Virgil
Chef Virgil
by , 01-24-2009 at 09:11 PM (2059 Views)
Now that my wife is home all day I don’t get the opportunity to cook much. She’s been handling it all. When she used to work I used to get home much earlier than she, me at 5:30 and she at seven or later. I had to do a lot of the cooking, and I got pretty good. Frankly before I was married I probably had never cooked at all, at least I can’t remember ever dabbling in the kitchen. My mother did all the cooking at home, even my sister hardly touched kitchen stuff. So when I got married and the schedules were what they were I had to step up. And I enjoyed it actually. I read cook books, I asked mom for guidance (she used to get a good laugh at my first attempts and questions), I watched cooking shows, and I experimented like it was a science project.
I got to a point where it was fun. Frankly it’s relaxing and creative. So here are two recipes that I took and evolved to my liking that my wife insists I make every so often, so I assume they are pretty good. Oh, I don’t usually measure accurately and so you may have to play with that.
Turkey Burgers
Turkey chop meat tends to be dry and tasteless so the seasoning and additions is what makes it special. After some experimentation I prefer thyme as the main herb, and I usually use dried thyme flakes but any fresh herb is probably best. Remember though that it’s the herb married to the turkey meat that is the predominant flavor.
About 1 pound (1/2 kg) of turkey chop meat
About 3-4 tablespoons of bread crumbs (I usually use Italian seasoned)
1 egg
2-3 Tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese (possibly a little more)
1-2 Tablespoons of dried thyme flakes
½ Tablespoon of parsley flakes
Dash of cracked black pepper (ok more than a dash)
Optional: Dash of paprika or chili powder (and here I really do mean a dash)
Salt if you wish, but I don’t.
Mix it all together and make four to five patties and broil. (Give the emptied mixing bowl for the dog to lick up
Baked Beans
Here you’ll need a cast iron pot (thanks to my aunt Theresa for ours
Four cans of black beans.
2 Cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped
2 Medium onions, finely chopped
Olive oil to coat the pot
A scoop (?) of butter (I use Smart Balance margarine)
1 Cup of chopped tomatoes
4-5 Tablespoons of white (cider or rice) vinegar
¾ to 1 Cup of maple syrup
1/3 cup of honey
4-5 Tablespoons of hot sauce
2-3 cups of water or vegetable stock (I use water)
2-3 Tablespoons of fresh sage (if fresh not available then dried chopped will have to do and you may want to increase the amount. But that’s about the same amount for ground sage. If you have both dried chopped and ground sage available you might want to balance the two.)
1-2 Tablespoons of parsley
2 Bay leafs
Salt and pepper if you wish but I don’t use either here.
Sauté the garlic and onions with the oil and margarine until translucent. Add the beans and tomatoes and water so that the water level is just above the contents. Add the vinegar, maple syrup, hot sauce, and honey. I mix this on the side and then pour in. The idea here is to get a tangy (vinegar), sweet (maple syrup and honey), and spicy (hot sauce) flavor. Then add the seasonings, cover the pot, and bring to a simmer. Set your oven temperature to 350F (about 175C) and transfer the pot to the oven when it reaches temperature. Let bake for 3 to 4 hours, stirring occasionally. The fluid has to evaporate a good bit.
Serve hot. Makes a nice healthy side dish. Actually it may taste better on reheating.
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