Green burgers are fowl - and very tasty

Photograph ©2013, Lori Korleski Richardson
Turkey Spinach Slider on baguette

The average turkey burger makes most people wonder if perhaps a veggie burger would have been a better choice for healthful eating. Turkey is extremely bland, but when mixed with more flavorful ingredients, it steps into the background and takes on the flavor of the other items in the pot.

I saw this recipe by Sue Li on epicurious.com, but since we were trying to cut out bread from our diet, I didn't try it for a while. What I finally hit upon was serving them not on slider buns or small dinner rolls, but in Boston or butter lettuce cups. They were so good!

Since then, I've made them with the following substitutions: Using half spinach and half chard; using all chard; using chard and arugula; using ground chicken instead of turkey; upping the cumin to 1 teaspoon, and using a shallot instead of scallions; and freezing the raw burgers, then putting them frozen into the pan. I must say, they were all excellent, and I really can't tell you which I liked best.

This recipe says it makes 4 servings, and that's about right with the lettuce cups. But with the bread, my husband and I were filled up with two apiece.

I think the secret is not to overcook them (if you're worried they might not get done enough, make them thinner in the middle when you pat them out or use an instant read thermometer and keep cooking until they reach an interior temperature of 170 degrees).

If you do put them on a bun, or as we did, pieces of horizontally sliced baguette, try the spread that follows. It really kicks it up a notch!

Photograph ©2013, Lori Korleski Richardson
The dozen sliders on a cookie sheet, ready to freeze.

Turkey Spinach Sliders
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
1/2 bunch flat-leaf spinach, thick stems removed, leaves chopped (about 4 cups)
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 pound ground turkey
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil (can spray patties lightly if grilling)
12 slider buns or small dinner rolls, split, lightly toasted (for serving)
Your favorite condiments

Instructions
Combine spinach, scallions, garlic, turkey, and cumin in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper. Using a fork, mix gently just to combine. Form turkey mixture into 14 1/2"-thick patties.
If grilling, heat grill to very hot, place patties on grill, oiled side down, then turn down to low. Proceed as below.
If cooking on stove, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in two batches, cook patties until golden brown and cooked through (resist the temptation to press down on patties with your spatula while cooking), about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

Serve turkey-spinach patties on buns with mayonnaise, onion, and whatever other condiments you prefer. For a gluten-free dish, serve the patties on top of a salad.

Patties can be formed 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before cooking.

Lori's note: Besides the alternatives noted in the post above, I just put the spinach, scallions (or shallot) and garlic in the food processor and chopped everything fine before mixing it all with the turkey and cumin.

Lori K's Fantastic Green Spread
Makes about a cup

Ingredients
1 cup of packed arugula
1 ripe avocado
1/2 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded and quartered (or 2 mild jalapeños)
Cooking wine (optional)
Pepper to taste

Instructions
Mix first five ingredients in food processor; add wine until sauce is smooth. Add pepper to taste. Spread on buns, or on burgers in lettuce cups. Will keep for several days, and it stays a bright green.

Oysters Rockefeller, hold the oysters

As many of you know, my roots on my mother's side are Cajun, and Catholic. So Lent was always a big deal in our house, growing up. There was always fish or seafood on Fridays. I preferred the seafood; the fish we usually could afford either had many tiny bones or freezer burn.

My first trip to New Orleans was a real treat, and what I remember best was the Oysters Rockefeller. All the major food groups on a shell. I still love them today, and whenever I see fresh oysters inland, that's usually how I prepare them. If I'm on the coast, or the Northern Neck, I just open them and sip them up. (Note to my West Coast and Gulf Coast friends: If you ever get a chance to sample Rappahannock River oysters, don't pass them by. They are exceeding tasty and mild little treats.)

But if oysters are not available, this vegetable dish is the next best thing.

Spinach with Pernod

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped shallots
4 cups fresh spinach leaves, cleaned
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon Pernod

Instructions
Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and stir for 30 seconds. Add the spinach and cover. Cook until wilted, two to three minutes. Add the salt, pepper and Pernod. Cook, uncovered, for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and serve. Makes 2 servings.

Want to get really fancy? Use only the tablespoon of olive oil in the recipe above, then in another small skillet, sauté about 1/4 cup of bread crumbs in a tablespoon of butter and sprinkle over the spinach before serving.

Weeknight nage for busy gourmets

The recipe I posted earlier this week is good but complicated. 

It took Jim a whole afternoon to prepare this wonderful dinner: 

Sautéed Maine Scallops on Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Chanterelle Mushrooms and Parsley Nage in "Terra: Cooking from the Heart of Napa Valley" (Ten Speed Press, 2000, 256 pages) by Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani.

What follows is my simplified version for two people. It takes about 30 minutes to fix, and is a good way to flavor up chicken breasts. It also looks impressive. If you don't care for cilantro, use flat-leaf parsley instead.

Lori K's Chicken Breasts in Rustic Nage

Serves 2

Recipe ©2012  Lori Korleski Richardson

Ingredients

For the nage

1 small minced shallot

3 tablespoons dry white wine

1/4 cup heavy cream

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 small bunch cilantro, stemmed

1/4 cup packed spinach leaves

1/3 cup chicken stock

1 clove garlic, smashed

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 ounces white or brown mushrooms, sliced

For the rest

2 small chicken breasts

Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper

Spray olive oil

8 baby carrots

4 spears asparagus

1/2 yellow bell pepper

2 cups boiling water

1 pack (4.1 ounce) Idahoan Baby Reds instant mashed potatoes

4 sprigs cilantro, for garnish

Instructions

To start the nage, combine the minced shallot and wine in a small, heavy, nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced to 1 tablespoon. Add the cream and return just to a boil. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm.

Put the cilantro and spinach in freezer zip bag and partially close. Microwave until just wilted. Seal the bag and throw the bag into the freezer to chill. Put the stock and garlic into a blender, along with a little salt and pepper. Take the bag out of the freezer, drain the greens, squeeze out any excess water and add to the stock and garlic. Process until smooth. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium skillet over high heat, add the mushrooms and sauté for 4 minutes. Set aside.

Using the microwave, cook the baby carrots in a bowl with a little water until tender, about 4 minutes. Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus, then put them in a freezer zip bag and partially close; cook about 2 minutes or until bright green. Cut the ribs and seeds off the yellow bell pepper and cut into 8 strips. Cook in a freezer zip bag until just well heated. Drain all these, season with a little salt and pepper and keep warm.

Pound the chicken breasts until they are about a 1/4-inch thick. Season with salt and pepper and spray with olive oil. Heat a cast-iron shallow skillet to hot over high heat. Sauté the breasts on one side until they are very white around the edges. Flip and cook about a minute less on the other side. Remove the pan from the heat and let the breasts rest in the pan for 1 minute.

As you do this, boil the water for the potatoes. Add the pouch of potatoes all at once and stir well to moisten. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, finish preparing the nage: Reheat the cream mixture, and add the cilantro-spinach purée and the mushrooms. Bring just to a boil, then remove from the heat. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside and keep warm.

To serve, put 1/2 cup mashed potatoes in the center of each of 2 warmed shallow bowls. Spoon the  nage evenly around the potatoes, then place one chicken breast on top of each serving of mashed potatoes. Arrange the vegetables on and around the chicken. Garnish with cilantro springs.

A nage to remember

©2012,  Lori Korleski Richardson

Nage isn't a word we use much, even among dedicated cooks. It is a French word that means "swimming," and is used to describe a dish served in a soupy sauce.

For my birthday this year, my dear husband - who before he met me was considered a gourmet bachelor cook - took over the kitchen for an afternoon and made me a version of this dish. He substituted haricots verts for sugar snap peas, a wild mushroom mixture for the chanterelles, and he skipped the baby squash.

There's a saying popular among cooks: "Never go to a restaurant for a meal that's not significantly better than what you make at home." It's no wonder we don't eat out more often.

And I must say, my birthday dinner was better than the meals at any of the restaurants that we tried for Restaurant Week, although the one at Ten came very close.

Jim found this recipe in "Terra: Cooking from the Heart of Napa Valley" (Ten Speed Press, 2000, 256 pages) by Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani. We've eaten at cozy Terra several times, but have never ordered this dish.

If this seems like way too much work (not everyone has a whole afternoon to prepare a dinner), or you don't care for scallops, I'll be posting my simplified version of this recipe, made in less than 30 minutes with chicken breasts, later this week.

Sautéed Maine Scallops on Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Chanterelle Mushrooms and Parsley Nage
Serves 4
Typed in by Lori Korleski Richardson
Ingredients
For the nage
2 teaspoons minced shallots
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, stemmed
1/2 cup packed spinach leaves
2/3 cup chicken stock
Pinch of minced garlic
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 1/2 ounces chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned and cut or torn into bite-size pieces

For the rest
3 tablespoons clarified butter
20 ounces large scallops, cleaned (hinge removed)
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 peeled young thin carrots, tops trimmed to 1/2 inch and blanched
4 baby yellow squash, blanched
12 sugar snap peas, blanched
2 cups hot garlic mashed potatoes (recipe)
4 sprigs parsley, for garnish

Instructions
To start the nage, combine the shallots and wine in a small, heavy, nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced to 2 tablespoons. Add the cream and return just to a boil. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the parsley and spinach, and blanch for 10 seconds. Drain and immerse in ice water until cold. Drain, squeeze out all the excess water and coarsely chop. Combine in a blender with the cold stock and garlic and process until smooth. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing the solids with the back of a large spoon to extract all the liquid. Reserve the liquid and discard the solids. Melt the butter in a medium sauté pan or skillet over high heat, add the mushrooms and sauté for 2 minutes. Set aside.

To sauté the scallops, heat the clarified butter in a large sauté pan or skillet over high heat until hot. Season the scallops with salt and pepper, dust with flour on both sides, and sauté until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Remove the pan from the heat and let the scallops rest in the pan for 1 minute.

Meanwhile, finish preparing the nage: Reheat the cream mixture, and add the parsley-spinach purée and the mushrooms. Bring just to a boil, then remove from the heat. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside and keep warm.

At the same time, melt the butter in a medium sauté pan or skillet over medium heat, add the carrots, squash and sugar snap peas, and sauté until heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, put 1/2 cup garlic mashed potatoes in the center of each of 4 warmed shallow bowls. Spoon the mushroom and parsley nage evenly around the potatoes, then place one fourth of the scallops on top of each serving of mashed potatoes. Arrange the vegetables on and around the scallops. Garnish with parsley springs.

Food safety knifed

A small but important editorial in the New York Times today:

The House has voted to cut $106 million from the president’s request for $1.036 billion for meat inspections by the Department of Agriculture. That money would help pay for the inspectors who oversee the 6,300 plants that process the nation’s meat and poultry supply.

To ensure the safety of these products, inspectors must be on site at all times. If they’re not, the plant must stop work. House Democrats say the budget cuts would require 37 to 40 furlough days for many of the 8,600 inspectors. Even a conservative estimate would put the loss of meat and poultry production at about $11 billion over the next seven months — a very large dent in the $177 billion annual business. It could also make a large dent in Americans’ household budgets, as reduced supplies drive up costs.

After recent problems with tainted peanut butter, spinach, nuts and eggs, Congress gave the Food and Drug Administration new authority and responsibility to monitor food safety. The House’s $129 million cut would seriously impede its ability to do that job, putting the health of American consumers at risk. We are all for savings, but these proposed cuts make no sense at all.

Diving into endive, with a scalloped edge

Summer's heat makes it hard to face spending much time in the kitchen, where it can get even hotter than the inferno outside. Yet, one cannot live by grill alone, even though that is tempting.

And salads. Salad after salad after salad is not good for the creative soul, although creativity and a composed salad can lend variety to summer's meals.

For something a little different, try scallops served on endive. To get the whole leaves from the tight little endive, keep trimming from the bottom of the core as you pull off the outer leaves. If the leaves seem a little limp, wrap them in damp paper towels and stick them in the refrigerator for a bit. (Save the small leaves on the core to slice into a salad later.) You can soften the cream cheese in the microwave if you have a soften setting; I zapped it twice at the 1-stick-of-butter setting and it was soft but not melted. As for the scallops, look for the cream-colored and rosy ones; they have a richer flavor.

Serve with saffron rice and sautéed green beans or spinach, and you'll have an elegant dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes.

Diver scallops on endive
Serves 2

Ingredients
1/2 pound medium to large scallops (about 8)
McCormick's mesquite seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 ounces cream cheese
1 large endive, washed and separated into enough leaves for each of the scallops

Instructions
Wash and dry scallops, set them in a single layer on a plate and season on one side with the mesquite seasoning. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium cast-iron skillet over medium heat. When hot, put in the scallops, seasoned side down. Meanwhile, spread about a teaspoon of the cream cheese on the endive leaves, and arrange on two plates. The scallops should cook until golden brown on each side and just until firm, about 8 minutes total. Drain on paper towels as you finish preparing the meal, then place one scallop on each endive leaf (they can be picked up and eaten easily). Serve.

Edgy scallops

Scalloped edges may be long out of fashion, but as for scallops - the shellfish - they are edgy and always in style.

They are a fast food extraordinaire - 3 or 4 minutes each side until they turn the color of new pennies - and they play well with other fast foods.

Tonight, they took center stage with orzo, spinach and yam fries playing supporting rolls, all tied up with a lovely sauce that featured lemon juice, olive oil and garlic. A colorful (golden scallops, brilliant green spinach, bright orange yams) dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes, and few pans to clean.

Scallops' edge

Serves 2

Ingredients
4 ounces orzo (ricelike) pasta
6 scallops, rinsed and drained
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Juice of half a lemon
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black
pepper
2 teaspoons dried basil
4 or 5 ounces baby spinach

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, al dente. Drain.
• As the orzo is cooking, whisk together 3 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Arrange scallops in a single layer in a shallow bowl or rimmed plate. Pour mixture over scallops. Sprinkle dried basil over scallops so that one side is coated with basil.
• Heat a medium skillet over medium-high, and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Place scallops basil-side down, and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes until dark golden brown. Turn scallops, and cook the other side. Remove from the pan and set aside.
• Heat the marinade in the microwave for a minute, then add to the pan, scraping all the caramelized scallop juices and stirring well. Add the pasta and spinach to the skillet and toss well until the spinach wilts. Serve immediately, with the scallops on top, with a side of oven-baked yam fries.

A taste of India

Garam masala, the spice mixture that, despite regional and even personal variations, gives a lot of Indian food its punch, is a true time saver on weeknights for cooks who want something on the table fast but with an exotic touch. Here's a simple supper based on the traditional lamb dish dilli ka saag gosht.

Lori K's lamb and spinach sauté

Ingredients

1 pound ground lamb

1 large onion, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil, optional

1 teaspoon garam masala, or to taste

6 ounces baby spinach

2 ounces (about 4 tablespoons) crumbled feta cheese

4 whole-wheat soft pitas or flatbreads

Instructions

Brown lamb in a large cast iron skillet. Drain and set aside. Sauté an onion, adding a tablespoon of olive oil if needed. When nearly translucent, add the spice and sauté another 2 minutes. Add the cooked lamb and the spinach. Cook until the spinach wilts, stirring.

Meanwhile, warm the pitas or flatbread between folds of a towel in the microwave. When the spinach is tender, put the meat mixture on half the bread (it will be folded over to be eaten) and sprinkle with the feta. Serve with a pumpkin or carrot soup, or a salad.

If you like your food on the salty side, salt the lamb before browning. But be aware that feta is also a bit salty.

A ravioli to rave about

My friend Bambi Nicklin, a fine page designer I worked with in Orange County, California, years ago, likes to post her dinner menu as her status report at least several times a week. And we, her Facebook friends, are better for having such creative ideas plop onto our virtual plates.

She included this recipe (scanty, yes, but enough to get you to experiment), so I'm reposting it here.

Bambi's Butternut Squash Ravioli

Boil salted water. Fry the bacon, remove to dish, dump the grease. Put olive oil in the pan, toast the nuts, remove to same dish. Cook ravioli in the water, drain thoroughly. Heat olive oil and saute ravioli, add fresh spinach and cook just to barely wilt the spinach. Add nuts, bacon and Gorgonzola cheese. Toss and serve.

Spinach - the raw truth

We've all heard that spinach is good for you, but did you know it's better for you cooked? For one thing, cooking compacts the vegetable; it's easier to eat a quarter cup of cooked spinach than 2 cups of raw and you get the same amount of nutrition. And cooking spinach breaks down the oxalates in it and prevents the formation of unabsorbable mineral complexes in the body. Oxalates are bad because when they don't find enough calcium in your bloodstream, they bind with calcium in your kidneys, causing kidney stones. So if you like spinach salad, have a glass of milk with it.

If you want to learn more about the health properties of spinach, go here.

Spinach - good for you, and tastes even better

I am slowly going through a big tub of baby spinach -- it's not that easy to do, cooking for just one or two at a time, but it's almost gone. Here's the side dish I prepared last night.

Lori K's spinach-'shroom medley

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil

1 small onion, halved and sliced

8 ounces sliced mushrooms

Garlic salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

4 cups baby spinach, raw

Instructions

Heat oil over medium heat in a deep saucepan. Sauté the onions until almost opaque, then add the mushrooms. Cook until the onions and mushrooms are very tender, seasoning with the garlic salt and pepper. Add the spinach, cover and turn up the heat to high. When the spinach has wilted (it won't take more than a minute or two), uncover and stir thoroughly. Adjust seasoning and serve.

Low-calorie, delicious lunch

Tired of soup? Tired of sandwiches? Here's a lunch that will warm your heart. I made it at home, but it could be packed as a lunch to be made in the microwave at work.

Lori K's fast low-cal, low-carb, low fat lunch

Serves 1

Ingredients

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot

2 cups raw baby spinach (about 3 ounces)

3 ounces albacore tuna, drained

Hickory smoked salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Put broth and shallots in a deep saucepan and bring to a boil. Add spinach (it will look like a lot, but cooks down to about a 1/4 cup) and cover tightly. Boil for one minute. Stir in the tuna, and season with the smoked salt and pepper. Drain (if necessary) and serve.

Per serving: 121 calories, 2 g fat (0.5 g saturated), 5.7 g carbs

If you are watching your salt intake, use no-salt broth and add a little liquid smoke to it instead of using regular broth and hickory smoked salt. Another option would be to use half chicken broth and half lemon juice and skip the smoke.

This would also be good over rice or pasta, or mixed with white beans, for a more filling meal.

A simple supper

Over the years, Jim and I have become quite adept at fixing hot dinners that travel well. Here's one I prepared the other night. Rice is a good choice for traveling dinners; it usually stays hot for a half-hour or more.

Winter's melange

Serves 2

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

3 ounces of ham, chopped

8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms

Fresh ground pepper to taste

½ cup uncooked rice

1 cup water

Salt to taste

2 cups baby spinach leaves (or ½ cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed)

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat; add onions and garlic and saute for about 3 minutes, add ham and saute for another minute, then add mushrooms. Season with pepper to taste. Cover, turn down heat to low and cook until the rice is done, stirring occasionally.

To cook the rice, put it in a saucepan with a tight fitting lid with the water and salt. Bring to a boil uncovered, then put on the lid and turn heat to low. Cook for 15-20 minutes until the water is absorbed. Meanwhile, if using fresh spinach, process until well chopped; if using frozen, squeeze out the excess water, and remove any tough stems.

When the rice is almost done, add the spinach, stir well, cover and continue cooking until done. The heat of the rice will cook the spinach.

Put on plates or in traveling containers, then pour the ham mixture over the rice mixture. Eat within 30 minutes, or reheat in the microwave for a minute.