Spicy Pork and Chorizo Burgers with Garlic Aioli

I found this recipe on another wordpress blog and was on an immediate mission to make it. I am surprised I made it because this is how I felt after work:

I adapted it out of laziness and forgetfulness. It turned out pretty great! I found the garlic aioli on allrecipes.com.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound chorizo sausage, casings removed, cut into 1″ pieces
• 1  pound ground pork
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• pinch of dried oregano & thyme
• salt, black pepper
• 7 burger buns
• 7 slices pepper jack cheese, quartered
• avocado slices to top burger with if so desired

Directions

Preheat the grill.

Place chorizo in food processor and pulse until finely chopped and crumbly. Mine did not turn out crumbly but more of a paste texture.

In a large bowl, combine the chorizo with the pork, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and spices. Mix gently but thoroughly and form into patties.

They look quite sexy, if I do say so myself.

Place burgers on the grill and cook for about 10 minutes, 5 minutes on each side. During the last couple minutes, top each with a quarter slice of pepper jack cheese.

My coworker, Matt is the grill master. We also had some tasty grilled corn to go with the burgers.

Slap the garlic aioli on the bun and slices of avocado, or anything else you find delicious. then DIG IN!

Garlic aioli

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise (used light mayo)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Mix mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

The finished product of all this is:

I apologize for the sloppy presentation. Corn and I have issues, and it just went everywhere. It was AWESOME nonetheless.

Egg White and Avocado Salad

I generally recipe hunt every day, and over the past few days I’ve had a desire for egg salad. I adapted my recipe from Martha Stewart Egg White and Avocado Salad. I had to tweak it a bit since I don’t like fruit in salads, and I forgot to buy celery. It turned out really well, and I am sure I will be making it more often!

Ingredients

4 hard boiled eggs, whites only, chopped

1/2 cup chopped cucumber

1/3 cup red onion

1 avocado cubed

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Pinch of cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons miracle whip

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice (I just squeezed out some of a lemon)

 

Directions

Place all ingredients in a large bowl. Gently toss until well combined.

Gotta love a good closeup. You could probably use the same general recipe for tuna salad and chicken salad as well.

Oh Yeah. I Bought Some Herbs (and a Gerber Daisy)

I decided about a week ago to start growing my own herbs (the legal kind of course). I go through a good amount of basil and rosemary, so I figured I should at least have some on hand. I find it interesting that you can buy a small basil plant for around $3.50, while buying it from the grocery store is nearly the same. Highway robbery!

I am still new to taking non-craptastic photos, but I think I did a damn good job.

I LOVE the way the herbs smell in the living room. The trouble has been finding a space that provides direct sunlight for 5+ hours in a day. My bedroom seems to get good light, so I assume they will rent a space on my window sill.

I definitely felt like I was doing a marijuana photo shoot, taking pictures of plants and what not.

If I had the room, money and free time, I would go into a full scale urban indoor garden. That takes more dedication than I am willing to put forth. Probably ever.

Gerber daisies and orchids are my favorite flowers, and having one of them in the house brings me a good amount of joy. The little things in life are generally the best.

Let’s hope I don’t kill the plants before I get a chance to use them!

Chiapparelli’s Restaurant

Location: 237 S. High St, Jonestown, Baltimore, MD 21202

My good friend Sara and her family have been going to the establishment for a number of years. She decided to have her birthday dinner there tonight.

Location/Atmosphere: The restaurant is in Little Italy, between a few more Italian restaurants. The establishment is small, and from what I was told, it has been there for at least 30 years.

Food: The food was simple and pretty delicious. I ordered the gnocchi Bolognese, as well as a bellini. The gnocchi was cooked perfectly and the meat sauce was simple but flavorful.

Service: THIS is where things took a turn for the worst. Our server, Helen, did not speak to me after I placed my entrée order. Every time she refilled a water glass, or handed someone at the table their food, she reached DIRECTLY into me or over me. I can say with certainty it happened at least 7 times. She took everyone’s plate for clean up or doggy bag except for mine. My friend Sara had to ask her TWICE to take my plate for my doggy bag, since she would not stand next to me long enough for me to make the request myself.

Would I recommend it?: If you are black, no. I am not sure what the other waitress is like, but Helen ruined my experience. It has been a very long time since I have felt unwanted in a restaurant. I will never get used to it. It only gets 1/5 stars from me.

JoJo Restaurant and Bar

Location: 1518 U Street NW, Washington DC 20009

I purchased a Groupon for this restaurant a few months back and finally decided to use it over the weekend. My boyfriend, myself, and two of our friends made a reservation for Friday night (on the assumption it would be quite busy).

Location/Atmosphere: The restaurant is located across the street from Cake Love Café, and about two blocks away from the U Street/Cardozo metro station. While it has two floors, we sat on the ground floor to be near the music. This particular night, there was a Latin band. While the music was loud, we could still hear each other at the table. The band was great, as was the feeling in the restaurant.

Service: We arrived a half hour before our reservation and were seated right away. The waitress was helpful, friendly and quick. I had no desire to strangle her which is hard to come by nowadays.

The Food: Theo boys ordered Jager bombs and us ladies order the Jojo rum punch. It was a bit too strong but once we let the ice melt, it was pretty tasty. We ordered calamari and spinach dip as our appetizers. We all agreed that the spinach dip was one of the best we ever had, and I’ve eaten A LOT of spinach dip in my life. For our entrees we ordered the Herb Grilled Salmon, JoJo Lobster Ravioli, Red Snapper and Cajun Chicken Pasta. I have a severe shellfish allergy which meant I could not taste the ravioli or snapper (topped with shrimp). I absolutely LOVED my pasta. It was spicy, flavorful and not too heavy. My friends all enjoyed their food as well which can sometimes be tricky.

Would I recommend it?: Indeed I would. Once the weather gets warmer, I expect we will frequent this restaurant. Even if it’s just for a drink and spinach dip. I give it a score of 4.5/5.

Note: When using the Groupon, you cannot utilize any other special of the restaurant. This means no drink or dinner specials. Every entrée is priced at $22, regardless of the menu price reflects. This is not in the fine print, but should be.

Revamp

Time to revamp the blog. Will be adding restaurant reviews in the near future. Wish me luck!

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Buttercream

I found this on another blog and it might be my new favorite cupcake. Light, fluffy and scrumptious! Enjoy!!

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

3 Cups flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon cinnacmon

2 Sticks softened butter

1 1/4 Cups sugar

2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 Cups milk (I used 1 1/2 by accident but it worked out well)

Preheat oven to 325. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside

Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time then vanilla.

Alternating, add dry mixture then milk in three batches. Bake for 18-22 minutes. Makes 2 dozen.

Brown Sugar Buttercream

1 1/2 sticks softened butter

1/3 Cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspon cinnamon

3 Cups powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons half and half

Mix butter, brown sugar an cinnamon. Alternating add powdered sugar and half & half.

I could have eaten the entire bowl…

Open-Faced Blackened Catfish Sandwich (9 WW points)

This recipe is from Cooking Light. I have been trying to eat healthier since I started Weight Watchers about 6 weeks ago. Since my last post I have been trying new recipes (mostly healthy) and have not posted because I have forgotten. Any recipe (except baking) that I can add the points to, I will.

This recipe is delicious. I blackened the catfish a bit too much but it’s honestly my first time making fish. Weird, I know. The coleslaw is sweet and tangy, om nom nom.

1 3/4 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon dried oregano

3/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 (6-ounce) catfish fillets

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/3 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice1 tablespoon honey

2 cups packaged cabbage-carrot coleslaw

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

4 (1-ounce) slices sourdough bread, toasted

Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle both sides of fish with paprika mixture. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add fish; cook 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.

Combine yogurt, juice, and honey in a medium bowl. Add cabbage and cilantro; toss well to coat. Top each bread slice with about 1/2 cup slaw and 1 fillet. Top each fillet with remaining slaw.

Assembly time…

Eggplant and Mozzarella Melt

I found this recipe on Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food website. I love her and all things involving her. Her recipe is below. I did use Panko Japanese bread crumbs because they are my faves. I also used a tomato and basil spaghetti sauce.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 large eggs

Coarse salt and ground pepper

3/4 cup plain dried breadcrumbs

Olive oil for baking sheet

1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound) sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds

1 loaf (8 ounces) soft Italian bread

2 cups store-bought tomato sauce

8 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese thinly sliced

Directions

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. In a shallow bowl, lightly beat eggs with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Spread breadcrumbs in a pie plate or shallow bowl.

Oil a rimmed baking sheet. Dip eggplant rounds in egg, then dredge in breadcrumbs, turning to coat completely; transfer to prepared baking sheet. Bake (without turning) until golden and tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, split bread lengthwise, and place cut side up on another baking sheet; press gently in centers to create a well. Layer both halves with tomato sauce, eggplant, and cheese. Bake until cheese is browned in spots, 6 to 8 minutes.

My love of tomato sauce is obscene.

Add the yummy, crunchy eggplant slices.

My roommate and I ate a good amount of this cheese, glad I bought 16 oz.

Hello melty goodness!

Oh yea, it’s delicious. Pictured with my roasted red potatoes.

Had to get one more picture it. It was DELICIOUS! I will be making this again!

Roasted Red Potatoes (with onions)

I have a love of all things potatoes and I decided to take small factors I have seen from other recipes and just make my own. When it comes to the herbs and spices with this, it is really up to you how much you add. I like flavorful but not overpowering.

Ingredients

2-3 pounds red potatoes (scrubbed)

1 red onion

3-4 tbs olive oil

Salt, pepper, rosemary, parsley to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Scrub and dry potatoes. Cut them into quarters. If using an onion, cut into ¾ to 1 inch pieces. Toss all ingredients into a bowl. Mix in olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary, and parsley until evenly distributed. Put the potatoes and onions on a baking sheet, cut side down on the potatoes. Bake 40-45 minutes, turning the potatoes after 20 minutes. If some of the onion pieces bake too quickly then take them out and stick them on a plate.

This is what they look like after you turn them. I forgot to take pictures before this step but it is pretty basic.

Off the baking sheet, and into a serving/storing container.

Another view. Om nom nom!