Recipes; first posting

I'm a pretty big foody, I want to share some of my favorite recipes that I've come up with and that I've "borrowed" from other food blogs.

Perfect Hamburger:
Makes about 4

1lb ground chuck, 80/20 is the best
Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
Blue or Feta Cheese
Olive oil

Divide the beef up into whatever amount you want to use for individual burgers, and season them individually. you'll start with the salt and pepper, using just a bit at first to actually mix into the burger. Then, you can either make a big pocket of cheese inside the burger, or mix it into the burger so you get tiny little chunks of it throughout. I prefer the latter method so that I can get that great flavor the cheese gives in every bite. Once you've got the burgers formed, season one side heavily with Salt and Pepper, or really whatever spices you like, so that it's covering one entire side, massage it in gently. Then, using whatever method you prefer, cover that side in Olive Oil taking care not to wash off your spices. Put the burger down on the grill so that the unseasoned side is face up, then you can do the same thing on that side. The Olive Oil and spices will not only give the burgers an amazing color and taste, they will also from a barrier that helps to seal in the natural juices of the chuck, something that gets lost during traditional grilling. Coo them to however you like your burgers done, and enjoy on whatever kind of bun is your favorite.

My favorite condiments for this burger are typical burger toppings, fresh green romaine lettuce, ketchup, pickles, onions, mustard, etc. If you want your burger experience to be really amazing though, you can grill your onions till they-re nice and brown, and use a Dijon mustard instead of regular yellow. Also, go for a kosher pickle that has a nice, cool taste, and crisp texture.

The best way I've found to grill onions is to either wrap them in tin foil and just leave them on the grill for a little while, or to bring out a small baking tray and put that onto the grill. You can of course just do it on a stove top if you like.

Red Velvet Cake Balls:

I tried to make these one time, and I got all the way to the part where you're supposed to melt chocolate and cover them. Long story short, I ended up with about 30 non-chocolate covered red velvet cake balls. I got rid of them at a party, people said they were good, but they would have been so much better with a chocolate shell. Here's the recipe.

http://www.bakerella.com/red-velvet-cake-balls/

She uses milk chocolate, I think that white chocolate is a better fit for this desert though. Not only does it make the balls look like individual little red velvet cakes, but who doesn't love things covered in white chocolate.

Fried Rice:

1 1/2 cups of rice(uncooked)
3-4 eggs, beaten.
soy sauce(duh)
Whatever kind of meat you want, I chicken + shrimp

Cook the rice, when it's almost done, start to prepare the meat, have the eggs ready in advance. Fry up the meat to your discretion, putting a little bit of Olive or Canola oil in a large pan or preferably Wok. You can season with a generic season salt. Dump in all your white fluffy rice, a little more Canola oil, and then the eggs. Once the eggs start to cook, dump in a shit load of soy sauce, so your rice gets nice and brown. Make sure you mix this stuff up really well as you're frying it. The whole process only takes about thirty minutes if you time it right. this could easily feed 3-4 people.

Best Red Beans and Rice:

1 1/2 cups of rice(uncooked)
1 can dark red kidney beans
2 links of Italian Sausage, or 1 1/2 Andoullie sausage links. Sliced(shrimp is good too)
Salt
Fresh groud pepper
Season Salt
Hot Sauce of Choice
Scallions for garnish

Many people will say that you have to use dry beans, and soak them over night, or use smaller kidney beans, but those people don't understand the miracle of canned food.

Cook the rice. This is the least important part of the dish. In a medium sized pot, cook your meat, then dump kidney beans and cook over medium heat. Before you dump them, make sure you drain at least half of that nasty bean juice, it's not a soup. Mash up about 30% of the beans and stir thoroughly, this should give your red beans the thick consistency that the best red beans and rice has. Season to taste, using plenty of pepper and hot sauce to give your dish that hot Cajun bite. Simmer this all together for as long as the rice is cooking. Once the rice is done, divvy it up, and cover it with your "gravy." This is another quick, and filling dinner which you will come to love.


Sorry there's no picture. I haven't made any of this stuff recently, I'm recalling it all form memory. That's all for now, Enjoy!