Spicy Black Bean Burgers

My Venture into Black Bean Burgers
I am still crazy busy at work so I'm having difficulty finding the time to cook for myself (let alone my blog). Not to mention, it's July and blazing HOT in Kansas so who wants to heat up their house with the stove?

When I was a vegetarian, I loved to make black bean burgers all of the time. They're healthy, fast and easy-to-make, and, best of all, can be frozen for use at a later date. Even though I'm no longer a vegetarian, I still cook these burgers from time-to-time because they are so darn good! I get a lot of requests for vegetarian dishes so I thought I would share this recipe. One day soon, I'll also share my veggie burger recipe. It's so good!

You can make these babies as spicy as you like. With just the jalapeno, they are not particularly spicy. Add the red pepper flakes and they definitely have a kick. Top them pepper jack cheese and spicy ranch dressing and WWOOOOOO WEEEEE they're spicy. The nice thing is that you can make them as spicy as you want – from mild to burn-a-hole-in-your-pants spicy.

You and your family are going to love these. I've never tried grilling them so I'm not sure how they would turn out. If you try grilling them, let me know. They hold together pretty well so they should maintain their shape even when grilled (but be careful when turning them so they do not break apart and fall through the grates). So blog buddies – relax a while, grab a lemonade, and make some of these tasty burgers. Enjoy – and happy summer cooking!

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Spicy Black Bean Burgers
(Printable Version)

2 15-oz cans black beans, rinsed and well drained
1 TBSP olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 c chopped red bell pepper
1 jalapeno (ribs and seeds removed), finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 c seasoned bread crumbs
2 TBSP salsa
1 egg
1/4 c fresh cilantro (no need to chop)
1/2 tsp table salt or to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp red chili flakes (optional)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano, rubbed between your fingers
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 c whole kernel corn
Hamburger buns and your favorite condiments

Rinse and drain the black beans well. Reserve 3 to 4 tablespoons of the whole black beans. Add the remaining beans to a food processor.

Heat a skillet over medium heat with the olive oil. Add the onion and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until softened. Add the red bell pepper, jalapeno and garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Set aside and allow the mixture to cool slightly.

While the onion mixture is cooling, add the remaining ingredients to the food processor except for the reserved whole beans and whole kernel corn. Pulse several times – scraping down the bowl as needed. The bean mixture in the food processor should be thick and fairly smooth. Add the onion mixture to the food processor and pulse only 3 to 4 times – scraping down the bowl after each pulse. You still want to see some chunks of red pepper and jalapeno so do not puree the mixture too much.

Transfer to the bean mixture to a bowl and mix in the reserved whole black beans and corn. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours to allow the bread crumbs to absorb any excess liquid.

If freezing the burgers, cut some parchment or wax paper into squares a little larger than the patties you will form. You will use the parchment to separate the patties so they do not stick together when frozen. Lay the parchment squares in a sheet pan in an even layer. Form a patty with some of the bean mixture. You can make the burgers as thick or thin as you would like. I prefer mine about 1/2" thick. Place the burger on one of the parchment squares and continue with the remaining bean mixture. Keep everything in a single layer. Freeze the burgers for a couple of hours then stack them (keeping a piece of parchment between each burger) in a resealable bag.

Cooking Burgers That Are Not Frozen: To cook the burgers, heat a skillet (uncovered) over medium heat with some olive oil (a tablespoon or so). Cook the patties until they are nicely browned – about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Serve on a bun with your favorite condiments. I like to serve them topped pepper jack cheese, spicy ranch dressing, lettuce, tomato, and a little onion – but you can add whatever you want.

Cooking Burgers That Are Frozen: You do not need to defrost the burgers before cooking them. Heat a skillet (somewhere between medium-low and medium heat) with the olive oil. Add the burgers and cover them with a lid while cooking. Because they are frozen, you need to cook them at a slightly lower temperature, covered, for a little bit longer than if they were thawed.

Corn Fritters with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

My Venture into Fritters and Dipping Sauce
Sorry for my short absence blog buddies! I've been very busy as of late and I've not had as much time as normal to work on my blog. I've even had to resort to (gasp!) frozen pizza for dinner a couple of times during the last few weeks. The SHAME!!!

When I was growing up, my mother would fix corn fritters from time to time. Corn fritter recipes, like barbecue recipes, are a regional thing in the U.S. In parts of the U.S., corn fritters are fried and topped with syrup. Very tasty. Some recipes have cornmeal in them and remind me somewhat of hushpuppies. Very tasty. However, this recipe is nothing like either of those. My corn fritters are, regrettably, deep fried. I know, I know!!! It's fairly easy to get a really crisp exterior when deep frying batter-coated fish, chicken, steak, etc. because the interior is not all batter. However, when you deep fry a doughnut, Indian taco, corn fritters, etc, it's really hard to get the same kind of crispy exterior.

My mom's corn fritters were really good but I wanted a crispier exterior. That's a tall challenge! More liquid in the batter would make it crispier (strangely enough) but too much allows excess oil to absorb too easily into the fritter. Milk, a common liquid in corn fritters, tastes great but softens breads/doughs. After lots of trial and error, I got a combination of ingredients that fairly work well. This type of corn fritter will never be as crispy as eating an onion ring but these fritters have an acceptable level of crispiness on the outside without sacrificing the texture and flavor of the inside. It's all about balance.

I've never been a big Honey-Mustard fan. It's OK but I can live without it. Someone recommended that I try a Honey-Mustard Dipping Sauce on Recipezaar and, I have to admit, IT WAS GOOD!!!! It's acidic and not too sweet, which makes it perfect to eat with fried foods – like corn fritters. I made some of the dipping sauce for another dish and had some dipping sauce leftover in my fridge. When I was experimenting with the fritter batter, on a lark, I decided to dip some in the Honey-Mustard Dipping Sauce. I was transformed by the interesting combination of flavors. Sweetness. Tartness. Mild spiciness. It was heaven. I only wish I came up with the recipe for the dipping sauce!

Even if you don't do the corn fritters, you HAVE to try the Honey-Mustard Dipping Sauce. It's to DIE for! Enjoy – and happy dipping!

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Corn Fritters with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
(Printable Version)

For the Fritter Batter:
1 1/4 c plus 1 TBSP flour
3 TBSP cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 egg, beaten
3/4 c cold club soda or seltzer water
1-11oz can whole kernel niblet corn (drained) OR 15 1/4 oz can of whole corn (drained) OR 1 1/2 c corn
Oil for frying

For the Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce:
Recipe is from Lorraine of Recipezaar

1/2 c mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip)
1/4 c yellow mustard
1/4 c honey
1 TBSP rice wine vinegar
Pinch of salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

Whisk the honey mustard ingredients together, cover, and chill for 2 hours before serving. This is more like a sauce than a dip so it is fairly thin – which I think works great for the corn fritters.

Heat a pot of oil (about 3" deep) to 350F. Be sure not to fill the pot more than halfway up with oil to allow room for the oil to expand when frying.

While the oil is heating, whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Just before the oil reaches 350F, add the beaten egg and club soda to the dry mixture and whisk until just combined. Add the drained corn and use a spoon to fold it in.

Add about one tablespoon of the batter to the hot oil. I use a small cookie scoop to make it easier. Don't add more than a tablespoon of the fritter batter (or add too many fritters to the oil) or they will not crisp up well. You may be tempted to immediately turn the fritters. Resist that urge. After about a minute, some of the interior batter will start to ooze out – releasing some of that interior moisture that keeps the fritter from getting crispy. The fritter should, when it's ready, flip over by itself. If you flip the fritters over prematurely, the outside will set too fast and the molten center will not ooze out – making a softer exterior.

Transfer the fritters to a paper-towel lined plate and sprinkle them with a little salt. Serve them piping hot with the Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce while you slave away and fry more of the fritters using some of the remaining batter.

Oven-Roasted Potatoes

My Venture into Red Potatoes
Potatoes and I have a strange relationship. I'll go months without cooking any and then, suddenly, I'm hit with a craving for spuds and I can't get enough of them – as you can probably see from my recent post for Ham and Potato Soup.

For a while, eggs were considered unhealthy so I stopped eating them. Then pasta was evil so I stopped eating it. Then potatoes became the wicked food du jour. So I was relegated to eating unflavored rice cakes – until eating rice became as heinous as chowing down on bald eagles. So, after giving up all of the food I loved, I became bitter and angry and didn't lose a pound – which, in turn, made me more bitter and angry. Today, I eat eggs in moderation. I cook whole wheat pasta (which I really like!). At home, I rarely eat white rice because it really has very little nutritional value. Potatoes are NOT in the same class as white rice and all-purpose flour. Potatoes, with the peels on, are high in vitamin C, vitamin B6, potassium, and fiber. And they taste really good – especially with lots of butter, sour cream, and bacon on top … or deep-fried for french fries.

All joking aside, it is not the potato that's unhealthy – it's what we add to them! If you left out the cheese, this recipe is fairly healthful (aside from the sodium level in the onion soup and ranch packets). You could even cut back a bit on the olive oil without significantly sacrificing flavor. I decided to add some cheese when I took the above picture just because I think it photographed better with the contrasting colors. I used 2% sharp cheddar and it tasted great! However, normally, I don't add any cheese at all if I want a simple side dish.

This recipe is also incredibly EASY-to-make. My inspiration came from the recipe for onion-roasted potatoes on the back of the onion soup box. I have only one complaint with that recipe. It's BLAAAAND. That's why I decided to bump up the flavor. If, after making my recipe the first time, you think it's too salty, add a couple of extra potatoes the next time you make it. If it is not salty enough, don't use as many potatoes. Play with it until you get it the way YOU like it.

I have a confession to make. The major reason I made this recipe today is because I had an "incident" at the grocery store. I wanted to buy a couple of red potatoes to add to a different recipe I was making. The red potatoes were beautifully stacked in a pyramid shape. Well, stupid me, decided to take one of the potatoes on the bottom of the pyramid and I caused the whole thing to collapse – sending red potatoes and various other vegetables all over the floor. I picked up, like, two dozen potatoes, six red bell peppers, and a yellow onion. I think the onion was already on the floor but I picked it up anyway since I was already on my hands and knees. Did I mention it was a BIG pyramid of potatoes? Anyway, I didn't want to put them back onto the shelf since they were probably all bruised from dropping on the floor. That, and because an old lady was standing nearby and gave me the look of death like "You BETTER not put those back on the shelf or I'm gonna smack you with this English cucumber." So, I have LOTS of red potatoes to use up. Enjoy – and happy roasting!

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Oven-Roasted Potatoes
(Printable Version)

3 lbs small red potatoes (skins on) –each approximately 2" in diameter
1/3 cup olive oil (not extra virgin)
1-1 oz packet onion soup mix
1-1 oz packet ranch dip mix
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 c freshly grated parmesan cheese or sharp cheddar (optional)
Chopped scallions or parsley for garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400F. Mix the olive oil, onion soup mix, ranch dip mix, garlic powder, and pepper. Set aside while you prepare the potatoes.

Cut each potato in half and then each half into quarters. Add the potatoes to a medium bowl. Stir the olive oil mixture and pour it on to the potatoes. Toss to evenly coat. Spread the potatoes onto a sided sheet pan which has been sprayed with cooking spray. Make sure that one of the cut sides of potatoes is touching the bottom of the sheet pan (so that it browns nicely). Cover the sheet pan with aluminum foil. Bake for 15 minutes then remove the aluminum foil. Do not stir. Bake another 20 minutes (uncovered), stirring after 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl and, if desired, toss with your choice of cheese. Garnish with chopped scallions or parsley.

Fried Asparagus

My Venture into Fried Asparagus
Just a short post this week. My inspiration for this recipe comes from the fried green beans (and fried pickles) from a local bar called Larry Bud's. I'm not a huge pickle fan but their fried green beans are really addictive. The reason I made this recipe is simple: I had asparagus I needed to get used up and I wanted to throw out the oil from the Southwestern Eggrolls I made a while back. I rarely deep fry and I know you can strain the oil and save it for later use. However, because it could be MONTHS before I fried something else, there's no way I am going to use oil that I used once before that I've been storing for the last 1 or 2 years. That's just totally gross. The spears of asparagus are coated in bread crumbs, which really dirties the oil when they're fried. So, I fried a batch and then recycled the oil.

The real reason my post is so short this week is because I have a cold. I keep coughing and coughing and I just don't feel like doing squat. When I was growing up and my mother had a cold, she still cooked and cleaned, did laundry, got us ready for school, and more. When my father had a cold, he whined a lot and my mother had to take care of him like he was on his deathbed. You know, I'm beginning to speculate that men are just babies when they get sick. Hmmmm. Surely, there is another plausible explanation.

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Fried Asparagus
(Printable Version)

1 lb asparagus (thin stalks)
1 1/2 c dry seasoned breadcrumbs
1 c freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
4 eggs, beaten
Oil for frying

Wash and dry the asparagus. Snap or cut the fibrous root ends off and discard. Thin stalks work best for this recipe since thicker stalks are too fibrous.

In a shallow dish, combine the seasoned breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and seasoned salt and mix well to combine. Set aside. In another shallow dish, beat the eggs and set aside. Place a rack in a sheet pan and set aside. Start preheating the oven to 200F.

Dip a few stalk of the asparagus on the eggs and allow some of the egg to drip off. Coat in the breadcrumb mixture. Re-dip the asparagus in the egg and the breadcrumbs to add a thicker layer of coating. Place the breaded asparagus on a sheet pan (not the sheet pan that has the rack in it). Repeat this process with the remaining stalks of asparagus.

If you have a fryer that is big enough to hold the entire length of the asparagus, you may deep fry the asparagus a few stalks at a time. Otherwise, you may shallow fry the asparagus in 1/2" of oil (preferably peanut oil). If using a fryer, heat the oil to 350F. If shallow frying, heat about 1" of oil in a medium skillet over medium heat until it is shimmering. When the oil is hot, fry the asparagus until golden brown, which should only take a minute or so. They cook fast! Transfer to the sheet pan equipped with a rack and place the pan in the oven to keep warm will you fry the remaining stalks of asparagus. Serve with your preferred dipping sauce (I prefer ranch dip).

Ravioli Italiani

My Venture into Ravioli
Italian food and I go way back. Pizza. Lasagna. Prosciutto. Pasta. Who doesn't love Italian food? I have not eaten an Italian food I didn't like.

Italian foods are always so flavorful. This dish is no exception. The bulk of the flavor comes from the pesto. If you've never made pesto, it's a cinch to make. It's nothing but fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, and a little salt. Pesto is best when it's not overly heated – which can both dull the flavor and color. That's one reason why I always try to make my own. The brands that you can buy in the refrigerated section of your local supermarket are not bad. However, I have never found any pesto that is sold in a jar (near the jars of spaghetti sauce) that is worth eating. The canning process, to me, destroys the fresh taste of the basil which is why I think the refrigerated brands are better.

A few years ago, I got tired of spending a fortune on little containers of fresh basil so I decided to plant my own. I had a huge pot in which I had planted some potatoes the previous year. I live in an apartment with huge, south-facing windows so plants thrive – even during the winter. Since the pot was huge, I figured I could throw in some extra seed. I mean, who has ever had too much basil, right? It took a few months but the plants grew and grew – giving me all of the fresh basil I ever needed. I must have purchased mutant basil seeds because the plants kept growing and growing and growing. It got to the point where I could no longer reach the tops of the plants to cut off the leaves. To use up the basil, I was putting it in EVERYTHING. I froze the extra basil. I froze pesto. I made pesto for my mother. I still could not use enough. The more I trimmed, the thicker it grew back. My apartment was permanently shadowed by that stupid, mutant basil plant that blocked most of the sunlight from that window. Finally, I was so sick of basil that I tossed the plant. After I pitched it, the storm clouds parted. My mood improved. Life was good without the fear of being eaten alive by that evil basil plant.

It took a long time but I started craving basil again. When I had to buy enough basil to make pesto several months ago, I remembered why I planted basil seed in the first place. I thought I was going to have to sell a kidney to be able to afford the basil. Not that I'm bitter.

As you know from previous posts, I have several pet peeves. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I hear somebody say "EYE-talian". It's so annoying. I mean, you wouldn't say EYE-taly, would you? I could hear it now. "Yes, I've been to Venice, EYE-taly and ate EYE-talian food and met some really nice EYE-talians." If I heard somebody say that, my ears would bleed!

Anyway, this recipe is so quick and easy to make. It's perfect even for a weeknight dinner. It's great for your vegetarian friends and family members. If you wanted, you could add some cooked chicken or some extra veggies. I fixed this recently for my mother and sister and asked them if this recipe would be blog-worthy. They loved it and encouraged me to post the recipe. I told my mom that sometimes, I like to make the recipe per the instructions below then add 1/3 of it to a casserole dish and top it with some freshly grated mozzarella and parmesan cheese. I then add 2 additional layers of the ravioli and cheeses and bake it at 425F until the cheeses have fully melted and started to brown. Now THAT'S a very nice EYE-talian treat. Enjoy – and happy ravioling!

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Ravioli Italiani
(Printed Version)

1 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 tsp sugar
1 20-oz package fresh cheese ravioli
7 oz tub refrigerated pesto
2 oz jar chopped pimentos, drained
1 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of one lemon
4 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Chop the onion and garlic. Heat a large skillet over medium heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. On another burner over high heat, start heating a large pot with enough water to cook the ravioli.

When the skillet is hot, add the onions, a pinch of salt, and the sugar. Cover and stir periodically while waiting for the water to boil. The goal is to get the onions really soft but not to overly brown them. If the onions start to brown too much, reduce the heat a little and add a little water to the skillet.

When the water comes to a rapid boil, add a good amount of salt to the water. Add the ravioli and stir. Cook the ravioli per the instructions on the package. Don't forget to stir the onions now and then.

While the onions are softening and the ravioli is cooking, add the pesto, pimentos, olive oil, lemon juice, and a little salt and pepper to a medium bowl. Stir to combine.

Two minutes before the pasta is done, add the garlic to the onions and cook 1 minute. Stir to combine (leave uncovered for the remaining cooking time). After one minute, stir in the pesto mixture and stir to combine. Cook for about a minute to warm the pesto mixture.

Use a spider or strainer to remove the ravioli from the water and add it immediately into the skillet with the pesto. It's OK if some water gets in the skillet. In fact, that's a good thing. If desired, add some salt and pepper to the ravioli then gently fold the pesto over the ravioli and immediately take the skillet off the heat. Sprinkle a good amount of parmesan into the ravioli and stir.

Spoon some ravioli onto a serving plate and top with more parmesan. Serve with garlic bread.