place golden rösti on baking sheet. Continue frying until all are made, eventually adding more oil as needed, about 3 tbsp (45 mL) more to be added gradually as needed.

When ready to serve, heat oven to 325°F (160°C).

Place baking sheet in the middle of oven and heat all the rösti until warmed through, about 10 minutes. This step will also finish cooking the inside of the potatoes, so do not skip it. Serve warm.

Makes 24 rösti

Shepherds Pie

Shepherd’s pie recipe

Ingredients:
For lamb mixture:
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 diced onion
2 pounds lean ground lamb
1/3 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp minced fresh rosemary
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp ketchup
2 1/2 cups water or broth (use more or less to adjust thickness as needed)
12 oz bag frozen peas and carrots, thawed, drained well

For the potato topping:
2 1/2 pound Yukon gold potatoes
1 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/4 pound Irish cheddar
1 egg yolk beaten with 2 tbsp milk

Julie Landoll