Queso Fundido Burger

Introducing the Queso Fundido Burger.  A thick meat patty made of ground beef and cooked chorizo that is studded with spicy chopped chipotle chiles in adobo and topped with loads of melting monterey jack cheese, roasted poblano strips, caramelized onions, and garlic.  Serve it all on a lightly toasted bun and it's one incredible burger!

 Queso Fundido Burger

Adapted from RickBayless.com

Serves 4

2 fresh medium poblano chiles
1 medium onion, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons oil
1 1/2 pounds ground chuck
8 ounces chorizo, cooked
1 to 2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, finely minced, seeded if you wish
8 thick slices Monterey Jack cheese
4 hamburger buns, lightly toasted

Roast the poblanos over an open flame or 4 inches below a broiler, turning regularly until blistered and blackened all over, about 5 minutes for an open flame, 10 minutes for the broiler.  Place in a bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and let cool.  Rub off the blackened skin and pull out the stems and seed pods.  Cut into 1/4-inch strips.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium.  Once the oil is hot, add the onions, stirring frequently until it begins to brown, 7 to 8 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and poblano and cook for 2 minutes.  Season with salt, usually about 1/2 teaspoon.  Scrape the rajas into a bowl and cover to keep warm.

In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, cooked chorizo, chipotles and 1 1/2  teaspoon salt.  Mix until well combined.  Divide the meat into 4 equal portions and form the patties.


Heat a gas grill to medium-high, or light a charcoal fire and let it burn until the charcoal is covered with white ash (and about medium hot); bank the coals to one side.  (It was too hot for me to grill outside so I just cooked the patties in a skillet on the stove, about 3-4 minutes per side). Place the hamburger patties on the grill and cook for a total of 4 to 5 minutes for medium rare.

Lay one piece of cheese on top of each burger, top with the warm rajas and then another piece of cheese.  Close the lid and continue cooking until the cheese has melted about 1 minute.  Remove from the grill and place on a toasted bun.  Serve immediately.

Theme: Green, Green, Green

Cookbook Review: The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook {and Upside-Down Salsa Cornbread}

The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook

A Treasury of Timeless Delicious Recipes

Softcover 

288 pages

Eight Chapters:  Lodge Cast Iron: A Song for a Cook's Soul; Breakfast; Soup, Stew, Gumbo & Chili; The Main Course; Cooking Outdoors; Sides; Nothin' But Cornbread; Desserts, Biscuits, & Bread; and great features on the history of cast iron as well as caring for your cast iron. 

I am absolutely in love with cast iron.  I love the rustic and homey look of cast iron, but more important than that, I love the functionality and superior results from cooking with cast iron.  Cast iron goes from the stovetop to the oven and from the oven to the table. 

I had a chance to go to The Lodge Factory Store in Sevierville, TN this past winter.  It was a total dream come true.  There are four factory stores in the southeastern United States and I highly recommend stopping by one if you get the chance.  They have so many cast iron pieces to chose from.  I especially like the table in the back where you can buy "less than perfect" pieces for a fraction of the price.  After I stocked up on cast iron I spied this cookbook at the checkout and vowed that I would buy it when I got the chance. 

This is a beautiful softcover cookbook with lots of gorgeous pictures, both of the recipes and also the cast iron.  There are so many recipes that I'd like to make from this book, but I've been all about cornbread lately so I chose this Upside-Down Salsa Cornbread from the Nothin' But Cornbread chapter. We loved being able to cut a wedge of this and top it with additional salsa, sour cream, and a little bit of chopped green onion.  It was very pleasing to the eyes and the palate!

Upside-Down Salsa Cornbread

Adapted from The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook

Serves 6-8

Filling:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pound lean ground beef (I used 95% lean)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1 medium green or red bell pepper, seeded and cut into rings

Topping:

2 cups Martha White Buttermilk Self-Rising Corn Meal Mix

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 tablespoon sugar

1 (16-ounce) jar chunky-style salsa

1-1/4 cups milk

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 425F.  

Make the filling:  Heat the oil in a 10-1/2 inch cast iron skillet over medium high heat until hot.  Add the ground beef, onion, chili powder, salt and garlic salt; cook until the beef is no longer pink, stirring frequently and breaking up any clumps of meat.  Remove the beef mixture from the skillet to a bowl.  Place the bell pepper rings in a single layer in the bottom of the skillet.  Spoon the mixture over the rings.

Make the topping:  Stir together the corn meal mix, cheese, sugar, salsa, milk, oil, and egg in a medium bowl; stir until well blended.  Spread the batter evenly over the beef mixture in the skillet.  Bake until golden brown, 32 to 38 minutes.

Place a serving plate over the skillet; carefully invert and remove the skillet.  Cut into wedges.  If desired, this can be served from the skillet:  Cut into wedges and carefully turn each wedge upside down onto a serving plate.

Tex-Mex Meat Loaf with A Chipotle-Tomato Glaze

I attempt to write my menu plan based on the sales in the store, but I always allow myself to pick a few recipes that I simply just want to make.  Lately what I want is pretty much anything from The Homesick Texan cookbook.  It's my go-to cookbook for the moment.    

I have a favorite recipe for your classic everyday meat loaf, but this recipe for Tex-Mex Meat Loaf with Chipotle-Tomato Glaze has been calling to me ever since I first laid eyes on it.  I blame it all on the chorizo.  The idea of adding chorizo to meat loaf was completely intriguing to me. 

This meat loaf is dense in texture, packed with lots of flavor (chorizo, cilantro, onions, garlic, cumin, and oregano), and topped with a glaze that is spicy from the chipotle and slightly tangy from the lime.  It's not your everyday meat loaf.  It's meat loaf with a punch of flavor.  My husband who loves all these ingredients separately, did not love this meat loaf.  He said he preferred a normal old-fashioned meat loaf to this recipe.  I have to agree with him.  I certainly appreciated and enjoyed all the flavors in this recipe, but I think I prefer a simple old-fashioned meat loaf best.

  

Tex-Mex Meat Loaf with A Chipotle-Tomato Glaze

Adapted from The Homesick Texan by Lisa Fain

Serves 10-12

For the Chipotle-Tomato Glaze:

1 cup crushed canned tomatoes, preferable fire roasted

1/2 or 1 canned chipotle chile in adobo (depending on how much heat you like)

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 -3 cloves of garlic

salt and pepper, to taste

For the Meat Loaf:

1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/4 medium yellow onion, finely diced

4 cloves of garlic, finely minced

1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef

1/2 pound Mexican chorizo, removed from casing

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

2 large eggs

1 cup finely ground crackers or tortilla chips (or a combo of the two)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with foil.  Butter or grease the foil so the meat loaf does not stick.

To make the chipotle-tomato glaze, in a blender, puree until smooth the crushed tomatoes, chipotle chiles, lime juice, and garlic.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

To make the meat loaf, heat the oil in a skillet on medium-low heat, and add the onion.  Cook uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.  

Slide the cooked onions and garlic into a large bowl.  Add to the bowl the ground beef, the chorizo, cilantro, eggs, ground crackers (I used Ritz) or tortilla chips, oregano, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, and salt.  With your hands, gently mix all ingredients until well combined.

Take the meat and form it into a loaf.  Place it on the sheet and take half of the chipotle-tomato glaze and spread it on top of the meat loaf.  Place meat loaf in the oven and bake for 50 minutes.  Remove from the oven, spread the remaining chipotle-tomato glaze on top, and place back in the oven for about 10 more minutes.  Let the cooked meat loaf sit for 15 minutes and then slice with a serrated knife and serve.