Recently I’ve been working on getting rid of some of that pesky winter weight.  I’m prepping for a marathon and eating what I consider really boring diet food (1600 calories a day, lots of broiled chicken breast and quinoa).  This weekend I did a ten miler then didn’t have much time to eat so I figured it was time for a bit of a cheat…and boy did I! 

These hamburgers were extra tasty (and worth every bit of calories that I’ll need to run off tomorrow!).  First I started with homemade hamburger buns.  I used a basic enriched bread recipe (based on one by Peter Reinhart in The Bread Baker’s Apprentice).  I ended up changing it a bit, mainly because I had run out of bread flour!  It’s a pretty rare thing for me since I normally have at least one extra 50 lb. bag in the basement.  I ended up using half semolina flour and half bread flour.  I also doubled the butter (hey, when you’re going to cheat…).

I also made something of a “secret sauce” to eat on the hamburger and with the fries.  In Utah, where I’m originally from, “fry sauce” is a big deal, served in most hamburger joints.  In it’s simplest form it’s just mayonnaise mixed with ketchup.  More often than not, it’s closer to a thicker thousand island dressing.  I made it more than anything to play with my new Blendtec blender but it ended up really very nice.

I also spread a little bacon jam on the bun, it was wonderful.  For those uninitiated in this odd new fad…bacon jam is a sweet, smoky, bacony paste.  I bought mine from a fun little mobile restaurant in the Seattle area called Skillet.

All of this was then eaten with some sweet potato fries…now, enough telling you how wonderful it was…on to the recipes!

Buttermilk Hamburger Buns (based on a recipe by Peter Reinhart)

10 ounces – unbleached bread flour

10 ounces – fine semolina flour

1 TBSP – kosher salt (note, if using table salt, always halve the amount!)

1 1/2 tsp – sugar

2 tsp – instant yeast

1 – large egg (room temp, slightly beaten)

1/4 cup – unsalted butter (room temp)

1/4 cup – lard/vegetable shortening (room temp)

12 ounces – buttermilk (room temp)

Mix dry ingredients then add the remaining ingredients in the bowl of a large stand mixer.  Mix on medium low speed using the paddle attachment until well incorporated.  Let rest 20 minutes. Change to the dough hook and knead on medium low speed for 3-7 minutes or until a window pane can be achieved.  Ball the dough up and place it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a cloth or plastic wrap and leave to proof until doubled (around 2 hrs).  I placed mine in my cold oven and I left the oven light on, this leaves my oven at about 85 degrees.

Prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment (or silpats). After the dough has doubled, place on a lightly oiled counter top, stretch it into a smooth even sheet, about 1 inch thick.  If possible, do this by gently stretching and smoothing, trying to avoid releasing all of the air out of the dough.  If you have trouble, go ahead and lightly smooth with a rolling pin (but don’t overwork at this stage).  Once you have a good even sheet of dough, cut out bun shapes using a large biscuit cutter or other round cutter.  If you don’t have anything that works, cut off a piece of dough and shape the dough like you would a roll, then press the roll a little flat.  Place these on the baking sheets, cover, and let rise 1 1/2 – 2 hours until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Make a simple egg wash by adding 1 tsp of water to one egg and whisking until frothy.  With a pasty brush, gently brush the tops of the buns then sprinkle with sesame seeds (optionally add poppy seeds as well).

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on the top.

“Secret” Hamburger Sauce (and fry sauce)

1 – large egg yolk (beware the use of raw eggs!)

1 tsp – mustard

1 tsp – vinegar

1 tsp – lemon juice

1/2 tsp – paprika

1/2 tsp – tarragon

1 1/2 tsp – sweet pickles or sweet pickle relish

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 – 1 cup – canola oil, grape seed oil, light olive oil, etc.

1/4 cup – ketchup

salt and pepper to taste

Blend yolk, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, paprika, tarragon, sweet pickles, and buttermilk until smooth.  While the blender is going begin to add the oil in a thin stream until it emulsifies into a thick aioli.  Once it is emulsified you don’t need any more oil.  Add the ketchup, salt, and pepper, and pulse until well mixed.

 

Sweet Potato Fries

Peel and slice one yam or sweet potato of your choice into French fry sized pieces (a mandolin or fry slicer is nice for making consistent sizes).  Soak in ice cold water for several hours.  Remove and dry thoroughly. 

Par-fry the yams in batches in 250 degree (F) oil.  Fry until soft and cooked through remove before they begin to brown.  Place in a cold place until they are thoroughly chilled.  Heat oil to 375 degree (F) and fry in batches until nicely browned and crispy (they should float on the top of the oil).  Salt to taste and enjoy with the fry sauce!

 

Hamburgers

1 lb – freshly ground beef (at least 20% fat, none of that lean stuff!)

1 tsp – kosher salt

1 tsp – black pepper

2 tsp – Worcestershire sauce

 

Toppings:

2-4 strips – thick cut bacon, halved and fried crispy

1/2 avocado – sliced in 1/4 inch slices

Leaf lettuce – washed and torn to appropriate size

1 – Tomato, sliced

4 slices – Gouda cheese

Red onion – thinly sliced

Bacon Jam

Hamburger sauce

Hamburger buns

 

Mix seasoning into meat, be careful not to overwork the meat.  Form into quarter lb patties and grill to your choice of doneness (about 6 minutes on my grill).  Split hamburger bun in half and spread hamburger sauce on one side and bacon jam on the other.  Place the remaining ingredients into the hamburger per taste (burger, cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado).

Enjoy!

My wife and I were recently invited to a really fun surprise birthday party for a friend of ours.  He, and most of his friends, are big foodies and in the past we’ve gotten together to make food, each bringing 2-3 courses for a great big multi-course extravaganza.  This time his wife invited a big group of us, in surprise fashion, with a cooking theme…avocados and pears.  While I like avocados and my wife loves them (being a California girl), the majority of the ways I eat avocados would not be considered fine cuisine.  My idea of a perfect use of avocado involves carne asada and heaping portions of guacamole from what is simply the best roadside taco stand, Vaqueros, in San Diego.

So I started trying to think of a good use of avocados and pears.  For the pears, my wife and I took our favorite dobos torte recipe, and baked sliced pear into the cakes, topped it with a pear mousse, and dipped slightly dried pear slices into caramelized sugar to make decorative garnishes.  (We forgot to take a picture of the final product before we ate it…*smile*). 

For the avocado, I remembered how much I love the pairing of avocado and crab, so off to the market I went to get a live crab!  In the process I decided that the light creaminess of blinis would go great as a substrate to carry the crab and avocado.  In the end, I ended up with this recipe, which turned out pretty tasty if you ask me!  In full disclosure, I borrowed heavily from my new cookbook, The French Laundry Cookbook, which I highly recommend, though I’ve changed recipes somewhat.

Blini with Poached Crab and Avocado Salad

Poach Crab

1/2 cup – coarsely diced carrots

1/2 cup – coarsely diced fennel bulb or celery

1 cup – coarsely diced onions

2 – leeks, coarsely chopped

1/4 tsp – black pepper corns

1 – bay leaf

4 – sprigs of thyme

small handful of parsley (whole)

1 tsp – kosher salt

11 cups – cold water

Add all ingredients above into a large stock pan and bring to a boil then lower to a simmer.

1 cup – white wine

1/2 cup – vinegar

1 lemon (squeeze into broth then place the rinds in as well)

1 – Live Dungeness crab (looks like you can also buy this frozen online)

Add the above ingredients and return to a simmer.  Add live crab and cover with a lid.  Simmer 4 minutes and then turn off the heat and let cool completely on the stove. 

Blini Batter

3 – small potatoes (russets or other drier potatoes…I used Yukon gold)

2 – Tbsp all purpose flour

2 Tbsp – 1/4 cup – Creme Fraiche (you can substitute full fat sour cream or heavy whipping cream)

3 – eggs

kosher, white pepper, cayenne to taste

For the Creme Fraiche, I made my own.  I took about 1 cup of heavy whipping cream (I planned on having extra) and mixed it with a sprinkling of Mesophilic A (MA) cheese culture (I had some on hand).  I then covered it and let it sit in a warm place overnight.  Once it was about the consistency of sour cream I put it in the fridge.

Gently boil the potatoes (whole with skin on) until soft.  While still hot, peel and rice them as fine as possible.  Add the flour, then 2 Tbsp of creme fraiche and whisk thoroughly.  Now add the eggs, one at a time, whisking between each egg.  I discarded the last egg white (using only the yolk) and then added salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.  From there I added more creme fraiche, a little at a time, until the batter had the consistency of pancake batter.

Avocado Puree

1/2 – ripe avocado

2 Tbsp – red onion

1 clove – garlic

1 Tbsp – olive oil

2 Tbsp – fresh lemon juice

kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend smooth

Poached Crab Salad

1 cup – poached crab meat (canned crab meat could be substituted)

1 Tbsp – Dijon Mustard

1/2 Tbsp – Lemon juice

cayenne pepper – to taste

kosher salt – to taste

Mix all ingredients to taste.

Avocado Salad

1 – ripe avocado

1/2 cup – red onion, finely diced

1/2 cup – cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely diced

1 Tbsp – olive oil

1/2 Tbsp – Lemon juice

kosher salt and white pepper to taste

Mix red onion, cucumber, olive oil, and lemon juice with some kosher salt (start with a pinch or two).  Try to dice the avocado as finely as possible without mashing (my photo is actually the end of the batch so it’s a little mashed up, the stuff we served was much cleaner looking).  Gently fold the avocado into the rest of the mixture, trying not to mash anything.

Plating

Fresh Chives

Kosher Salt or Sea Salt in large granules

Heat a griddle up as you would for pancakes, once the griddle is preheated, butter generously.  Place one Tbsp of batter per blini, and, using the bottom of the spoon, spread the batter out until it is of a uniform height and round in shape.  Griddle and flip like a pancake. 

Place a teaspoon of avocado puree on the center of each plate.  Place two overlapping blini on top of the puree.  Place a quinelle of avocado salad on top of the blini and a teaspoon of crab salad on top of that.  Garnish with a piece of chive and a sprinkling of sea salt.