Packers Playoff Burger

If you know me in real life, you'll know I'm a huge Green Bay Packers fan. This Sunday they play their first game in the playoffs. I created this burger to celebrate--although you definitely don't have to be a cheesehead to love this artery-clogger. Who couldn't love a hamburger patty topped with a brat patty, red onions, sauerkraut, and a big ol' cheese curd?

To start the burgers, I take a pound of ground beef and shape them into patties. I made them really big--1/3 pounders. Hey, the Packers don't make the playoffs every year!

Give them a good salt-and-peppering on both sides.

These burgers also have a second patty, made from fresh bratwurst meat. My grocery store sells these at the meat counter.

Use a knife to split the brat skins, and then pull all the meat out.

Shape the brat meat into patties roughly the same size as the burgers.

Now, Mr. Kim Chee helped me with these because I was busy frying curds and I didn't get any pictures of the patties being cooked.

He cooked them on the stove in a big frying pan, with a little oil, until the brat patties were cooked all the way through and my burgers were medium to medium rare.

 My special celebration burger is topped with fried cheese curds.

While you prepare your batter, pop your curds in the freezer. You want them to be cold when you fry them or they'll melt and stick to the bottom of your pot.

Get your oil started too, over medium-high heat. You want your curds to be screaming cold and your oil to be screaming hot.

The batter is made with flour, baking powder, and salt. If you like a little spice, a pinch of cayenne right now would be nice.

Whisk the dry ingredients together and then crack in an egg.

Now whisk in about 2/3 of a bottle of light beer or hard cider. You'll want the batter to be on the thicker side so add a little liquid at a time rather than all at once.

Pull your curds out of the freezer and throw them into the batter.

Use your hand to give the curds a good dunking.

Hopefully by this time your oil should be hot. If you're not sure, give it a test--gently drip a bit of the curd batter into the oil. It should float to the top right away. If your curds fry too long, the cheese will melt out of the batter.

If your oil is ready, carefully drop the curds in!

Yummm.

How could this be bad? (Okay, don't answer that.)

Once your curds are fried, you can assemble your burgers. Toast yourself a big bun and get ready to layer deliciousness!

The bottom layer gets piled with sauerkraut. I sauteed it in the same frying pan as the burgers and brats, just to heat it up a little bit.

Set a burger on top of the kraut.

Pile sliced red onions on top of that.

Then comes the brat patty.

And then cheese curds.

When all the curds are stuck together, it's just one curd, right?













And finally, the top bun completes the piece de resistance! Celebrate your favorite team's victory with this oh-so-bad-for-you burger.

Recipe: Packers Playoff Burger

1 lb. ground beef
2 uncooked fresh brats
salt and pepper, to taste

hamburger buns, lightly toasted

store-bought saurkraut

oil, for frying

1 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
8 oz. (about 2/3 of a bottle) of beer or hard cider

12 oz. cheese curds, very cold

Thinly sliced red onion


Pat the ground beef into three thin patties. Salt and pepper both sides.

Split the brats in half and remove the meat. Pat the ground brat meat into patties roughly the same size as the beef patties. Cook both the beef and brat patties in a large, lightly oiled pan over medium heat until brat patties are cooked completely through and burgers are medium-rare to medium (2-4 minutes per side.)

Using the same pan, toast hamburger buns.

Using the same pan, gently saute sauerkraut until heated through.

In a large pot, heat oil for frying until very hot.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, egg, and beer or cider together. Add cheese curds and coat thoroughly.

When oil is hot, carefully drop in curds a few at a time. Fry until coating is golden brown; remove and drain on newspaper or paper towels.

To assemble burgers, spoon sauerkraut on the bottom bun. Then layer hamburger patty, thinly sliced red onions, brat patty, cheese curds, and top bun. Enjoy!

Chicken and Dumplings (and the winner of the contest!)

Nothing says "down-home, family-friendly meal" like chicken and dumplings. Whether it's on a cold winter night or on a summer evening outdoors, chicken and dumplings will remind you of home, no matter how far from "home" you really are. And the best part about this recipe--there's no roux! The chicken makes its own roux. I know some people out there are afraid of making roux but love creamy foods, so if you're one of these folks, this recipe is for you!

Start things off with a bowl of flour seasoned with salt and pepper.

I used chicken legs because that's what I had. It was about 2 1/4 lbs. of chicken. (But only four legs! These CSA chickens are huge! But honestly--the best chicken I ever ate. For real.)

You could use thighs or breasts, or even wings if you wanted to really get into picking the meat off of them. I suppose you could use boneless, skinless chicken here, but it definitely wouldn't add the same amount of flavor you get from the skin and the bones. Do you like less flavor? I don't.

Coat the chicken in the flour and tap off the excess.

In a large pot, heat a combination of olive oil and butter over medium heat. The butter will give the chicken a good flavor, and the olive oil, which has a higher smoking point, will help keep your butter and chicken from burning.

Once your fats are up to temp, gently add your chicken and brown it on all sides.

While your chicken gets flavorful, you can devote your time to peeling and chopping vegetables. I used carrots, celery, and onion, but you could use any vegetables you like. Parsnips or peas would be really nice (although I wouldn't add the peas until the very end).

When your chicken has browned, remove it and put it off to the side.

Pour your veggies into the pot recently vacated by the chicken. Give them a good salt and peppering and saute them until softened.

Pour a whole box (4 cups) of chicken broth over your softened vegetables.

Put the chicken back in the pot and season everything with some poultry seasoning. Turn the temperature down to somewhere between medium and low--just so you get a nice, soft bubble. Put a lid on the pot and let time do its thing.

While the chicken is cooking, you can start on the dumplings. Flour and cornmeal are first on the list. You could use all flour--but I find that the cornmeal adds a little substance to the sometimes-gummy dumplings. Give it a try!

Next is baking powder and salt and pepper.

I also like to add some parsley, just for some color to a pretty brownish dish. You can use dried parsley, too--just remember the 1 tbsp. fresh herbs to 1 tsp. dried herbs rule.

Stir in a cup of chicken broth. If you like your dumplings a little more chewy, on the noodle-y side, a couple of eggs here would serve you well.

Almost dumplings...

Now before you add the dumplings, you'll need to pull the chicken out of the pot and pick off the meat and then add it back into the pot.

Have I mentioned before that picking meat off chicken bones is probably my least favorite kitchen task ever?

All right, now that your chicken is back int the pot, it's time to drop in the dumplings. I used a small ice cream scoop, but there's nothing wrong with using good old spoons, either.

Everybody's in the pot and waiting!

Put the lid back on the pot and let things simmer down for about 15 to 20 minutes.












After that short wait, your biscuits should be fluffy and soft, surrounded by a rich chicken gravy and bright vegetables. If you want a little more creamyness, a tablespoon or two of cream would be a nice addition before you add the dumplings. Either way, I hope you find these as good as Mom used to make--or at least pretty darn close!

Recipe: Chicken and Dumplings

2 lbs. chicken parts, bone and skin on
1/2 c. flour
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 large onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped

4 c. chicken broth
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
salt and pepper, to taste

Dumplings:
1 1/2 flour
1/2 c. cornmeal
2 tbsp. fresh parsley (or 1 tsp. dried)
1/2 tsp. salt
pepper, to taste
2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. chicken broth
2 eggs (optional, if chewier dumplings are desired)


Melt butter and olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.

Dredge chicken parts in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Cook in the butter and olive oil mixture until golden brown on all sides. Remove chicken from pot.

Add carrots, celery, and onion to the pot. Cook until slightly softened, about 5-8 minutes. Pour in chicken broth and poultry seasoning.

Add chicken back into the pot. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover; let cook 20-30 minutes.

Remove chicken from pot; pick meat from bones and discard the bones.

In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and pepper, and parsley. Stir in chicken broth (and eggs, if desired) until just combined.

Gently drop spoonfuls of batter directly into the pot. Cover and let cook another 15-20 minutes or until biscuits are fully cooked. Serve!



And now for the winner of the Kim Chee Casserole 100th Post Contest. Thanks to everyone who entered--it really helps to know that there's as readership out there :D And comments, questions, and any other sort of feedback is always appreciated!

The winner of the Kim Chee Casserole 100 Posts contest is multipliedluv!

Congratulations! Please send your croissant choice and mailing address to imperialhighness@hotmail.com so we can arrange shipping.

Seafood Risotto

Don't forget to enter the Kim Chee Casserole 100 Posts contest! 

The word "risotto" conjures up an image of a frilly, time-consuming recipe out of a gourmet magazine or off an expensive restaurant menu. But nothing could be further from the truth! In reality, risotto is an easy, one-pot meal that can be made in around 30 minutes. And risotto is a blank canvas--it's easy to change the ingredients to feature your favorite flavors, from meat-lover to all-veggie.

The one important ingredient to this recipe is risotto rice, also known as arborio. Arborio is short-grained and starchy, which makes it perfect for making risotto. And the great thing is that arborio can be easily obtained nowadays.

I like to add lots of vegetables to my seafood risotto. I usually add peppers, too, but I wasn't really feeling in a peppery mood today so I left them out.

Chop your shallots, zucchini, asparagus, and mushrooms, and toss them into a pot with some butter. And some garlic. I always forget to photograph garlic.

While your vegetables are sauteeing, it's time to get the seafood ready. I used shrimp and lobster. Sometimes I use scallops instead of lobster, or in addition to.

Lobsters look scary and hard to manage, but they're really quite easy. Flip your tail over and get out a nice big set of kitchen scissors. Cut through the shell, all the way down to the bottom of the tail.

Do the same on the other side. It should be easy to pry the shell off the meat after that. If the shell is still resistant, use the scissors to make some more cuts down the shell. The smaller pieces will be easier to pull off.

I left the lobster in pretty large chunks. Why buy expensive meat if you're not going to be able to see it?

I peeled the shrimp and cut it in half.

By this time, your vegetables should be nice and soft. Measure out a cup of rice and pour it in.

Stir the rice around for a couple of minutes. This helps to release the starch, which will result in a creamy risotto later on.

Now pour in a bit of chicken broth--how much? I don't know. Just enough to make the rice look a bit soupy, like a watery oatmeal.

I used chicken broth, but you could use fish or vegetable broths too.

You may need to decrease your heat a little here. You want things to be gently simmering, not boiling.

Stir gently until the liquid is absorbed, and then add some more. You'll want to keep doing this until all the liquid is gone.

This is the step that people think is the most time consuming. Everyone says you have to stir and stir and stir and not do anything else. Well, that's not really true. You could stir constantly until all the broth is gone, or you could stir frequently--which still means you'll be standing over the stove, but it also means that you'll be able to do other things while standing over the stove. Just don't stop babysitting your rice--it's not a "walk away and come back later" recipe.

After your last addition of chicken broth, pour in some white wine. I like to use a drier white wine. And I really love these little bottles for cooking. You get a decent quality wine to have on hand at all times, and you don't have to waste a whole bottle of wine for just the half cup that the recipe calls for. The risotto uses half a small bottle--that means the other half of the bottle is yours!

Once all your liquid is absorbed, it's time to start thinking about flavorings. Because seafood and lemon go so well together, I used the juice and zest from half a lemon. I also chopped up a tomato, for some color.

See how nice the rice is looking?

Right near the end of cooking, I added the seafood. It won't need long to cook, and if you add it too soon it can get tough.
 

In goes the lemon juice ...
 

... and the tomato and some parsley for some color and freshness.
 

To make the risotto velvety, I poured in a couple of tablespoons of heavy cream.
 

And a tablespoon of butter.
 

And, right at the end, I threw in some Parmesan cheese.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
You'll never be afraid of risotto again after trying out this recipe! Make it in the summer to use up summer vegetables, or stir some up in the winter to get an extra dose of vitamin C. Keep it simple by theme--butternut squash or tomato pair nicely with risotto. Or get extra fancy and pick up some shellfish and squid to make your seafood risotto even more rich! 
 

 
Recipe: Seafood Risotto

3 tbsp. butter
1/2 zuccini, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
1/2 lb. asparagus, trimmed and chopped
1/2 lb. mushrooms, chopped

1 c. arborio rice

4 c. chicken broth
1/3 c. (about half a small bottle) dry white wine
1/2 lemon, zested and juiced

1 lobster tail
1/2 lb. shrimp

2 tbsp. fresh parsley
1 small tomato, diced
2 tbsp. heavy cream
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste


In a large pot, saute vegetables in the butter. When vegetables are soft, add arborio rice and saute for 3-4 minutes.

Add enough chicken broth to moisten the rice. Decrease heat to medium-low and stir frequently until broth is absorbed. Add more chicken broth, stir, and repeat. Continue until all the broth is absorbed.

Add lemon zest and wine.

Add seafood and lemon juice.

Add parsley, tomato, cream, butter, and parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot!