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Cheeseburger Flatbread Melts

I saw this recipe a year or two ago on one of the blogs that I follow. It looked absolutely delicious and I knew I had to try it. I just needed an occasion to make it!

So when my brother had a family Superbowl party last year (remember these babies?), I immediately thought of this appetizer. And I am glad that I did!

They are a terrifically simple concept –browned beef in a sauce, on top of pizza flatbread, topped with cheese! Doesn’t it sound fabulous?

You can certainly use your own homemade dough for the flatbread part. But I was making 3 or 4 things and there’s only so much time in the day! So I used the Pilsbury dough as a shortcut. It worked out great though!

You can cut them into pieces as big or little as you want – which is awesome! I like being able to offer smaller bite appetizers for someone who just wants a lil piece, or larger bite appetizers for those who want to feast on heavy apps! Here is how the flatbread part came out:

Annnnnnnnnnnd here is the final product – cheesy, meaty, deliciousness in your hand.

This little gem was a HUGE HIT. I believe I quoted one of my brothers saying “Please stop making these – you’re killing me”. He couldn’t stop eating them.

Cheeseburger Flatbread Melts

Ingredients:

1/2 lb lean ground beef, browned and drained
1/4 cup water
1/2 tblsp apple cider vinegar
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tblsp mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
11 oz thin crust pizza dough, Pilsbury
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Brown and drain ground beef. Add water, vinegar, onion soup mix*, ketchup, mustard and garlic. Stir to combine and simmer over low heat.

Meanwhile, divide the pizza dough into six equal portions and roll into a round, tortilla-like shape.

Heat 2 tbsp canola oil over medium heat in a large, heavy bottomed skillet. Fry the dough for one minute on each side or until golden brown and bubbly. Remove to a paper towel to drain.

Top with beef mixture and shredded cheese. Serve warm.

Makes 6 flatbread melts – depending on what size you make. (* To double this recipe, double everything except the dry onion soup mix)

Tags: appetizer, cheese, cheeseburger, flatbread, party food, Snack

Comments 3 Comments
Categories Appetizers, Main Dishes, Snacks

Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs

10 Nov

I found this recipe 2 years ago in Bon Appetit magazine and instantly knew it would be a hit.

It is the perfect cold-weather food for a nice night staying indoors with a fire going and something good on the tv! Or if you are having a casual dinner with a couple friends…..It’s so darn good!!

This dish couldn’t be simpler to throw together. You brown the meat, cook the veggies, pour in the liquids and the meat, and then toss in the herbs.

Here is a before shot – this is right before the dish braises in the oven for 2 hours:

And now here is a shot once the dish comes out of the oven. I cant stand how good this is:

For some reason, we didn’t serve with mashed potatoes. We were feeling more like potato pancakes instead.

The best thing about this recipe is that once you do a few mins of prep-work upfront, you just have to let the dutch oven do its magic in the oven for a couple hours. I really urge you to give this a try – it’s an unfancy gourmet dinner that will please everyone!

Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs

Ingredients:

5 pounds bone-in beef short ribs, cut crosswise into 2” pieces
Salt and pepper
3 tblsp vegetable oil
3 medium onions, chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 tblsp flour
1 tblsp tomato paste
1 bottle of dry red wine (preferably a cab)
10 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
8 sprigs thyme
4 sprigs oregano
2 sprigs rosemary
2 fresh or dried bay leaves
1 head garlic, halved crosswise
4 cups low-salt beef stock

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Season short ribs with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, brown short ribs on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer short ribs to a plate. Pour off all but 3 tblsp drippings from the pot.

Add onions, carrots, and celery to pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until onions are browned, about 5 minutes.

Add flour and tomato paste and cook stirring constantly until well combined and deep red (2-3 minutes). Stir in wine, then add short ribs with any accumulated juices. Bring to a boil then lower heat to medium and simmer until wine is reduced by half – about 25 minutes.

Add all herbs to the pot along with garlic. Stir in the stock. Bring to a boil, cover, and transfer to oven. Cook until short ribs are tender – about 2 – 2.5 hours.

Transfer short ribs to a platter. Strain sauce from pot into a measuring cup. Spoon fat from surface of sauce and discard. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Serve in shallow bowls over mashed potatoes with sauce spooned on top.

Tags: dinner, main course, main dish, meat, ribs, short ribs, Wine

Comments 3 Comments
Categories Main Dishes

Five-Herb Grilled Chicken

24 Aug

John and I wanted to get together for a potluck fun summer dinner in mid-June. I agreed to make appetizers and bring the meat. Since John doesn’t have a grill, I wanted to grill something so we can all have a summer taste.

I saw this recipe in Food and Wine and knew it was the perfect thing right away. It had all of my requirements for a perfect recipe – simple and fresh ingredients, simple steps, and delicious, clean taste.

This recipe is also perfect because almost all of the ingredients come from my garden! Nothing like eating REALLY local 🙂

It couldn’t be easier than putting everything into the food processor and pressing “on”. It came together in NO time at all.

The chicken is definitely a bit off-putting all bright green…..It looks a bit funky.

The aioli tastes delicious accompanying the chicken. I recommend making a bit more than the recipe calls for since everyone will want lots of it.

This is really amazing. It tastes perfectly bright and fresh. It would pair great with a grain salad and some sliced red tomatoes with some balsamic on the side to make a really healthy, light summer dinner.

Okay. Go outside to your herb garden and collect all the ingredients and make this chicken NOW for your next BBQ or get-together. This stuff is off the HOOK!!!!! Everyone will want more. Okay – just a couple more pics first……this recipe is worth it.

After making this 3 times this summer, I can DEFINITELY say you will adore this chicken like we do.

Five-Herb Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

Three 3.5-4 pound bone-in chicken parts (thighs, legs, breasts, etc)
½ cup packed flat-leaf parsley
½ cup packed basil leaves
½ cup snipped chives
2 tblsp minced jalapeno
1 tblsp minced thyme
1 tblsp minced rosemary
1 tblsp minced garlic
Kosher salt
1 cup olive oil
1 cup mayonnaise
1.5 tblsp fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Using a sharp knife, score each piece of chicken a couple times through the skin so that the marinade can penetrate. Put chicken in a large bowl and set aside.

In a food processor, combine the parsley, basil, chives, rosemary, jalapeno, thyme, garlic, and 1 tblsp salt. Pulse until the herbs are finely chopped. With the machine on, add the 1 cup of olive oil in a steady stream.

Pour all but ½ cup of the marinade over the chicken and turn to coat. Rub the marinade into the gashes of the chicken. Refrigerate the chicken and marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight (I prefer to marinate overnight for maximum flavor).

Add the mayonnaise and lemon juice to the remaining marinade in the processor and pulse until bright green. Scrape the green aioli into a small bowl and refrigerate.

When chicken is marinated and you are ready to make dinner, light a grill and oil the grates. Grill the chicken over medium heat, turning occasionally until lightly charred and an instant-read thermometer reads about 168 – about 35 minutes.

If you don’t have a grill or prefer not to grill, you can also preheat the broiler in your oven and set a rack in the lower third of the oven. Then arrange the chicken skin-side up on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil for about 40 minutes, turning occasionally.

*Note – You can use boneless and/or boneless/skinless chicken as well – but the cooking time will be much less (about 12 minutes).

Tags: Aioli, Chicken, Grill, Herbs, Marinade, Summer

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Categories Main Dishes

Asian Barbecued Beef

19 May

My BFF John made this recipe for Thai Supper Club in the fall. It was so amazing, we tore it up.

The marinade couldn’t be simpler. The flavors just meld together perfectly. If you aren’t a fan of spicy things, tone down the amount of Sriracha you use.

The longer you marinate the meat, the tenderer it is. As you know, with flank steak, you MUST marinate it for a couple hours at least.

What really brings this meat home is the taste of the grilled meat. OMG I cant really describe it – you just need to make it so you can tear it up!!

John got this recipe from AllRecipes.com and I highly encourage you to try it for a simple BBQ or get-together. What could be easier – a simple marinade, throwing meat on a grill, then enjoying a fabulous meal???

Asian Barbecued Beef

Ingredients:

¼ cup chili sauce (Sriracha)
¼ cup fish sauce
1.5 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 pounds flank steak

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together chili sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic. Set aside a few tablespoons of the mixture for brushing the steaks during grilling. Score flank steak and place in a shallow dish. Pour remaining marinade over the steak, and turn to coat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 3 hours.

Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.

Lightly brush the grilling surface with oil. Grill steak 5 minutes per side, or to desired doneness, brushing frequently with the reserved marinade mixture.

Tags: Asian, Beef, Sriracha, Thai

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Categories Main Dishes

Bobby Flay Cornbread Stuffing

2 May

My brother Marty has been DYING to get a spot on my blog. He has been wondering why I haven’t included any of his fabulous dishes here…..And I told him that I don’t really have any of his recipes that he makes in order for me to make them myself for the blog.

But then I realized that I was wrong. He introduced our family to something delicious about 5-6 years ago on Thanksgiving. He showed up with the stuffing.

He made 2 kinds: Jamie Oliver Fruit Stuffing (I don’t know what it was, but it was nutty and fruity and delicious) and a Bobby Flay Cornbread stuffing. I dont have pictures of the Jamie Oliver stuffing, but it’s not necessary because this cornbread and chorizo stuffing is the only one we need to focus on 🙂

This Bobby Flay stuffing was off the hook. We hadn’t had anything like it before. Our mom makes our grandmother’s stuffing – which is AWESOME, but very very simple. So to have another option of stuffing – and one that was so flavorful – was something else!!

This cornbread is so easy to make. We make it at least 2-3 times a year. Robb keeps this recipe in his recipe-box and when we have it, he always makes it. The key ingredient is a spicy chorizo that adds a lil pizzazz to the recipe!

You can either make your own cornbread (beyond easy and what I like to do) or buy storebought cornbread and just let it air out and dry overnight.

It mixes together so easily. And bakes to a nice golden brown. You can also bake it ahead of time and simply re-heat!

We have now adopted this stuffing as an official dish at Thanksgiving (accompanied by our grandmother’s stuffing, too, of course). Even when Marty was away 2 years ago on Thanksgiving, Robb stepped in and made his stuffing for our dinner with the rest of the family.

Even if it’s not thanksgiving time, I suggest roasting a chicken (or turkey) and making this excellent stuffing to go along with it.

Bobby Flay’s Cornbread Stuffing

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 pound chorizo sausage, diced
2 large Spanish onions, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large loaf staled cornbread, cubed (about 6 cups)
2-4 cups homemade turkey or chicken stock or low sodium canned chicken broth
3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

Directions:
1) Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and cook until golden brown, remove the chorizo to a plate lined with paper towels.

2) Add the onions, celery and carrot to the pan with the fat. Season with salt and pepper and cook until soft then stir in the chorizo.

3) Place the cornbread in a large bowl. Add the onion mixture and two cups of the stock. The mixture should be quite wet; if it appears too dry, begin adding the remaining stock, a half cup at a time. Stir in the sage and thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste.

4) Scrape the mixture into a buttered 10-inch baking dish and bake in a 375 degree Fahrenheit oven until set and golden brown on top, about 30-40 minutes.

Tags: Chorizo, Cornbread, Cornbread Stuffing, Stuffing

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Main Dishes, Sides

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