Wisconsin Classics Revisited: Grilled Chicken Taco Salad and Stuffed Burgers

When it comes to cooking, I really love a good challenge -- which is probably what makes me so fond of recipe development.

I love the tasting and tweaking.  I love trying new techniques to get different results. And I love searching for just the right balance of flavors and ingredients.

A favorite pet project of mine is recreating favorite dishes we've eaten at restaurants -- or thinking of creative ways to revamp recipes that didn't quite make the flavor cut (there's always a way to save a good concept, after all... you just need to bring a new eye to it).

So, this latest project -- creating recipes inspired by things we've eaten in Wisconsin -- was an incredible amount of fun.  Not only did we get to think back to all sorts of fun places we've been in our home state, but we got to create delicious food to go along with it.

Head over to Eat Wisconsin Cheese, and you'll find a deliciously fresh grilled chicken taco salad, embellished with creamy chipotle dressing and crisp, warm seared White Cheddar Cheese Curds. 

The curds have all the flavor of their battered, fried brethren; but, they're quick and easy to prepare, and they taste delicious when accompanied by the auspiciously fresh crunch of romaine lettuce, red peppers and the sweet kick of red onion.

Of course, if you're not in the mood for salad, we've got a solution for that too. 

How about a take on the classic cheeseburger for your next backyard barbeque? Our version pays homage to Mineral Point's Brewery Creek Inn "Stuffed Burger." Jam-packed with Blue Cheese and smoked bacon, and served with melted Colby Cheese, caramelized onions, and barbeque sauce, this delicious creation is a force to be reckoned with.

Recipes:

Grilled Chicken Taco Salad with Seared Wisconsin Cheese Curds

Burgers Stuffed with Bacon and Wisconsin Blue Cheese

Feeling inspired?  Check out the Traveler's Guide to America's Dairyland and plan your next vacation to Wisconsin!  (And don't forget to visit us while you're here! We'd love to meet you!)

©BURP!

Christmas Roast Beast and other random shots

So, how were the holidays at your place?
Our hope is that you were delighted by the company of your most cherished friends and family, satiated by platters of scrumptious food, and made all bright and cheery by a few glasses of great wine.

We certainly were!  Nope, I cannot tell a lie. Christmas dinner at our house this year was a positively delicious affair:

• Baby winter greens with maple cinnamon walnuts, cranberry goat cheese, fresh raspberries, and  lemon-raspberry vinaigrette.
  
• Thyme and garlic rubbed standing rib roast
• Porcini & bacon sauce
  
• Parmesan mashed potatoes
• Spinach gratin
• Roasted romanesco with rosemary garlic butter
• Hot buttered rum cheesecakes with rum caramel sauce

We started off by ordering a standing rib roast of beast from our local butcher...  Bunzel's Meat Market bequeathed us with ten delicious pounds of USDA prime first-cut beef.  We couldn't really argue with that, now, could we?

 Preparation of the roast beast began a couple of days ahead. We slashed the roast and slathered it liberally with a mixture of garlic (lots!), fresh thyme (3 T chopped), olive oil (2-3 T), and salt (2 T).

 We also threw together ten adorable hot buttered rum cheesecakes (and their accompanying rum caramel sauce -- which we should mention is positively To. Die. For.  I think that I could live on it!). 

Awesome, huh?


Yeah, well. It turns out we're not the best when it comes to taking pictures of our actual holiday feasts.  We get all excited about the preparations, snapping pictures every other minute... but once the festivities begin, we lose all sense of direction when it comes to recording the final product.  


We did manage to get a shot of the salad, which we served while the roast was resting in the kitchen... but everything else seems to have gotten lost in the "ooohs" and "aahhhs" and the mumblings of satisfaction as we consumed the roast beast and its swoon-worthy accompaniments.

I'm particularly sad that we didn't get a shot of that bacon porcini gravy and the uber cheesy spinach gratin... soooo good.

*sigh*  Maybe next year.



©BURP! Where Food Happens

Spring Grill: Baby Bok Choy and Spring Radish Salad

We enjoyed quite the long holiday weekend of grilled foods.
There was an evening of grilled jalapeno bratwurst with naturally fermented sauerkraut... an evening with friends and a bit of (heavenly) jerk marinated grilled pork... and we also served up some exceedingly delicious BBQ grilled chicken.

Interestingly enough, one of the most rewarding dishes of the weekend was a salad.

We were thrilled on Saturday when we visited the farmer's market and found that our favorite farmers from JenEhr Family Farm were back in action. We were also lucky enough to find that they were hocking some painfully fresh baby bok choy and some nearly perfect spring radishes. Rather than settling for an ordinary stir fry, we decided upon something a bit more unusual. You've heard of grilled Caesar salad, no? Seems to be a trend these days... and it inspired us to do a bit MORE with our bok choy.

We took those gorgeous green, tightly grown, stalks... and tossed them with a bit of our favorite everday olive oil.
We also took the radishes and gave them a similar treatment. They look so pretty... all shiney and pink, and just raring to be tossed onto the grill. Don't they?
Well, that's exactly what we did. We heated up our trusty old Weber with some natural charcoal. And we hauled all the greased up veggie goods outside.
We laid everything gently on the cleaned grates, and let them char for a bit.
After a nice quick flip, we saw the caramelization developing on those delicious little radishes.
And we watched as the tender leaves of the bok choy wrinkled and browned -- and the more resistant white flesh grew suspiciously tender (and fabulously sweet).
Once inside, we plated up the bok choy with its little radish buddies -- and drizzled the whole bit with a bit of balsamic vinegar dressing (a simple mix of olive oil, 3-year balsamic, and a bit of dijon mustard).
Honestly -- it was the most heavenly spring salad. The previously sharp radishes took on a more gentle personality. The caramelization gave everything a sweeter, more succulent flavor. And the balsamic brought everything back into focus -- marrying the still-crisp salad with a bit of sweet & sour romance.

This was the perfect accompaniment to a bit of grilled chicken. But, it would also be quite at home next to a bit of barbequed tempeh. Or some lovely barbequed tofu.

I only kicked myself a little bit for not trying a more Asian-inspired dressing. Something with a bit of ginger, maybe. Or some nice roasted sesame. That would have been close to perfect.

Oh, YUM.


©BURP! Where Food Happens

End of Summer Corn and Arugula Salad

Just the other day, a friend of mine from Seattle commented on our participation in the local eating challenge. "You can do that in October?" she exclaimed, "In Wisconsin?!?"

I understood what she was getting at. The Wisconsin growing season is relatively short in comparison to some. But, here in Milwaukee we reap the benefits of being close to Lake Michigan, which offers the added advantage of a bit of insulation from frost. So, early October can bring a fairly wide array of garden delights. In fact, many of us are still reaping the harvest from our gardens into late October and early November. And many farmer's markets in our area are actually open and active well into November.

But, I was a bit surprised to find a farmer at the West Allis Farmer's Market this past Saturday who still had a nice, healthy batch of sweet corn to offer up. Not quite as eager as we were earlier in the season, we decided that it might not be a bad idea to buy up a bit of corn, grill it, and pack it away in the freezer. After all, grilled corn is a real treat when the bitter winds of February are blowing! So, we picked up an armload of corn.

We also grabbed a nice bunch of arugula from our friends at Jen Ehr Farm. We shouldn't pick favorites, but the good people at Jen Ehr are some of the best at the market. They're bright, and friendly, and their produce is simply top notch.
After making a quick dressing from a bit of mayonnaise, some Zemo garlic (which seems to be a nice, mild variety just right for eating raw), a bit of lemon, some buttermilk, some cayenne and black pepper... I stirred it together with a few chopped radishes, part of a red onion, and some of the corn.I tossed the arugula in -- and then plated everything up, tossing a bit of crumbled gorgonzola on top at the last minute.
Sweet, peppery, cruncy, and delicious. I couldn't be happier with how this concoction turned out. This really is the sort of salad that I want to eat on a cool, October day.
Looking back, I'm thinking this would make the perfect chopped salad to serve alongside a nice grass-fed steak. But, I could also see it paired with a bit of protein as something more akin to main dish fare.
Either way -- enjoy!
End of Summer Corn and Arugula Salad

©BURP! Where Food Happens

Boy Meets Mad Fuschia Salad... and falls in love.

I know that some people aren't terribly fond of beets. But, it's difficult for me to imagine.

For two weeks in a row now, we've gotten the most fabulous beets with our CSA share. The first week, they were golden beets. The second week,they were crimson. Each batch came with a nice tuft of greens, which we ate right away. But, despite my love for the veggies, the beets eluded me.

Finally, last night, after weeding the vegetable garden (and noticing that the dill had started to flower) I had a breakthrough. Why not a Swedish-style roasted beet and potato salad?

We had all the right ingredients -- beets, dill weed, and new red potatoes.
I roasted the beets and potatoes, chopped the dill, and put it together on a plate with a dollop of Mediterranean yogurt. This isn't how the dish would stay, but I knew that if I mixed it together before taking a photo, you'd barely be able to decipher each componant beneath the mad fuschia haze. See what I mean? Not even Peef was dissuaded by the bright pink color. He finished off every last bite of the salad, and even asked for seconds.

Roasted Beet and Potato Salad



©BURP! Where Food Happens

Sammie Sundays

What's new at Burp!? Well, Sammie Sundays has been our latest brain child.

What's a "Sammie Sunday"? Well, it's spring. And we can't think of anything better in the spring time than a fabulous sandwich. So, over the next month or so, we'll be cooking up the best sammies we can, and putting them right here online for you to enjoy.

This past weekend, we dunked a turkey in some Maple Brine and roasted it up, resulting in a succulant bird just screaming to be sliced up for some sammies. We were also thrilled to find a brilliantly fresh batch of fava beans at the market, so we shucked those and prepped them for a nice spring salad.

Here's what was on the menu:

Spring Fava Bean and Asparagus Salad with Lemon Garlic dressing

Maple Roasted Turkey Breast Panini with Brown Sugar Bacon, Thinly Sliced Pears, and Double-Cream Brie

Sweet Tater Fires - not a typo. They have a little kick to 'em

Next Sunday is Mother's Day, so Burp! will be traveling to the Mom's house to make their famous ribs complete with all the southern fixins'. But, we're hoping there will be a bit of barbequed pork left for some nice sammies!

©BURP! Where Food Happens