Saturday, October 4, 2014

Cook It Up Challenge - September Edition


Today I'm linking up with Trish from Love, Laughter and a Touch of Insanity.  This is the 3rd month I've done this and I've really been enjoying getting some use out of my cookbooks.  I'm also linking up at Beth Fish Reads for her Weekend Cooking linkup.

This month I pulled out one of my favorite cookbooks - Cooking with Love: Comfort Food that Hugs You by Carla Hall.  I watch The Chew periodically and always think the stuff that Carla Hall makes looks pretty good so I decided to get her book from the library.  On the first flip through I wasn't particularly inspired but I decided to give her Bacon Basil Bread a try.  After one bit I immediately went and ordered the cookbook and have been loving it ever since.  I made a number of things out of this book this past month - Fresh Corn Grits Cakes (I don't like grits but these are amazing), Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits, Parker House Rolls, Cuban Pork Loin with Marinated Red Onions on Grilled Tortillas and they were all amazing.  Our favorite meal though is one we've had over and over again and I never get tired of - Buffalo Wing Burgers.

Buffalo wings aren't something that I regularly crave and J doesn't even like them at all but this is a recipe that I could eat once a week without complaint and happily eat any leftovers.

First you make the spicy mayo which you can then use on anything you can think of.  It works great on just regular cold cut sandwiches.
\
3/4 c mayo
1 T lemon juice
1 T hot sauce (preferably Frank's)
2 t honey
1/2 t cayenne pepper
Stir and refrigerate until ready to use.

Then you make the chicken burgers.  First up you make up a little spicy onion mixture to mix with the ground chicken.
1 T butter
1 t olive oil
1/3 c minced yellow onion (though I used a red onion and it was still tasty)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 t hot sauce (preferably Frank's)
1/2 t dried thyme
1/2 t crushed red chile flakes
1/2 t freshly ground pepper.

Heat the butter and oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and salt.  Cook for about 2 minutes then add the garlic.  Cook another minute or two (but don't let the garlic burn) and add the rest of the ingredients.  Remove from pan and allow to cool to room temperature.

You then add this mixture to a pound of ground chicken and form into patties (I normally get 6 fairly small patties).

Heat a skillet over medium high heat and coat with oil (I just use a little cooking spray if that).  Cook the patties until brown, about 3 minutes, then flip and repeat.

Toast the buns (Carla recommends potato buns and I whole-heartedly agree). Then top with chicken burgers, a sprinkle of blue cheese if you like and a hearty slather of the spicy mayo.

I had this last week and my mouth is watering just thinking about these.  So delicious!

I'm not sure what I'm going to do for October.  We'll be travelling some and there's soccer and Halloween so I'm kind of thinking I'll be leaning on my Pinterest boards.  Hopefully I'll have something yum to share!

30 comments:

  1. I am a fan of buffalo wings so I totally get ya! Looks like a good book, will see if the library has it. I usually "shop" that way before I buy.

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    1. I do the same thing with getting cookbooks from the library! It saves me from buying cookbooks that don't work for us. I have both of her books and love them both.

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  2. We love buffalo wings, so I'd definitely give these a try. I probably shouldn't admit this, but I've never seen the Chew! Maybe I should tune in once in a while.

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    1. I enjoy the Chew but I've been a Michael Symons fan for awhile. These are my current favorite dinner. Hope you enjoy them!

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  3. Yum! I enjoy Carla on The Chew -- so much energy! This recipe sounds good, and I was drooling over your mention of the Cuban Pork Loin. Will look for this book in the library. Thanks!

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    1. I've always liked her but I definitely have a whole new respect for her after trying her recipes. The Cuban Pork loin is so good! You make pickled red onions and serve it with tortillas and the flavor combination is amazing! Definitely look for this one!

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  4. This sounds like a great cookbook for any collection. I'll have ot look into it.

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    1. I really enjoy this cookbook. It's not the fastest but the recipes are always so good!

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  5. I think I'd really like this! I never eat wings because I'm lazy and I don't want to gnaw on bones for a little bit of meat, lol. But these? These I would do :D

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    1. Oh I'm with you on wings. I like boneless but the regular ones drive me crazy. These are so good and they heat up well too!

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  6. I think Carla is the most interesting person on The Chew when I occasionally watch it. I'll have to check out her cookbooks!

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    1. I always like watching Carla but have a whole new respect for her after I tried some of her recipes!

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  7. Love that you are cooking so much!! I was cooking a lot for a while there and then got back into a cooking slump.

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    1. We're trying to save money and the most effective way seems to be to eat at home. I do really enjoy cooking but it can be difficult to get inspired some days!

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  8. This sounds good, and I bet my men would gobble it up!

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    1. So good and the the leftovers (if there are any) heat up wonderfully!

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  9. Sounds like a wonderful cookbook! I'd be tempted, but I'm not that good at using the ones I have (and there's no more shelf space!)

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    1. I'm the same way but recently I've started culling through my cookbooks and getting books from the library to test before buying. That's helped a little bit.

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  10. my husband would love this. He enjoys cooking (as do I) and likes wings. I'm not such a big fan, but these chicken burgers sound fabulous. I am salivating...

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    1. I like wings but my husband doesn't and these have been a huge hit. Definitely don't let the wings label scare you off!

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  11. Oh I love cookbooks! I'd not seen this one before. You have me curious about the grits. I don't really like those myself when they're on their own.

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    1. I'm really not a grits person but that recipe has you making grits and then making them into cakes. The way she makes the grits is pretty amazing. It's about the only way I've had grits I could eat them on their own.

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  12. I absolutely loved her on Top Chef...I always thought her personality was so warm and quirky and she seemed to cook her food with love. And bacon bread sounds yummy too!

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    1. I never watched Top Chef so I had no idea who she was until I saw her on The Chew. Now I'm really wishing I had watched Top Chef! She's definitely hard not to like! And yeah the bacon bread was amazing!

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  13. Sounds like a fab burger! Cheers from CArole's Chatter

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  14. chicken burgers are a staple in my menu but I leave out the hot sauce because I don't like spice. My husband does though so thanks for the Mayo recipe, I'll think I'll try it!

    Shelleyrae @ Bookd Out

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    1. This is a recipe you could really tailor to hit your spice limit. I like spicy food so I have a pretty heavy hand with the spicy mayo. The kids don't love it so they only use a little and add regular may as well. You really can't taste the hot sauce in the burger itself. That mayo is amazing on anything. I think I'd drink it if given a chance.

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  15. It's a fun show. I'm not a big talk show person but I like the food talk. Definitely look for this one! It's one of my favorite cookbooks.

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  16. yum!! I've never made chicken burgers before but that spicy mayo sounds absolutely delicious. I can think of many things I'd like to try that on! ;)

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