Burger and Fries Friday: Manchego-Stuffed Pork Burgers

This week's burger is unique, flavorful, and absolutely delicious. It comes from a recent issue of Food Network Magazine, and as soon as I saw it, I marked the page. Given my love of burgers, I thought this one would be right up my alley -- and it was.

Joe hates black olives, but pimiento-stuffed Spanish olives are one of his favorite foods in the world. Since the flavor of Spanish olives features prominently in this burger, I knew he'd like it too -- and I was right. Usually when I make burgers, I only use a pound of meat, but I still separate the meat into four patties. Most weeks, only three of the burgers get eaten -- I eat one, Joe eats two -- and usually the fourth is wasted. (Sometimes Andrew eats a few nibbles of it, but he's not too crazy about the texture yet.) Tonight, though? Joe ate three burgers. So I know that he really, really liked this one.

I followed the recipe exactly, except I cooked the burgers inside, only used one pound of meat, and added some chopped flat-leaf parsley to the meat mixture to add a little bit of freshness. This one was definitely a hit in our house!

Manchego-Stuffed Pork Burgers
source: adapted from Food Network Magazine, August/September 2009

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup pimiento-stuffed Spanish olives
4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 pound ground pork
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (go light on the salt; the olives are pretty salty on their own)
1/4 pound manchego cheese, broken into bite-size pieces
4 rolls, split
Pimientos, tomato, red onion, and/or lettuce for topping, if desired

1. Place the vegetable oil, olives, garlic, oregano, chili powder, paprika, coriander, cumin and allspice in a food processor; pulse until smooth. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons mayonnaise and the parsley.

2. Mix the pork into the olive mixture; season with salt and pepper. Shape into four patties. Make a deep pocket in each; stuff with some manchego, then close the patty around the cheese.

3. Preheat a small amount of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook burgers until cooked through.

4. Brush the cut sides of the rolls with the remaining 1 tablespoon mayonnaise; broil until lightly toasted. Serve the burges on the rolls with your choice of toppings.

Baked Chicken Meatballs with Peperonata

This is yet another awesome recipe I found on Epicurious. Both Joe and I absolutely loved these meatballs. Soaking the bread in the milk kept the meatballs unbelievably moist, and the pancetta provided such a nice saltiness. The peperonata was delicious in its own right, too, a nice balance of salty and tangy and sweet, and it was the perfect pairing for the meatballs. I'm not going to lie, the pasta that we served this over? It's Pasta-Roni's butter and garlic flavored angel hair pasta. But it was absolutely delicious with this, and I do think this meal needed some kind of pasta to round it out. (And no, no one paid me for that plug; we just happen to be gluttons for Pasta-Roni.)

This took quite a bit of prep time, but it was definitely worth it. This was a flavorful, satisfying supper, and it will be going into our regular rotation for sure. I made the full recipe, and the leftovers were delicious piled on a sandwich for lunch the next day.

Baked Chicken Meatballs with Peperonata
source: Epicurious

For the peperonata:

3 red bell peppers, cut into strips
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons drained capers
1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

For the meatballs:

3 slices Italian bread, torn into pieces (1 cup)
1/3 cup milk
3 ounces sliced pancetta, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 large egg
1 pound ground chicken
3 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon tomato paste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds.

2. Toss bell peppers with 1 tablespoon oil, then roast in a 4-sided sheet pan in lower third of oven, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned, about 35 minutes.

3. Stir together capers, vinegar, red pepper flakes, and remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil in a medium bowl and set aside.

4. While peppers roast, soak bread in milk in a small bowl until softened, about 4 minutes.

5. Cook pancetta, onion, and garlic in 1 tablespoon oil with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat until onion is softened, about 6 minutes. Cool slightly.

6. Squeeze bread to remove excess milk, then discard milk. Lightly beat egg in a large bowl, then combine with chicken, pancetta mixture, bread, and parsley. Form 12 meatballs and arrange in another 4-sided sheet pan.

7. Stir together tomato paste and remaining tablespoon oil and brush over meatballs, then bake in upper third of oven until meatballs are just cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

8. Toss bell peppers with caper mixture. Serve meatballs with peperonata.

Zucchini Casserole

There are some dishes that just don't photograph well, and casseroles are included on that list -- as I learned over the weekend, when I was trying to take a decent picture of this zucchini casserole. So the picture may not look very appetizing, but I hope you don't let that deter you: This is one delicious casserole, and it's my favorite way to eat zucchini. I like this even more than I like zucchini bread, and that's really saying something.

This is my Aunt Mary's recipe, and I've been eating it ever since I can remember. I make it now exactly the same way the recipe is written, because this casserole doesn't need a single change in order to be delicious. It's creamy and buttery and flavorful and pretty much the very definition of comfort food. Not the healthiest thing in the world by any stretch of the imagination, but it's really hard to care about that once you've tried it.

Zucchini Casserole
source: my Aunt Mary

3 medium zucchini, sliced into half-moons
1 cup carrots, shredded, sliced, or chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 box stuffing mix for chicken
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Boil carrots and zucchini until vegetables are fork-tender. Meanwhile, prepare stuffing mix according to package directions, then stir in melted butter.

2. Stir together cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and black pepper in a large bowl. Add zucchini, carrots, and onion to sauce mixture and stir to combine.

3. Pour into a greased baking dish and top with stuffing. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Weekly Meal Planning

I know it's not "officially" fall yet, but the fact that it's September now is enough to make me want to get out my sweaters and light our pumpkin-scented candles and beg Joe to build a bonfire in the back yard. Plus, it's really starting to feel like fall around here. Fall is my favorite season for many reasons, and chiefly among those reasons is the food. Hearty soups and comforting casseroles, apples and pumpkins, CHILI -- it's my kind of food, and I'm definitely ready for it this year. As you can probably tell, my menu for the week reflects that.

Monday -- Soup or Salad: Since it's Labor Day, we'll be grilling out with Joe's family like we do every year. We'll be having a feast of hot dogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob, pasta salad, fresh fruit, homemade ice cream...you know, all the traditional cook-out goodies. We'll be saying goodbye to summer in style, and will mostly like be way too full to eat anything substantial for dinner.

Tuesday -- Pasta: Zucchini alfredo, parmesan knots (because we eat garlic bread way too much and I need another recipe in my arsenal) The baby had croup and we were too exhausted to cook anything. So fast food was the solution, unfortunately. I will be putting this meal on the back burner, though, because I really want to try this pasta.

Wednesday -- Grilling: Steaks, baked potatoes, Worcestershire-glazed vegetable medley, grilled banana sundaes. This is probably the last time we'll be using the grill before we put it away for the year, so we're being pretty traditional this week and eating our favorite grilled meal. Plus dessert! I'll be sure to share the vegetable medley recipe -- it's so simple and flavorful and one of Joe's favorite ways to eat vegetables.

Thursday -- Quick and Easy: Crispy chicken wraps, potato chips. This is one of our favorite go-to meals. I just buy a package of fried chicken tenders from the deli counter, then heat them in the microwave and wrap them in four tortillas along with some shredded cheese (we usually use colby), shredded lettuce, and ranch dressing (for me) or buffalo wing sauce (for Joe). Quick, easy, and absolutely delicious.

Friday -- Burgers and Fries: Manchego-stuffed pork burgers, Spanish rice (-a-Roni. Cut me some slack, it's Friday!)

Saturday -- Regional or International: Lasagna, leftover parmesan knots. Joe's favorite meal, for the first (of many!) times this season. I'm looking forward to this dinner probably even more than he is, since pretty much anything containing red sauce = love to me right now.

Sunday -- Comfort Food: Biscuits over creamed chicken. One of my mom's specialties, and one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. I'm craving it fiercely this week.

Weekend Breakfast: Scrambled eggs in potato nests, sausage links

Baking: Vampire cupcakes, in honor of the True Blood finale on Sunday night. I'm sad my favorite show is ending for another season, but I'm so excited to make these cupcakes! My stepmom and stepsister, who come over every week to watch the show, are just going to love them. I'm also making my version of roasted red pepper dip to serve with pita chips (the finished product is more orange than red, but you get the idea -- you'll also get the recipe next week) and I might try my hand at these mini Texas sheet cakes, too (since most of this season took place in Dallas -- how clever am I?). It should be a fun evening!

Burger and Fries Friday: Cowboy Burgers

I'm sharing this week's burger tonight in enough time for you to add it to your Labor Day menu, which you should definitely do. I knew Joe would like it, since A.1. Sauce is one of his favorite things ever, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I'm more of a Worcestershire girl myself. I do, however, love pretty much anything containing caramelized onions, which was definitely the part of this burger I liked the most. As a wink and a nudge to Jessie's rodeo burger, I added some sliced banana pepper rings to our burgers, which only enhanced the flavor -- and added a nice crunch also. This burger would be perfect for a cookout; I'm definitely going to make it for our next one!

Cowboy Burgers

source: adapted from Kraft Foods

4 hamburger patties
Hamburger seasoning
2 tablespoons butter

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon A.1. Original Steak Sauce

4 hamburger buns

1 tomato, sliced

Banana pepper rings

4 slices American cheese

1. Season burgers on both sides with hamburger seasoning. Heat grill or large skillet over medium heat. Cook
burgers 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

2. Meanwhile, heat butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions; cook and stir 10
minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Stir in steak sauce.

3. Fill buns with tomatoes, burgers, cheese, onion mixture, and banana peppers.