Patty Melts!

So we've still got some lovely corn and tomatoes from this week (I used some in a re-do of this meal). But we've also got a whole bag of onions. And I recently came across a post on Pioneer Woman's site about patty melts, at which point there was no turning back.

I have a patty melt problem, and I'm not ashamed. I order them pretty much whenever I see them on a menu, and I'll take them over a regular burger anyday. It's a delicious marriage of a burger and grilled cheese, with sauteed onions. Sometimes with thousand island dressing, sometimes not. I think I started ordering them at Plato's Diner in College Park...it was my post-steelband-rehearsal treat. I get one nearly every time we eat at our local Double T Diner in Catonsville, despite the fact that they have a 30-page (or so) menu. Paper Moon also makes a fine one (I keep trying to order something different there because the rest of the food is amazing, but I usually can't resist the Pull of the Patty). One of the best ones I ever had was at in Tyson's Tavern in Baltimore (which I couldn't remember the name of, and rob and I just spent several minutes racking our brains and Yelp until he finally remembered that...and it's closed now!). Anyway...it came on marble rye, accompanied by sweet potato fries, and it was swoon-worthy.

So, yeah...I have a problem. They're delicious. A patty melt may not be the first thing one thinks of for a food blog focusing on dishes with local organic produce, but...gotta use those onions!

For the uninitiated, here's all you do:
- Saute/caramelize some onions
- Make a burger to your liking (I enjoyed Pioneer Woman's suggestion of adding some Worcestershire)
- Sandwich it all with swiss cheese on rye, sourdough or  marble rye (which I used), and grill it in some butter until crispy & oozy.
If you want an actual recipe, check out the Pioneer Woman one...and use as much butter as your conscience will allow (I didn't feel the need to use quite as much as she does).

First time I've ever actually made one, and I was pleased!

My only "complaint" is that I wish the bread was thicker. Safeway didn't have any rye or marble rye that wasn't thin-sliced.

And instead of fries...more roasted pink potatoes!

There, I used some more local organic produce. :-)

Pink Potatoes!

I love vegetable surprises. Yesterday's pickup included a bag of red-skinned potatoes (seems we're getting potatoes every week). Thought I'd make some home fries for breakfast today, and when I sliced them, voila!

Had some regular potatoes too so I mixed them together. Here's an easy way to make home fries/roasted potatoes if you're also making bacon:

Cook your bacon in the oven on a foil-lined sheet pan (about 15 minutes at 400 usually does it). When it's done, remove the bacon to paper towels and toss cubed potatoes onto the pan to coat with the bacon drippings. Season with salt and whatever else you want (at the moment I'm in love with Penzey's Turkish seasoning), put back into the oven and roast until browned & crispy, turning once.


Happy breakfast!

Potato - Cranberry Bean Chowder

We got something new last week: fresh cranberry beans in the shell!

They lose their pretty color when cooked, so I figured I'd throw them into a soup. This was thrown together on a whim - no measurements, no plans...but that's usually what a good soup is! Went something like:

- 3 strips of bacon, diced, cooked in large pot until crispy, reserve bacon
- Chop 1 onion, 1 carrot & 1 celery stalk, saute in bacon drippings
- Chop a few potatoes into small cubes & add to veggies
- Add 1 box of chicken broth & some water to cover
- Add shelled beans
- Simmer until beans & potatoes are cooked (these took only about 20 minutes)
- Puree about a third of the soup in a blender. Add some cream & heat through.
- Add bacon. Season with pepper, chopped basil, dash of hot sauce

Seemed like more of a winter soup, but it was good!

Quick Eggplant Parmesan; Summer Tomato Sauce

Made this one a couple weeks ago...a quick version of eggplant parmesan:

We had half an eggplant which I sliced, dipped in beaten egg and then in a mixture of panko breadcrumbs, garlic powder, salt & pepper (& maybe some other stuff). Laid these on a baking sheet, drizzled with olive oil, and baked for about 20 minutes. We also had onions & garlic from the CSA, so I chopped & sauteed those and added them to store-bought pasta sauce. Spooned this over the slices, topped with mozzarella cheese and put back in the oven just to melt the cheese. Sprinkled with chopped basil.

Not quite the "real thing" (and I'm not sure that there was actually any parmesan involved), but all the tastes are there and it was much easier & lighter than the fried/baked version.

We also started getting tomatoes the last couple weeks, so tonight I chopped up our stash (including some grape tomatoes Amy's been growing in the garden):

And made a simple pasta sauce with onions & garlic (also from One Straw) sauteed in olive oil, plus basil from the garden:

Purple & Green Slaw, Spicy Shredded Beef

Haven't had time to post about this, but we had a feast for a party we threw a couple weeks ago for my birthday. Also involved a Harrison Ford movie marathon to celebrate his 70th! I was also on a mission to use up lots of veggies before we left for another tour, so this slaw happened:

Half a head of purple cabbage, a candy-striped beet (raw, julienned), a chopped Granny Smith Apple, and a couple chopped red spring onions. The dressing was something like a lime vinaigrette, as I recall...olive oil, lime juice, honey & some dijon mustard.



I also made some spicy shredded crockpot beef, mostly following this recipe...which I almost doubled 'cause I got a giant beef roast.

 I was pleased that my hungry friends ate pretty much everything! We did a sort of Chipotle-like spread with rice, black beans, peppers & onions, Amy's homemade salsa, etc.

Everything went deliciously with Air Force One, Cowboys & Aliens, and Empire Strikes Back!

Kohlrabi Chicken Salad

Favorite use of kohlrabi so far! When raw, it has a celery-like crunch and taste, so I thought it would be good in chicken salad:

Recipe(ish):
- 3-4 chicken breasts, cooked & diced (I poached mine)
- half a kolhrabi bulb, peeled & diced small
- couple of green onions, chopped (I used our red spring onions)
- handful of grapes, halved
- handful of chopped pecans
Dressing:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt)
- 1 Tbl. dijon mustard
- splash of lime/lemon juice
- salt & pepper

I also added some chopped lemon verbena from our garden; any kind of fresh herbs would be great.

Chicken, Zucchini & Broccoli Stir Fry

I took a rare Thursday off this week and actually got to go to our CSA pickup site! I've never gotten to do that before. OK, it wasn't terribly exciting...the veggies are set out in crates in front of this house; you go check off your name and pick out your stuff:

This week we got red cabbage, kale, peas, zucchini, broccoli, kohlrabi, cauliflower, red spring onions & lettuce.

I've saved up the kale & collards from last week and will combine them with this week's kale for the famous kale salad, to take to a wedding potluck. Tonight I made a simple stir fry with the broccoli & zucchini:

I stir-fried those with some sliced onion, removed them from the pan, added a couple of garlic cloves and some cubed chicken breast. When that cooked through I added the veggies back in and splashed in some soy sauce, honey, lime juice & hot pepper flakes, then added some basil & lemon verbena from our garden. Could've been more "saucy," but it was good.