I keep seeing all these different versions of burgers in the summer issues of magazines. I want to try them all! This particular recipe stood out because I love the idea of the ingredients together…hoisin and Sriracha. I love them both but had never incorporated them into the same meal.
The original recipe had things a little differently, and I changed them for a couple of different reasons. First of all, I believe the cucumbers were added to this burger to give it a textural change while eating, soft burger-crunchy cucumber. However, when I thought about it, I knew that placing a hot burger on top of cucumbers would equal a mushy-cucumber result. The recipe also called for grilled scallions in 4″ slices as a topping.
What I did instead was make a relish with the Sriracha mayo, cucumber and grilled scallions. I knew this would give a more crunchy result, and I still added more thinly sliced cucumbers to the ensemble, just for fun and looks. One of the key flavor ingredients was using sesame oil to brush onto the scallions while grilling. This flavor really carried over nicely to the mayo-relish combo, so don’t leave this out.
So really, is there anything better than a chocolate chip cookie to satisfy a sweet tooth? I didn't think so. There's something so special about a homemade chocolate chip cookie, warm out of the oven. Just think back to when you were a kid making cookies with mom or grandma—they always made pretty amazing cookies from scratch. So don't even think of making the kind from a refrigerator can or boxed mix. You have to agree that homemade is the best hands-down.
Cobbler, slump, or grunt; have you heard of these desserts? Most people can recognize a cobbler, a fruit dessert baked in a casserole with a dough topping but with no bottom crust. A slump or grunt is almost the
same thing except that they are simmered on the stove, resulting in a
steamed dumpling-like top. Supposedly one dessert is named after how
the dumplings look (they slump) and the other after the sound the
bubbling fruit makes (it grunts). All three are considered New England
specialties dating back to Colonial times, when they would have been
made in a cast-iron pan over a fire. Luckily we now have the luxury of
using a stove or oven.
Every year about this time, Mimi and Granddaddy traipse up through
Georgia’s mountains to find some of the Peach State’s greatest
fruits–apples! Each autumn, the Peach State yields bushels and bushels
of apples and my grandparents seem to always
bring many of those bushels back to our now empty peach country.
“Whatever will we do with all these apples? “ Mimi always inquires; yet
her queries are always quelled once she gets to cooking and baking
with the bounty from their mountain travels.
So simple looking yet packed with an unreal amount of flavor, not to mention its perfectly thick consistency. It's just the way I like my soup, creamy, cheesy and yummy.