This house is the official "Turkey Burger Central." I'm lucky to be married to a guy who doesn't really care for red meat, and doesn't really fight me on these things. Once in awhile, if we go out, we will splurge on a beef burger... But at home, it is strictly turkey meat.



The one thing about turkey is that I don't feel that it has as much inherent flavor as the fattier beef counterpart does, so I have experimented a lot with different seasonings. My favorite (other than the "Turkey Tricolore,") starting with ground meat and shaping the patties, has the following seasonings added:

a half-capful of Liquid Smoke
a couple shots of Worcestershire sauce
a little Adobo seasoning (or garlic powder)
a shake of ground cumin
1/2 a medium diced onion
one egg
a little salt and pepper

After you flip them once, then brush on a little chili sauce. I like to top them with cheddar, or turkey bacon, and a little lowfat mayo sometimes.



You can also substitute the chili sauce with BBQ sauce, whichever you prefer. We like veggie fixings and whole-wheat buns.



Another variation I like is to top the burger with turkey chili, and shredded cheese. They are sloppy and they feel sinful, but they don't have much fat at all.



Sometimes we get pre-packaged or frozen turkey burgers, so there is no chance to put your own seasonings inside, but they are really convenient. Grilling can dry out the Jennie-O patties, because they are very lean... But I got an idea from the Harper cafeteria, which serves really yummy turkey burgers. They keep the burgers in broth, and serve them from there. So we simmer ours in chicken stock until they turn white. It keeps them juicy, and you can strain the stock through a funnel and put the carton back in the fridge for re-use once or twice (the stock just gets more flavorful.)



Mmmm... well, now I'm all worked up, and I've gotta break for lunch... Hope you guys have a good one, too!

When I toured the campus at Illinois Wesleyan when I was 18, I fell in love with it. Winter had fallen on the campus, and a beautiful white blanket lay over the "quad." All was quiet, and I busily began imagining all the brilliant students hard at work learning SCIENCE and LITERATURE with delicious fervor. I would fit in here, I thought. It's okay for me to be a nerd here. These are my people. My dad chewed his lip and wondered how he could afford it. He had really just brought me to Bloomington to tour the campus of his alma mater up the street, Illinois State. In typical daughter fashion, I'd fallen in love with a more expensive option.

But Wesleyan smiles on the low to moderate-income honor student, and I found out that day that the "Green Weenie" (unofficial mascot name) financial plan for me included my choice of three meal plans. The school was starting a new system that next autumn, in which your student ID card functioned as a debit card for food. You could get a) all your meals in the school cafeteria, b) most of your meals there and a little "virtual money" at the school snack bar, or c) one meal a day in the cafeteria and $300 credit at the snack bar. I grimaced when the campus tour guide told us proudly, "and we're getting a new food service this year... MARRIOTT!!" My heart sank. My stomach flopped.

I knew for a fact that Marriott food service was just a new name for the same food service that I'd had all through grade school and high school: S.A.G.A. Food Service. I probably don't need to tell you that the food was awful. I never knew what it stood for, but the long version of the name that students had given it was "Soviets Attempting to Gag America." Enough said.

I went to Wesleyan anyway, and some of the food in the cafeteria was palatable. Some was not. I had a friend who swore that while working there, he read "Grade C Meat, But Edible" on the box of frozen burgers he unpacked. "BUT edible!" he repeated many times for emphasis, "BUT EDIBLE!" I know that I was stupid enough to give the Sweet and Sour Pork and something called Beef Ragout not one, but two tries each. I gagged them down, and was sent sprinting to the bathroom to gag them back up again for a total of four times together. The Soviets were winning!

Needless to say I opted every year for the maximum amount of money at the school snack bar, "the Dugout." The day the $300 credit ran out was a sad day, indeed, as there would be no real money to replace my play money. Far from the reaches of corrupt food service giants, the simple food there was made the way the counter ladies had been making it since the sixties. My favorite meal was a bag of Doritos, an iced tea, a banana, and a grilled turkey sandwich. "The Dugout" did this very well, and it not only got me through school and saved the fate of the free world, but it is still my favorite sandwich.



The sliced turkey (deli) meat was first grilled by itself on the flat-top grill, THEN placed on the bread with cheese to grill as you would a regular grilled cheese. You have to grill the meat first in the skillet when you make it. This is key. I like to dunk mine in a homemade 1,000 Island-style dressing: low-fat sour cream, Western dressing, and pickle relish. This addition was inspired by the Steak 'n Shake turkey melt, which I also love.

Long story, short recipe. That's how I'm doing it today. Also, I wanted you to know in advance why, if you say the word "ragout" in my presence,  I will quite literally turn halfway inside out. Uuwhhhh. I can't abide by that!

Now and then, when I go to visit Ma, we will make a pilgrimage to Fairfield, IL to go to the Farmer's Store. Don't know where that is? What if I told you it was in front of "CDC's New 2 U Resale Shop" and across the street from Buehler's Buy Low? Ah, thought that might help.



I don't know where the Farmer's Store gets their merchandise, but it is the greatest. They have cheap fabric and sewing notions, clothing stocks so old you can get stuff from the sixties with the tags still on, shoes, earrings, belts... You can shop until you drop for less than forty bucks.



They don't have food there, but we of course had to stop on the way to eat. She suggested Wendy's, which I like, but I wanted to go somewhere more local. We found Wilson's Grill and it seemed to be just what I wanted.



Everyone kind of stared at us for a second when we walked in, but I'm pretty used to that in southern Illinois. Even as kids, my brother and I would get just a little too tan and provoke questions as to our heritage. As teenagers, we looked worse than foreign -- we looked like delinquents. And foreign. We'd routinely get followed around stores by worried managers.

Anyway, once inside, everyone was really friendly. Clearly, they just recognized out-of-towners. Of course, I also realized that I had forgotten my camera. I looked up and saw this sign, and I knew I was going to have to document the experience:



I sprinted across the street and purchased a disposable camera. They only had one variety at the gas station. I want you to know, that the pictures in this post may not be top quality -- but they cost me ten bucks. Appreciate that fully.

I ordered the pickles, and a burger with cottage cheese. I don't do french fries with my burgers, you may remember. Especially not when I'm eating deep fried pickles, anyway.



The burger was fresh and tasty. Certainly as good as Wendy's. Okay, better. And the pickles?



Pretty good, too, I must say. No surprises there -- imagine a deep fried dill pickle, and you'd be fairly accurate at predicting the taste. And the experience, for me, was well worth the ten-spot. Especially since Ma treated me to lunch!

I love ground turkey, but let's face it, it can be kind of bland. I've tried lots of different ways of spicing up turkey burgers, and this is one of my favorites. I call it "Turkey Tricolore" because of the festive colors in it: mostly red, green, and yellow. Okay, well, I never called it that before, but now I am.



Here are some of the things I throw in there, depending on what I have on hand. This is a good meal to make the same week you make tacos (I know, haven't posted the recipe yet), because you could just buy two packages of ground turkey, use a lot of the same ingredients, and use a lot of the same condiments.

1 lb. ground turkey
1 drained can Ro-tel tomatoes and green chiles mix
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced fine
2 or 3 diced garlic cloves
1 small fistful diced cilantro
a liberal dusting of mexican seasoning (second entry, scroll down)
1 egg
1/2 teasp. liquid smoke
a good slosh of Worcestershire sauce
salt
pepper

That's it! Mix it lightly with your hands, and form into patties and grill. You can serve it with taco fixings by itself, with cheese on a bun, or my favorite way: with a broiled slice of smoked cheese, like smoked gouda or smoked mozzarella. Hoo boy. Smoke-a-riffic.

On Christmas day, our friend Niki was kind enough to make us a perfect turkey and the most rockin' stuffing. And yes, she is a believer in stuffing as opposed to dressing. It was absolutely fantastic and flavorful, and no one died (so take that Alton Brown.) The bird was so moist and the stuffing was chunky and rough-cut.



Her gravy was also fab. And all we had to do was bring the salad and some asparagus. Oh, and do note the pathetic offering of our Christmas cookies in the background. Luckily for us, she also had pumpkin cheesecake on hand!



In Niki's honor, I also including three ideas I've had in the past for leftover turkey. Sure, make the soup and the tetrazzini and the casserole... those are all great. But if you're looking for something different, and if you STILL have more turkey on hand...

This first one was stolen directly from Trader Joe's. They serve brie, turkey, and apple sandwiches already made. But since I had all that bird left, I made my own with a simple balsamic vinegar and oil dressing. And if you plan really well, you can actually have all this stuff left over (from salads and stuffing and whatnot) and just rearrange it all in sandwich-form.





I'm sure you've thought of this next one. I just rough-cut some turkey, and instead of re-heating, put it cold on a salad with some candied nuts. I made those in a skillet with just a little oil, sugar, and I like a little cayenne pepper in there. I served it with squash soup so it still warms you up.



Chris really liked this last one. I used my food processor, and pulsed the turkey and shredded some red bell peppers, celery, and walnuts. I combined it with lowfat mayo and plenty of curry seasoning and coriander. I think it'd also be good with golden raisins, cilantro and green onions if you have those around.



If you can work any of those into the party you throw on New Year's, that's really the hat-trick! Have a good one!

In August, my fellow "townie" and friend Jenny had her bridal shower at Dave and Buster's. I thought it was a great place for a shower, and we had so much fun. Any place where you can be served alcohol and play video games is a great place for a shower, if you ask me. We had a Kane County Cougar's game to attend that night, so we didn't actually have time to play the video games -- but we definitely partook of the alcohol. The food was fun and super-tasty. They served chicken fingers (very crunchy and tender inside), nachos, veggies and dip, mini-pizzas, and one of my favorites: sliders!



I've had a soft-spot for sliders, since I grew up near a pee-wee golf establishment that sold the little suckers (sadly, no longer in existence), and often we would run over to pick up a sack of burgers (and skip the golf). These at the D & B were so good, I made quite the pig of myself. They were far above the quality of your standard White Castle (not that there's anything wrong with that, if you're drunk anyway. Or hung-over).  Nooo, these were special. The memory of them stayed with me, until a few weeks later I was forced to try to re-create the moment. I remembered my friend Katherine serving sliders at a pre-drink party a couple of years ago. She had mixed ground beef with onion soup mix, and a little Worcheshire and seasonings. Then she spread the meat out flat in the bottom of a sheet pan, baked it, and then cut them into small squares with a pizza-cutter. Judging from the look she was giving me, I was apparently the last person on earth to hear of this (which would be nothing new.) I had happened to find some Hawaiian bread rolls that were perfect for the occasion. I revived the recipe, and used turkey meat, as is my wont.



They were quite delicious. My largest sheet pan happened to be dirty, and as a rule I won't wash dishes by hand unless I absolutely have to. So mine came out a bit thicker, having used the smaller pan. I would also add that although I am always trying to kill fewer cows, as well as reduce our fatty intake and cholesterol, I think next time I will make these with lean beef. Still, they were very tasty and a lot of fun!!

P.S. I remember the two figures at the Pee Wee Golf that used to stand on Larry Power Road in Kankakee quite well... On one course, there was a Big-Boy-like male figure with a platter of sliders. On the other course, there was a girl with a similar platter and a flip hairdo. I remember them languishing sadly for a long while after the course closed, the victims of vandalization and degradation over time. Now I wish I had gotten a pickup truck and stolen them both. I wonder, does anyone have a photo of one of these two? I'd love to have a copy... 

UPDATE (a la "Unsolved Mysteries"): The figures still stand on a miniature golf course on Larry Power road. They are now a part of Aspen Ridge Golf Course!

Speaking of the perfect club sandwich, how good are those on a hot day? Chris and I went out and bought all the fixin's, including turkey bacon (btw, nothing compares to Trader Joe's turkey bacon. It's all thick cut and farm-y). We also got taffy apple salad from Jewel, which tasted just like taffy apples. Yum.

They were so good, we made them again the next day!

Chris and I stopped by the Buffalo Grove Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor on a hot day when I didn't feel like grocery shopping OR cooking. The service was pretty lousy, and by that I mean incredibly slow, yet disarmingly apologetic. The other bad news is that the matza ball soup was very mediocre:



They might have called it Mush with Boullion Cube, though I don't know if it would have sold so well. Chris' omelette was all right, but didn't look spectacular:



If we ever return, however, it will be because my club sandwich was an absolute perfect "10": a light coat of heavy restaurant-quality mayo, lettuce, tomato, well-done bacon, wheat toast, and real carved turkey. It was a thing of beauty:



Overall, I would recommend the sandwich. They also had a very wide array of creative ice cream sundaes and treats, which we did not sample.  I would go back to try those.

I was also pleased to see that the silverware was magnetized, which I haven't witnessed since Denny's Restaurant in 1991, when our friend Chris C. made an elaborate working sculpture that clicked together in a domino effect:





Between the sandwich, the ice cream we didn't try, and the magnetic forks? Worth the money, no question.

Chris and I recently went to a place he's been wanting to try: L'Appetito in Glenview, IL. They sell all kinds of Italian food and sandwiches. I've also read that they are starting other locations, but they are still family-owned. When we got there, I stood inside for a good 10 minutes trying to decide what to have... We decided, first and foremost, to try the arrancini. Those are balls of risotto, stuffed with meat sauce or mozzarella, and breaded and fried. We had them passed as an appetizer at our wedding reception at Monastero's in Chicago, but I was so busy with the chatting and whatnot I never got to try one:



Chris said he preferred the ones at Monastero's, because he thought they were a little spicier. Well, I couldn't compare, but I thought these were crispy, mild and delicious. They had meat sauce, mozzarella and even peas and carrots in the center.

Chris got a sandwich with prosciutto and mozzarella:



Mine was called the "melanzana," and had eggplant in it. It was delicious!



For dessert, I had straciatelli (chocolate chip) gelato, and Chris had a mixed-berry sorbet (he so loves those fruity flavors. (And yes, he is "all man"):



I definitely want to go back and try everything! Next time, I will have a cannoli, and try their cappucino...

Oh, my very favoritest food in the entire world. Probaly. Probably almost always sometimes. The fancy and proper Christian name here is "insalata caprese," but it is only tomatoes, fresh buffalo mozzarella, and basil drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, and salted and peppered.

We likes ta scoop it up on crusty French or Italian bread, precious. Uhh. 

Heaven, Bryan Adams... heaven.

I thought this entry might go good with an egg creme. 

Chris recently objected to the same-'ol Subway sammich and asked if we could try someplace different. I was going to Subway to get something low-fat, and I ended up getting the Conqueror at Cap'tn Nemo's -- so while my hips paid the price somewhat, I still really enjoyed the sammy. It has liverwurst and salami. It is entirely possible I have had neither of those since my father last purchased them... and what a treat it was. 

I pulled up the sandwich maker short on the "secret sauce," but I wish I hadn't. It tastes like an oil mixture with lots of seasoning salt in it. Next time I will go for broke and just have her drench the thing. I mean, as long as you're eating liverwurst and salami, why not?