Tag Archives: blue cheese

Open-Face Blue Moon Burgers with ‘Shrooms

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As the 4th of July often involves grilling and burgers, in the spirit of Independence Day grub (one day late), I offer this ahhh-mazing burger. Courtesy of Rachael Ray, it’s the Open-Face Blue Moon Burger with ‘Shrooms…and it will knock your socks off. What makes a burger so good? Well, besides the well-cooked, juicy burger itself, in this case it’s the combo of pungent blue cheese, earthy mushrooms, bright parsley and spicy arugula, all on a crunchy, thick piece of bread with well-seasoned tomatoes underneath. Suffice it to say that the flavors in this are pretty crazy. The mushroom-blue cheese sauce is so delicious that I could drink it straight from the plan.

This is definitely a knife-and-fork kind of burger, and I’m okay with that. It just means there’s lots of delicious, messy stuff going on with it. And it’s pretty awesome when the sauce and burger soften the crusty bread just a little bit and you can sop up all that goodness in one bite.

TW’s Tips

  • I didn’t use 2 whole pounds of beef and I definitely make smaller, more realistic size portions. A quarter pound burger is pretty big, and Rachael calls for a 1/2 pound — yikes. That’s a lotta beef.
  • Baby arugula works well for this, and you won’t need to de-stem.
  • Not the end of the world if you can’t find a yellow tomato. It just looks prettier with some variety in color.

Happy Fourth!

Open-Face Blue Moon Burgers with ‘Shrooms

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds ground sirloin
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 shallot, finely chopped
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons EVOO, plus some for drizzling
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 pound button mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
  • 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
  • 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, a generous handful
  • 4 thick slices country-style crusty bread
  • 10 fresh basil leaves, about 1/2 cup
  • 1 small bunch arugula, washed and thick stems removed
  • 1 red beefsteak tomato, cut into 4 thick slices
  • 1 yellow beefsteak tomato, cut into 4 thick slices
  • 4 ounces good-quality blue cheese, crumbled

Directions

In a mixing bowl, combine the ground sirloin, Worcestershire sauce and chopped shallot. Mix thoroughly. Score the meat with your hand, marking 4 equal portions. Form each portion into a large 1-inch-thick patty. Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Season the patties liberally with some salt and pepper, and then drizzle the patties with a little EVOO and place in the hot skillet. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes per side, or until the patties are firm to the touch and cooked through.

Preheat the broiler.

While the burgers are cooking, preheat a second large skillet over medium-high heat with the EVOO and butter. Add the mushrooms to the skillet and spread them out in an even layer, resisting the temptation to stir for a few minutes to let the mushrooms start to brown. Once brown, go ahead and stir, continuing to cook for 2 minutes, then add the onions and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring every now and then, for about 3 minutes, or until the onions start to look tender. Add the chicken stock, bring it up to a bubble, and simmer for about 2 minutes. Add the parsley and stir to combine; taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

While the burgers and the mushrooms are working, toast the bread slices under the broiler until they are golden on both sides.

Coarsely chop the basil and arugula.

Place a piece of toast on each serving plate. Top each piece of toast with 1 slice of red tomato and 1 slice of yellow, and season the tomatoes with a little salt and pepper. Sprinkle the tomatoes with the arugula-basil mixture and put a cooked burger on top of that. Add the blue cheese crumbles to the mushrooms, stir to combine, and top each burger with the mushroom-blue cheese mixture. Grab a fork and knife and dig in.

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Strip Steaks and Blue Cheese Spaghetti

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As I’ve said before, I love cheese, and this recipe featuring blue cheese spaghetti had me intrigued. Blue cheese? With pasta? And steak? It sounded brilliant. I had to give it a whirl. The result was rich and delicious and made me feel like I should be drinking a dirty martini. (Tip #1: serve this meal with a dirty martini.)

Why a martini? This dish has big flavors that would stand up to it. The steak is hearty and delicious, cooked to a perfect medium rare. And the pasta is quite the accompaniment. The blue cheese is bold and pungent, and once you add in some spicy arugula and top the pasta with bacon, it packs even more punch.

TW’s Tips

  • The garlic chive butter to top the steaks makes a lot — wrap the extra in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge to use later on veggies or warmed up bread.
  • I’d cut the pasta in half — it makes a TON and it’s really rich, so I ended up having to throw a lot of it away. And, it’s better when you first cook it, versus reheated.

Ingredients

  • 4 slices bacon, chopped into 1-inch pieces
  • Salt
  • 1 pound spaghetti
  • 4 (8-ounce) NY strip steaks
  • Ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
  • 5 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
  • 2 shallots, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1/4 to 1/3 cup cream or half-and-half, eyeball it
  • 8 ounces blue cheese crumbles
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped sage leaves
  • 2 tablespoons chives, chopped, a palm full
  • 2 cups arugula, a small bunch, cleaned, trimmed and shredded

Directions

Put a large pot of water on the stove to bring to a boil for pasta.

Preheat broiler to high with rack on top shelf.

Preheat medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped bacon and cook until crisp.

Salt water for pasta and add spaghetti to the pot. Cook to al dente, with a bite to it.

Season the steaks with salt and pepper on both sides and arrange on slotted broiler pan.

Remove bacon to paper towel lined plate with a slotted spoon and drain off most of the fat, return pan to heat and reduce heat to medium. Add extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan and 1 tablespoon butter. When butter melts into extra-virgin olive oil, add in 2 cloves garlic and the shallots, saute for 3 minutes.

Arrange steaks on the broiler pan. Place under broiler – leave door to oven cracked ajar to limit flare ups and smoke. Cook 4 minutes on each side for medium rare, up to 5 to 6 minutes on each side for medium well doneness.

To the garlic and shallots, add in flour and cook a minute more. Whisk in stock, bring to a bubble, about 30 seconds then stir in the cream. When cream comes to a bubble, add in blue cheese and sage and a few grinds of black pepper. Stir until cheese melts. Reduce heat to lowest setting.

Soften 4 tablespoons butter in microwave on high for 15 seconds. Mix in chives and 2 cloves minced garlic and reserve.

Remove steaks from oven and let rest 5 minutes. Place 1/4 of the chive and garlic butter mixture on each steak to melt down over the meat as they rest.

Drain pasta and toss with sauce to coat and combine evenly. Taste to adjust seasoning.

Serve steaks with pasta alongside. Scatter the arugula and bacon bits across the top of the pasta.

Pan-Roasted Sirloin with Salad of Arugula, Sweet Peppers, and Olives

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I’ve been MIA from the blogosphere lately, and I’m sad to say it’s not because I’ve been cooking up a storm. A combination of friends/parents in town and lots and lots of work has had me sidelined for a bit. But I’m back with a really tasty, flavorful salad that I made for dinner with my friend Kim a couple of weeks ago for our weekly Bachelor-watching night. Yes, I realize The Bachelor is trash TV, but that doesn’t stop me from watching it, if just to berate both bachelors and bachelorettes for poor behavior from the comfort of my own couch. While eating yummy food. And drinking yummy wine.

This is a Tyler Florence salad, and I’ve found he’s a winner when it comes to combining really strong flavors into one dish that packs some punch. This is one of those. We’ve got medium rare steak. We’ve got sweet roasted red peppers. We’ve got salty olives. And some pungent blue cheese, all over a bed of spicy, peppery arugula. Top it with a vinaigrette made from the pan juices and some lemon juice for some tang, and this salad’s got it nailed. And it’s pretty healthy, too!

TW’s Tips

  • Don’t feel beholden to a New York strip — any steak will do.
  • Roasting the red peppers is a skill. My broiler works really well because it’s the drawer kind and the peppers are really close to the heat source. The key is to really char and blister them, so the skin peels off easily, but it’s easier said than done. Once they’re blistered and have steamed under the plastic wrap, rub the skin off using a paper towel instead of your fingers. Don’t obsess about getting every single bit off. Some parts won’t come off, and it’s not the end of the world.
  • Use good blue cheese, not the pre-crumbled kind, and you’ll be happy.
  • Serve with a nice baguette.
  • This makes awesome leftovers. Just don’t dress the whole salad so it won’t get soggy.

Pan-Roasted Sirloin with Salad of Arugula, Sweet Peppers, and Olives

Salad Ingredients

  • 2 red bell peppers
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup mixed whole black and green olives, such as kalamata and Picholine
  • 1 bunch baby arugula, trimmed
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

Steak Ingredients

  • 2 New York strip steaks, 8 to 10 ounces each, about 1 1/2 inches thick
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 fresh thyme sprigs
  • 1/2 cup dry red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Directions

Start by preparing the peppers because they will take the longest. Preheat the broiler. Pull out their cores, then halve the peppers lengthwise, and remove the ribs and seeds. Toss the peppers with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place them on a cookie sheet, skin side up, and broil for 10 minutes until really charred and blistered. Put the peppers into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let steam for about 10 minutes to loosen the skins. In the meantime, move on to the steaks.

Switch the oven from broil to bake and set the temperature to 350°F. Season both sides of the steaks with sea salt and a generous amount of coarsely ground black pepper, about 1 tablespoon of pepper per steak. Place a cast-iron (or regular ovenproof) skillet over medium-high heat. Coat the bottom of the pan with a 2-count drizzle of olive oil and get it smoking hot. Add the steaks and sear for 4 minutes on each side. Throw in the thyme, then transfer the skillet to the hot oven and roast the steaks for 5 minutes for a nice medium-rare (120 to 125°F. internal temperature).

While that’s going, pull the loosened skins off the peppers; cut the peppers into nice fat strips and toss them with the olives. Set aside because the steaks should be ready now. Remove the steaks to a cutting board and let them rest for a few minutes before slicing. (This keeps the juices in the meat, not running all over the counter.)

The last thing to make is a quick vinaigrette using the flavors left in the bottom of the skillet. Pour out some of the beef fat and return the pan to the stove. Add the red wine and boil over medium heat while scraping with a wooden spoon to pull the flavors up. Let the wine reduce to 1/4 cup; this will intensify the flavor. Add the sugar and a 1-count of olive oil to balance it out.

Putting it all together is a snap. Cut the steaks on an angle into slices. Gently toss the peppers and olives with the arugula. Drizzle the salad with a little more olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Toss lightly again and then divide between 2 plates. Arrange the steak slices on top of the salad and garnish with the crumbled blue cheese; then drizzle the pan vinaigrette over the steak salads and serve.

Cold Pasta Salad with Roasted Chicken, Plums, Blue Cheese and Basil

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I continued on my Tyler Florence kick this week with an amazing pasta salad: Cold Pasta Salad with Roasted Chicken, Plums, Blue Cheese and Basil. This is one of the most deeee-licious pasta salads I’ve ever consumed. I think it’s the combo of sweet fruit, savory herbs and chicken and the sharpness of the cheese. It’s awesome cold or hot — and the leftovers are easy to pack up for a bag lunch during the week.

I used farmers market plums, which you drizzle with olive oil and hit with kosher salt and pepper. Then, they’re added to the oven with the chicken to roast the last 8 minutes.

The dressing (below) is super flavorful and delicious.

TW’s Tips:

  • Tyler says this serves 4. More like 8. Or more.
  • This is yummy hot or cold. I tend to heat it up.
  • Use fresh herbs. Otherwise, it’s not even worth it.
  • When I roasted the plums, I let them sit on the pan for a while after I took them out of the oven while I cut the chicken. Don’t do that — the ones that were cut-side down got mushy. Still good, but mushy.
  • I cut the chicken into bite-size pieces, as well as the plums, so you don’t have to be cutting while you eat.
  • One pound of plums equals about 4-5.

Cold Pasta Salad with Roasted Chicken, Plums, Blue Cheese and Basil

Serves: 4

  • Kosher salt
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 pound plums, halved and pitted
  • 1 pound penne

Vinaigrette:

  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 bunch of fresh chives, minced
  • Handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
  • 1/4 pound crumbled blue cheese
  • Handful of whole fresh basil leaves

Preheat the oven to 375˚F.  Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil over high heat for the pasta.

Heat a 2-count of oil in a cast-iron or some other ovenproof skillet over medium heat until almost smoking.  Sprinkle the chicken breasts with a generous amount of salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes, then flip the breasts and cook for 5 more minutes. Flip the breasts again, toss the pan in the oven and roast for about 25 minutes, or until the juices run clear when you stick a small knife into the chicken.  Meanwhile toss the plums in a bowl with a drizzle of the olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Throw them in with the chicken during the last 8 minutes of cooking.  Take the chicken and plums out of the pan, cool slightly, then stick them both in the refrigerator to chill.

Meanwhile, when the pasta water comes to a boil, add the penne and give it a stir to keep the penne from sticking together.  Boil 8 to 9 minutes until al dente. Drain in a colander and chill under cold, running water.  Drain again.

The last thing is to make the vinaigrette: Whisk together the mustard, vinegar, and sugar in a large serving bowl. Whisk in the oil and season with salt and pepper.  Fold in the herbs.  Slice the chilled chicken and toss into the bowl along with the pasta, the blue cheese, and the basil leaves. Toss, and taste for seasoning. Mound on a plate with the plums alongside.

Chicken Paillard with Fresh Fig Salad and Blue Cheese

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I have been wanting to make something with fresh figs, and finding them at the farmers market last week made this dish come together. From Tyler Florence: Chicken Paillard with Fresh Fig Salad and Blue Cheese.

This salad is exploding with flavor. Consider the ingredients and there’s no surprise why: Arugula. Blue cheese. Figs. Pancetta. Together, it’s the perfect blend of spicy, salty and sweet, crisp and soft, tart and smooth. Basically, you NEED to make this salad.

I cooked this for my friend Kim for a catch-up dinner after I’d been gone for two weeks. Combined with the bold, spicy Maurice Car’rie red wine she brought from our wine tasting trip to Temecula, it was a match made in heaven.

Reasons I love this dish: 1) It was SUPER fast. This is a true 30-minute meal. Pounding the chicken thin makes it cook really quickly. 2) I love blue cheese. 3) I love pancetta. 3) The warm dressing drizzled over the top is delicious. 4) Nothing is better than a speedy salad.

TW’s Tips:

  • Cooking the chicken in the pancetta drippings makes for a splattery mess. Cover with a splatter shield.
  • Using fresh, not dried, tarragon is critical.
  • Get really good quality blue cheese. I used Maytag. Don’t get the stuff they sell pre-crumbled. It’s not nearly as flavorful and creamy. Trust me, the price difference is worth it.
  • Fresh figs can be hard to find. The farmers market is your best bet.

Can’t wait to hear how you like this one!

Chicken Paillard with Fresh Fig Salad and Blue Cheese

Vinaigrette:

  • 3 Tablespoons honey
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium shallot, chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon sherry vinegar
  • 1/2 medium lemon, juiced
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chicken:

  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 pound pancetta
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 ounces blue cheese, broken into hunks
  • 1 bunch arugula, trimmed
  • 1 small basket seasonal figs, halved
  • Tarragon leaves for garnish, if desired

Directions:

Prepare vinaigrette: Whisk together all of the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a small bowl and set aside.

Prepare chicken: Sandwich chicken breasts between 2 layers of plastic wrap and pound them very thin with the side of a meat cleaver or a rolling pin. Remove chicken from plastic wrap and season well on both sides with salt and pepper.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Unroll the pancetta so it looks like big strips of bacon. Add it to the pan and fry it like a tangle of bacon until the fat is rendered, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Drizzle a 2-count of olive oil into the pan with the pancetta drippings. Add the chicken and pan-fry for 3 to 4 minutes on each side to brown the breasts and cook them through. Use a spatula to remove the chicken to the paper towels with the pancetta. Add the vinaigrette to the sauté pan and heat for a few minutes, stirring, to deglaze the bits of pancetta and chicken from the bottom of the pan; take the pan off the heat.

To serve, arrange the chicken on a platter. Scatter the blue cheese, arugula, figs, and pancetta over. Drizzle the dressing over everything and garnish with the tarragon leaves.