Early Spring Grill

A run of nice weather here led me to fire up the grill for no particular reason on a random Thursday evening. Older son spent the day home with some virus that has been going around, so it was particularly nice to get outside in the mild spring air and look up at the just-budding trees as I waited for the burgers to cook. I could almost believe summer would come again someday, although I feel foolish even thinking such things in a climate in which, truth be told, one could grill on any old January day.

Served this with grilled eggplant, sliced avocado, lettuce leaves, and, being who I am, assorted condiments.

TURKEY "PIZZA" BURGERS

1.5 lbs. lean ground turkey
3-4 slices of day-old bread (I used sourdough), crusts removed, chopped
1 large onion, pulsed in the food processor
1/3 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp. tomato sauce
1 tsp. each dried basil and oregano

Mix all ingredients. Form into patties. Spray with oil to keep from sticking. Heat grill to medium-high. Grill until cooked through and nicely charred on the outside, about 15 minutes altogether for fat burgers.

Chicken Twice as Nice

One of the easiest things to make is a roast chicken. Throw a sliced onion and a few lemon slices and garlic cloves, plus a handful of fresh herbs, in the cavity. Pat the outside dry. Put it on a rack in a roasting pan and let 'er rip. I'm constantly experimenting with time and temp. This week I tried 500 degrees for 15 minutes, then 275 for about 1-1/2 hours, and raised it to 375 for the last hour when I wasn't sure dinner would be done on time. It was perfect. (This was about a 3-1/2 lb bird.) And don't forget the resting time (for the bird, not you, though that's nice too). I add a few minutes to the process and make a nice pan gravy: Scrape the drippings into a saucepan, add about a cup of water, then thicken with cornstach (you have to put the cornstach in liquid before you add it or it will lump up; use about 1 tsp. per cup of water).

It was one of those nights when nobody was much interested in eating. A lucky thing, as it turned out, since all I was serving was the chicken and some steamed broc (a staple around here). Lucky, too, because I took all the leftover meat off the bones and used it two nights later.

CHICKEN STIR-FRY QUICKLY PLEASE

Chopped meat leftover from 1 roast chicken
2 cups sugar snap peas (with edible hulls) or other stir-fry worthy vegetable(s)
Pan gravy leftover from roast chicken
1/4 cup soy sauce (I think)
1/8 cup rice vinegar (I think)
1/4 cup brown sugar (I think)
Some water or chicken broth
1 tsp. cornstarch

Stir fry veggies in a little oil until tender-crisp (I love that term!) and maybe a little charred in places. Lower the heat to medium. Mix remaining ingredients and stir into veggies to coat. Cook 1-2 minutes to thicken. Add chicken and heat through. Serve over rice.

Simple Sauce in Hope of Simpler Times

Yes, I am still here. Just overwhelmed with work and life. If I have to choose between actually cooking and blogging about cooking, I will choose actually cooking, although some of my efforts in the last weeks have been mighty canned. Still, I try to do something interesting no matter what. Tonight's delight:

DOCTOR OF SPAGHETTI SAUCE WITH MEATBALL AND SAUSAGE

2 16-oz. cans of S&W organic tomato sauce (or equivalent)
2 16-oz. can of garbonzo beans
1 large onion
clove of garlic
dash of sugar
dash of red wine
pepper
dried basil and/or other herbs

Puree one can of garbonzos and one can of tomato sauce in blender until smooth. Mince onion and garlic. Sautee in olive oil until translucent and just starting to brown. Add puree and remaining ingredients. Simmer 1/2 hour to 45 minutes until flavors blend. Serve over spaghetti or other pasta with grated parmesan and a meatball and sausage on the side (which you have retrieved as the sole representatives of their meat classes from the depths of the freezer).