Hamburgers with Spicy Kimchi Mayonnaise and Minted Slaw

Why have I not cooked out of the LCBO's magzine Food & Drink more often? Holy moly, there are some wicked recipes in there.

You know, the kind that make you go back for seconds, even though you're totally stuffed.

This is one such recipe.

I made 4 burgers and between my husband and myself we have no leftovers. I don't know if it was the Rowe Farms beef or the amazing slaw... whatever the case, I'm sad I didn't make a full recipe (one that serves 6), because, my god. I could SO go back for more.

For those of you unfamiliar with it, kimchi is a spicy Korean dish of fermented cabbage. It smells a little of old socks, in my humble opinion, but tastes amazing. I used to bbq it at yakiniku joints in Nakatsugawa.

For the record, these burgers call for a sturdy bun. I decided to make my own off an epicurious recipe that I'll be posting tomorrow.

Hamburgers with Kimchi Mayonnaise and Minted Slaw

(from LCBO Food & Drink Early Summer '11)

Ingredients


Burgers

1 lb lean ground beef (preferably grass fed, free range, if you can get it)
½ tsp sriracha
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp minced fresh garlic
salt and pepper to taste (I only added pepper as the soy sauce had plenty of salt)

Kimchi Mayonnaise

¼ cup chopped kimchi
¼ cup mayonnaise
½ tbsp lemon juice

Minted Slaw

1 cup shredded romaine lettuce
½ cup julienned cucumber
¼ cup finely chopped green onions (1 green onion)
2 tbsp slivered mint
½ tbsp rice vingear
½ tbsp canola oil
½ tsp soy sauce
½ tsp sesame oil
¼ tsp grated ginger

Directions

1. Mix together burger ingredients in a large bowl. Divide into 4 and shape into 4 patties, each ½ inch thick. Set aside in fridge.

2. Stir together kimchi mayonnaise ingredients and set aside in fridge.

3. Heat a cast iron grill pan (or a bbq) over high heat. Grill burgers for 4-5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Serve on sturdy burgers topped with mayonnaise and slaw.

3. Combine lettuce through mint in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together vinegar through ginger. Pour over lettuce mixture just before serving.

I've got to be honest, the May 2-4 weekend is coming up, and I think this is the perfect recipe to open cottage season!

Prosciutto Wrapped Grissini Sticks with Asiago Dip

Two days late is better than never, right?

I love, love, love this recipe. I love that it took minutes to throw together. I love that the ingredient list is pretty straightforward, but most of all I love the combination of flavours.

Peppery arugula + fatty prosciutto + salty, garlicky asiago dip = pure bliss.

Prosciutto Wrapped Grissini with Asiago Dip

(from the LCBO)

Ingredients

12 grissini
6 slices prosciutto
1.5 cups fresh baby arugula

Dip

1 c. low-fat mayonnaise
2 tbsp. sour cream
1/4 c. grated asiago cheese
1 clove garlic, finely grated or chopped
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 scallion, chopped
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1.    Cut each prosciutto slice in two lengthwise.  Lay them end to end, and lightly cover with arugula leaves.

2.    Starting at the end closest to you, lay a grissino down sideways, with the tip resting on the prosciutto.  Using both hands, gently roll the grissino up and over the prosciutto, until the stick is completely covered.  Crimp at the end to secure.

3.    Stack of place in a tumbler and serve with chilled dipping sauce.

4.    In a medium bowl, add all ingredients and mix until evenly blended.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 12 with plenty of dip left over.

Chewy Pretzels

I haven't made these in years! My dad went through a period where he was making them regularly with his church school group (and with us), and I don't think I've had them since then... which would make it a good 15 or so years ago.

So with March break time on my hands, and the latest issue of the LCBO Food & Drink in my kitchen, I got to work.

Chewy Pretzels

(slightly adapted from Food & Drink Spring 2011)

Ingredients

Dough

3½ cups all purpose flour
2½ tsp instant (or quick-rise) yeast (that's one package)
2 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/3 cup cold water

Boiling

8 cups water
½ cup baking soda
Coarse salt (about 1 tbsp)

Directions

1. To make dough, mix together flour, yeast and salt in the bowl of a stand-mixer (you can, of course, do this by hand too). In a microwaveable measuring cup, heat milk in microwave to almost boiling, add butter and stir until melted. Then mix in maple syrup and cold water. This will bring the temperature of the liquid down so it doesn't kill the yeast off.

2. With the dough hook on the stand mixer, start mixing away. Slowly add in the milk mixture. If you feel like you need additional liquid, you can add up to 3 more tbsp cold water. Add it in tablespoon at a time, and take it from there. This is a very stiff dough though, so don't add water prematurely. Once mixture has come together and has formed a smooth ball that's pulled away from the sides, let the machine run for an additional 3-5 minutes to develop the gluten. Turn off machine. Remove dough hook and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in place for about an hour or until doubled in bulk.

3. Remove the dough from the bowl, and knead a couple of times to deflate. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and divide dough into 9 balls.

I was worried about getting 9 balls right the first time, so I started by subdividing into 3.

4. Roll each ball into a long rope (about 18-24" long) that's thicker in the middle than it is at its ends.

5. Make a big U out of each rope. Twist the ends of the rope into... well... a twist. Try and keep the twist about 3 inches long, if possible. Then lift up the fat bottom of the pretzel and place ends appropriately. Place dough on baking sheet so ends are on top (not underneath) the pretzel. Repeat with all ropes, and leave 2" on all sides of pretzels on the baking sheets.

6. Loosely cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 30 minutes, then transfer dough to the freezer. This will help the pretzels keep their shape when you boil them. Freeze for 2 hours on baking sheets. After this, you can either move on to step 7, or you can put the dough into freezer bags and save them for cooking at a later date.

7. Preheat oven to 375º.

8. Bring water and baking soda to a boil in a large (and I do mean large) pot (make sure it's either stainless steel or enamel, other metals will react to the baking soda and make the pretzels taste awful). The water will look foamy, like you've got epsom salts in it. Don't be alarmed. That's totally normal. Meanwhile, line a large baking tray (perhaps the one you used to freeze the pretzels on) with parchment paper.

9. Working one pretzel at a time, cook the dough first in the boiling water for 45-60 seconds. Remove using a slotted spoon; drain on a tea towel, without removing from spoon. Place on baking sheet and sprinkle with coarse salt. Repeat with remaining dough.

10. Once all pretzels are on baking sheet (again, leaving 2" around each), use a sharp knife to cut a slash in the thickest part of each pretzel.

11. Bake for 15 minutes, then rotate and bake for another 3 or until deeply browned. Let cool on a rack.

12. For a traditional condiment, mix 2 parts mayonnaise with 1 part mustard (grainy, yellow, your choice) and dip that pretzel away!