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KitchenReport.jpg

You know, people often stop to ask me, “Mary, what’s the surest way to a man’s heart?”, and I always respond, “A sharp knife and a tire jack to crack open the rib cage!”

Then, based on their expressions, I realize they were just making small talk about food, and I’ve over-shared again. Which is good, actually, because it turns out I know more about food than improvised open heart surgery, anyway.

I went shopping at our local Fresh & Easy (because, let’s face it, if you get enough wine in me I become both those things). I was planning on making hamburgers for dinner that night, but the whole idea just bored me to tears. And then I saw it. Jennie O’s Lean Ground Turkey–Italian Seasoned! Ooooh.

Now, I’ve used this before, in lasagna and a skillet thing I whipped up on another occasion, and it suddenly gave me an idea for a new, non-boring, non-weep-worthy dish: Bruschetta Burgers!

Bruschetta Burgers
(serves 4)

1 pkg of Jennie O’s Italian Seasoned Ground Turkey
4 slices of Mozzarella Cheese
2 Roma Tomatoes, sliced
1/2 loaf of Focaccia Bread sliced into buns (at Fresh & Easy, they sell sandwich-sized focaccia buns — 2 to a package)
4 oz of fresh basil
2 cups of your favorite red pasta sauce
Olive Oil baking spray

Directions

Form the ground turkey into 4 uniformly sized patties. (Tip — make sure they are fairly flat. They tend to plump a bit during cooking and it makes for a messy mouthful when eating.)

Cook the patties the way you would cook any other burgers, whether on the grill or stove top, until the juices run clear. Set aside when done. (I cover mine with foil to keep them hot)

Apply olive oil baking spray to a baking pan. Place the focaccia buns inside and spray them with the olive oil baking spray. Bake them at 350 degrees for 3 to 5 minutes.

Heat the pasta sauce according to directions.

On a plate, place the sliced mozzarella, sliced roma tomatoes and basil leaves (use the larger ones if you have them, they take the place of the lettuce you would have on a regular hamburger).

When the focaccia is done, use a basting brush to apply the pasta sauce to each bun.

To build your Bruschetta Burger, place one slice of mozzarella cheese on top of the burger, top that with basil leaves, top that with roma tomato slices. (I also had some balsamic vinegar salad spritzer that I sprayed on the basil and tomato for extra flavor)

Serve with a Caesar Salad.

I would have a picture right here, but I forgot to take one. (We were hungry. So sue us.)

focaccia-burger.jpg

Artist’s conception.

Let me tell you — for something I came up with on a whim, it came out great. The focaccia bread went wonderfully with the pasta sauce and the burger. The basil gave it a nice sweetness, but the roma tomato and the balsamic vinegar kept it from overpowering the whole burger. And the mozzarella cheese? Please. Is there anything better than mozzarella? I ask you!

So. There you go. Bruschetta Burger. Tell your friends.

13 Responses to “The Kitchen Report, With MaryC”

Mmmmmmmm!

Brava!

Damn, my previous comment left out my golf clap; just visualize it.

Like whirled peas.

Agoraphobic minds want to know: Is Fresh & Easy worth the expedition from Korea Town adjacent to H’ywd. Blvd.? Or should I stick w/ closer Trader Joe’s for the less-corporate grocery experience?

I didn’t know there was a Fresh & Easy near you… I will have to check it out. The burger sounds great. (I’ve heard that if you form the patties like UFO’s, ie, with a dent in the middle and making the edges thicker, they won’t plump up so much when cooked. I have never actually tried this though.)

One of the treats I brought back from being stationed in Italy was bruschettas. When I was back in the states, I first brought bruschetta mix from my local grocery store. Sometimes they did a good job and sometimes…ehh…not so good. So I decided to make some for myself and went to the Internets to find a good recipe. Well, it turns out there are all kinds of recipes, so I experimented and settled on chopping up a half of a yellow onion and a few cloves of garlic and letting that sit in vinegar for a day and then adding in a can of diced tomatoes. I cook a slice of multi-grain bread in the over, take it out, put the mix on, put it back in, take it out again and put cheese on, put it back in, take it out again and eat it along with my usual oatmeal. Yummy!

Oh, hot damn, even the comments are good!

You kids got me really got me missing the web site that will likely go defunct on me now, my friend and main blogger not having any time these days to keep it up.

If’n you’re interested, past posts can be seen at http://www.homecooksonline.com

This post made me hungry. And laugh. Not in that order.

I am booking your site, heydave, because I am gonna get back into the kitchen, one of these days, and soon.

Another one I have been checking out is http://cookbookandlook.com

So, tell us more about your improvised open-heart surgery techniques.

M: Fresh & Easy generally lives up to its name, but I wouldn’t say it’s worth a trip from Koreatown. I wouldn’t even consider it worth the trek from Thai Town, especially if you’ve got a Traitor Joe’s nearby, but it’s big improvement over our local Ralphs and their extensive selection of still life-ready wax produce.

I don’t care for the Nashville Trader Joe’s-maybe it’s not representative of the chain.

Does turkey burger really look that much like hamburger? A question to anyone who makes turkey burgers.

Thanks for the info, Scott. Got a Ralphs & a Vons w/in walking distance, though the nearest Joe’s is a ride. The three (& a Jon’s) keep me alive.

My produce desires run to bananas & cantaloupe, & that’s it; I’m not looking for a mess of icky green stuff. So I can stay safely at home. Whew!

Mothra: I think that’s actually a photo of a beef burger. I’m not the Top Chef around here, but speaking as someone who has seen turkey burgers, abeit briefly, as they were en route to my mouth, the meat seems much lighter in color, even after cooking. Think the old Crayon color, “Flesh.”

Something to say?