Love and Olive Oil

Asian Pork and Mushroom Burger Wraps

Yes, I realize posts have been rather sparse lately, and chances are they will remain so through the bulk of July. Why you ask? Well, something big and exciting, the likes of which I’ll post about shortly. But it has been keeping us more than occupied, and while we have still been cooking, I just haven’t had the time nor energy to write about it.

But I do have a few recipes backlogged, which tends to happen when things get busy. This one in particular, which came from the newest issue of Bon Appetit, was quite stunning. Asian Pork Burger Wraps - wrapped in butter lettuce rather than a bun, which made it a fun combination between a burger and a lettuce wrap (go figure).

I was drawn to this issue’s feature on summer burger recipes because of the photographs. You can see an example of the aforementioned asian pork burgers. The ‘deconstructed’ burger photos were all too familiar (and Jeremy - you will know exactly what I am talking about here!), because of an assignment I had in a drawing class in college. The project was ‘exploding food’, where we drew a food item in the process of exploding into it’s various parts and ingredients. An informational diagram of sorts, much like a blueprint tells you how to build a house, the drawings tell you how to build the food. While I chose to do an ice cream sundae, the example for the project was of a burger.

Maybe I could have skipped the long winded description and just shown more pictures?

From Bon Appetit:

Drawing from CDES333:

(I can’t believe I still had this drawing saved on my computer!)

Anyways, I think Chris Ficken (the awesome professor of aforementioned drawing class) would approve of this recipe, or at least it’s presentation!

Asian Pork and Mushroom Burger Wraps

Makes 6 servings. Recipe from Bon Appetit.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons canola oil or peanut oil
2 tablespoons minced lemongrass (from bottom 3 inches of about 4 stalks)
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps chopped
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, divided
1 3/4 pounds ground pork shoulder (Boston butt)
2 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
3 teaspoons Asian sesame oil, divided
3/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/2 cup hoisin sauce*
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
1 teaspoon hot chili sauce (such as sriracha)*
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 heads of Bibb lettuce, cored, leaves separated
1 cup matchstick-size strips red bell pepper
1 cup matchstick-size strips peeled carrot
1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Directions
Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add lemongrass and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add mushrooms. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt; sauté until mushrooms are tender, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat; cool in skillet.

Place pork in large bowl. Mix in 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, cracked pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, then fold in mushroom mixture. Using 2 generous tablespoonfuls for each, shape into 18 patties, each about 2 1/4 inches in diameter; arrange on plastic-lined baking sheet.

Whisk hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar, chili sauce, and remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 2 teaspoons sesame oil in small bowl for sauce. DO AHEAD: Burgers and sauce can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover separately; chill.

Spray grill rack with nonstick spray. Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat ). Grill burgers until cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Or heat a few tablespoons oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook burgers until browned and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side.

Arrange burgers on platter; set out sauce. Place lettuce, bell pepper, carrot, and cilantro in separate bowls. Serve, allowing guests to wrap burgers in lettuce and add sauce and vegetables as desired.

Filed Under: Asian, Main Dishes, Meat, Sandwiches
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Thai Green Tofu Curry

We love Thai curries - but have become a bit tired of the standard red curry we’ve made quite often. Green curry (that actually comes out looking more putrid-yellow rather than green), is a nice change of pace. A bit less spicy than red curry, we found we wanted more flavor after the first time making this recipe. So we nearly tripled the curry paste the recipe calls for. Since it is not as spicy, you get plenty more flavor while not setting your mouth on fire. Always a good thing. :)

The recipe originally called for chicken breast meat, but we subbed in tofu instead. We also added some fresh green bean pieces and some shiitake mushrooms, which do wonderful things for the overall flavor.

It’s a quick meal too, which is never a bad thing.

Thai Green Tofu Curry

Makes 4 servings. Recipe from Bon Appetit.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 cup sliced shallots (about 5 large)
1-2 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
1 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
2 teaspoons fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 container firm tofu, drained well and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 lb. green beans, trimmed and cut into 1″ pieces
5-6 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated and quartered
1 large red bell pepper, cut into strips
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil plus sprigs for garnish
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice plus wedges for garnish

Directions
Pre-cook the green beans until bright green and still very crispy.

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and curry paste; stir until shallots soften, about 2 minutes. Add coconut milk, fish sauce, and brown sugar; bring to boil. Add tofu, green beans, mushrooms, and bell pepper; stir until heated through. Stir in chopped basil and lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Divide curry among bowls or serve over jasmine rice. Garnish with basil sprigs and lime wedges.

Filed Under: Almost Vegetarian, Asian, Dairy-free, Quick, Soups
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Pretty. Unremarkable. Food.

Maybe my reason for lack-of-posts this last week has been the food itself. Yes, I took pictures. Yes, we actually DID eat something. But I hate sharing recipes and photos of things that I wouldn’t necessarily make again myself.

But then I thought, why waste some pretty photos?

I’ll link to the recipes in question as well, just in case you decide it’s something you might like to try. And I guess it’s not all bad, with some adjustments, they might be better.

Grilled Portobello Burger with Red Onion Jam and Horseradish Sauce

Each element of this burger was good, and Taylor actually enjoyed it for the most part, but I just found the tastes combined into something I can only describe as ‘funny’. The mushroom, red onion jam, and horseradish sauce were a strange combination. Or maybe I was just in a funny mood? It might be worth a try.
Recipe from Food Network

Broiled Chicken and Artichokes

This recipe just lacked… what do you call it… oh yes, flavor. The artichokes were the only thing that made the chicken edible. We even sprinkled some spicy moroccan berbéré, and that didn’t even help. I was trying to give chicken a chance, but other than the dishes where it’s shredded and soaked in flavor or caked in spice, it just tastes like, well, chicken. Chicken with no flavor whatsoever. Oh well.
Recipe from Gourmet

Fish Fillets in Parchment with Asparagus and Orange

This poor dish didn’t even have the good fortune of a pretty photo. It just falls into the unfortunate category. I’ve done some “en papillote” (in a pouch) fish recipes before, and they can be quite good. It’s a healthy way to cook fish, for one thing. Unfortunately, it’s also a way to make some of the worst fish you’ve ever eaten, and completely slaughter some perfectly good asparagus while you’re at it. The fish itself had no flavor. The wilted tarragon leaves and splash of orange juice did nothing to help it out. The asparagus was reduced to something akin to slightly fibrous baby food. Doesn’t that sound appetizing?
Recipe from… well… I’m going to spare this poor recipe, and anyone who might have been tempted to try it by not linking to it. It’s for the greater good, I promise.

Filed Under: Bad Food, Ramblings
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Fried Rice and Baked Wonton Chips

Surprisingly we’d never made fried rice before, so we thought we’d give it a try. We made a vegetarian version of this recipe, omitting the meat. It was decent fried rice, but if we made it again we might try to seek out a different recipe.

Taylor thought the egg was supposed to be scrambled in the rice, rather than before, then removed, cut into pieces, and stirred back in.

Definitely don’t skip the mushrooms, this dish would have been lost without them (though strangely, while I can eat them fine, I can’t stand the smell of them rehydrating.)

We also doubled the sauce (but we tend to do that more often than not).

For the wonton chips - we had some leftover wrappers, and didn’t feel like wasting a quart of oil to fry them. So I cut them into strips, laid them on an oiled baking sheet, and baked them until they got crispy and golden (careful - they go from golden to burnt far too quickly, if anything, err on the side of less-than-golden when you take them out.) Pretty good, not as good as they’d be fried though! But they made for a nice ’scoop’ for the fried rice.

Anyone have a kick-butt recipe for fried rice? This one is more like a nice pat rather than a kick—good but could be so much better.

Fried Rice

Makes 4-6 servings. Recipe from Food Network.

Ingredients
8 dried shiitake mushrooms
3 tablespoons peanut oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten with a pinch of kosher salt
4 scallions (white and green), thinly sliced
1/4 cup minced carrot
1 large clove garlic, minced
Pinch red chile flakes
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
3 cups cooked long-grain rice
1 cup cooked meat cut in 1/2-inch cubes, such as pork, ham, beef, or chicken (optional)
1/2 cup frozen peas, defrosted in a strainer at room temperature

Directions
Put the mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with boiling water and soak until re-hydrated, about 20 minutes. Drain, squeeze dry, and cut mushrooms in quarters. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil in a well-seasoned wok or large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl to coat the pan. Pour in the eggs, swirl the pan so the egg forms a large thin pancake. (Lift the edge of the egg to allow any uncooked egg to run to the center.) As soon as the egg has set, turn it out of the pan onto a cutting board. Cool, cut into 1 inch pieces.

Wipe out the pan with a paper towel and heat the remaining peanut oil over high heat. Add the scallions and carrots and stir-fry for 1 1/2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, garlic, chile, and ginger, stir-fry for 1 minute more. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil and rice and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the meat, peas, and reserved egg, cook, stirring until heated through, about 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

Filed Under: Asian, Dairy-free, Quick, Vegetarian
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Quick Poll!

I get enough people interested this blog outside of internet-land, and while they say they will, I never believe they’ll actually remember what it is called (let alone the web address) and actually visit it when they get home. So, I’ve decided we need business cards.

But I need your input. Browse through all the old posts, and pick out your single favorite photo. I know it’s hard to choose just one - but I want to have a full color photo of something yummy on the back of the business card, and I can’t decide! Post a comment with your choice, and link to the photo you think we should use.

If I get enough responses, maybe I’ll actually post a recipe this week. Whoops. Yes I know I’ve been bad and lagging, and I actually have a couple goodies waiting in the wings. I’ll post something today or tomorrow, I promise!

Filed Under: Ramblings
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