Directions

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover, or preheat a gas grill to medium-high.

To make the mayonnaise, whisk the mayonnaise, lime juice, and cilantro in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

To make the salad, whisk the lime juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, sweet chili sauce, ginger, cilantro, and basil in a small bowl. Combine the cucumber, red pepper, and bean sprouts in a large bowl. Toss with the dressing to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

To make the patties, combine the chuck, salt, sweet chili sauce, green onions, and chip pieces in a large bowl, handling as little as possible. Shape into 6 patties to fit the buns. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

When the grill is ready, brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover, and cook, turning once until done to preference, 5 to 7 minutes on each side for medium. Place the buns, cut side down, on the outer edges of the grill rack to toast lightly during the last 2 minutes of grilling.

To assemble the burgers, spread a generous amount of the cilantro mayonnaise over the cut sides of the buns. On each bun bottom, place a grilled patty, followed by equal portions of the Thai salad, add the top bun and serve.

Makes 6 burgers

Wine, vino, the word "wine" likely derives from early Germanic *winam, borrowing from the Latin vinum, "wine" or "(grape) vine", has been a constant companion to agricultural man for 8000 years and a staple of economic man for nearly as long.

One of the few renewable sources of wealth wine, for centuries the currency of trade from Asia to Africa, Europe and the Americas, today is estimated to contribute more than $111 billion dollars* annually to the wealth and most likely the health of the world’s economies, including developing nations.

As part of our “Classics” recipes we eventually had to pay homage to wine as a natural pairing with food from every corner of the globe; and lucky us, just such a pairing is taking place next week end in Napa Valley and you’re all invited.

Whether grilling outdoors or adding those classic grill marks to your favorite burger on your stove top grill you’ll want to check in with Sutter Home Wines' ‘Build a Better Burger’ contest next weekend and collect some grill tips from the masters and maybe get the winning recipe in time for your next grilling event as well as a few good wine recommendations while you’re at it.

Whether grilling outdoors or adding those classic grill marks to your favorite burger on your stove top grill you’ll want to check in with Sutter Home Wine’s ‘Build a Better Burger’ contest next weekend and collect some grill tips from the masters and maybe get the winning recipe in time for your next grilling event as well as a few good wine recommendations while you’re at it.

This is Sutter Homes 17th annual ‘Build a Better Burger’ contest and promises to be the best ever with finalists from six regions covering the U.S., competing for a $50,000 grand prize.

The final event is Saturday the 29th and you can catch all the sights and sounds if not the aromas on their web site now at SutterHome.com

Burgers are as American as apple pie, and for that matter what goes better with a backyard grilled masterpiece with all the fixin’s than apple pie or perhaps an Apple Pie Martini. Sutter Home’s bbbblog editor Colleen LeMasters says that she’ll be following the day’s events closely, eager to see what great wines their 6 finalists will be pairing with their final entries. Colleen will be blogging live during the event so be sure to check out her coverage Saturday at the Build-a-Better-Burger-Blog.

We’d like to join in the fun too, so if you didn’t have a chance to enter your own classic in this year’s Build a Better Burger contest send your favorite burger recipe to Burgers at Rick’s Place and we’ll post it along with this year’s winners.

To get things started we thought we’d bring out our Here’s Cooking at You “classic” American Burger, a chopped sirloin grill with onion, cheddar and all the smoky goodness of a meal on a bun as only backyard grillers can cook it up.

Ingredients:

• ½ pound chopped sirloin season to taste (we like a pinch of Cajun or Creole spice mix)
• ¼ cup of fresh, sliced mushrooms. varietals
• 1 ½ inch thick slice Vidalia onion
• ½ ounce extra sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 fresh French baked onion roll

Method:

Sauté sliced mushrooms and onion in vegetable oil with a pinch of Cajun seasoning, about 5 minutes on medium high heat, remove and set aside covered.

Grill the sirloin burger over medium coals until desired degree of 'done', flipping once; only once mind you. Top burger with cheddar cheese, and cover until cheese melts slightly. Split the roll and set cut sides down on the grill to slightly toast.

Build the burger and top with fix’ns to taste; we like Romaine lettuce, sour cream and Dijon mustard with more Cajun spice.

Serve with a side of gumbo and rice sprinkled with fresh file and a cold Apple Pie Martini.


Apple Pie Martini

Apple pie is a drink for hot evenings and slow rhythms. Simply close your eyes and drink in the delicate fragrance of apples and the last of summer with a cold apple pie and a hot burger.

• 3 oz Stolichnaya® Vanilla vodka
• 1/2 oz Calvados® brandy
• 1/2 oz dry vermouth

Pour the vanilla vodka, Calvados brandy and dry vermouth into a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice cubes. Shake well, and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a thin slice of apple, and serve.

And remember, hope to see you next weekend at Sutter Homes Wines' Build a Better Burger finals in Napa Valley.





It has many names, it is known in every part of the world and wherever you travel it is the universally recognized language for “welcome, sit, be comfortable and let's get acquainted”.
The coffee plant likely first appeared on the high plateaus of central Ethiopia and over the centuries made its way to Yemen where it has been cultivated since the 6th century. Upon introduction of the first coffee houses in Cairo and Mecca coffee became a passion, a stimulant and a vital commodity influencing both economic power and the destinies of nations.

By earliest accounts coffee came to the new world with the first Jamestown colonists under Captain John Smith in 1607. The first coffee houses opened in England by the mid 1600s and in 1668 Edward Lloyd opened his coffeehouse in London, known as Lloyd’s of London; it is frequented by maritime merchants who contrive to offset their risk of shipping disasters at sea by selling shares in the success of their shipments. The insurance industry is born and Lloyd’s of London is today arguably the best known insurer in the world.

Coffee in the United States is the common denominator of on-the-go refreshment and quiet relaxation. Whether grabbing a latte at Starbucks on your way to the office or lingering over a decaf before bedtime coffee represents no class distinction or economic hierarchy; it’s everybody’s beverage and everyone likes it their way.

Here then are a few coffee faves, if yours isn’t on this short list send it to us at Rick's Place and we'll tell the world how you like your coffee .


Here’s cooking at you, kid, Rick




Through their Farm Friendly Direct™ program, Portland Roasting strives to make a positive influence on the world of coffee by embracing “Fair Trade” practices. Please visit them on line at www.portlandroasting.com to learn more about community involvement and the world of sustainable coffee cultivation.









Marinade

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Thickened soup like Egyptian Molokhiyya, relies on fresh herbs for both flavor and texture as do stews. For the next “Classic Recipe” served up at Rick’s we turn to the Americas, specifically Arcadian (Cajun) southern Louisiana and the local cuisine made famous along the “River Road” from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, the flavor called Creole. But first we have to take a trip south on another river named the Nile to central Africa and the Niger and Congo River basins for the origin of the name of this classic dish called gumbo.


The word gumbo comes from the Central Bantu word kigombo, meaning okra. The word came into Caribbean Spanish as guingambó or "qimbombó," two words now used for okra in Puerto Rico. The first written references to gumbo appear in the early 1800s. In 1885 gumbo was documented in La Cuisine Creole. That cookbook contained many gumbo recipes, some made with filé and some with okra, but none with roux, which is thickening gravy made of oil and flour cooked over a hot flame until it achieves one or another degree of darkness.

Gumbo

The Base

• 1 large onion, quartered
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic
• 3 quarts of stock
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Hot sauce
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup water
• Filé powder (optional)
• ½ cup okra (optional)

In a heavy cast iron skillet, over moderately low heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil, followed by the onion, bell pepper, and celery (this is called the “Holy Trinity” and gives gumbo its unique, rich flavor base), cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, not browned and remove to a heavy covered pot, add heated stock

If you use okra as a thickening agent, skip this roux section and move on to okra gumbo.

The Roux

To the skillet add the remaining oil. When the oil is very hot but not smoking, add the flour, all the while stirring. Note: a wooden spoon works best at this point. Continue cooking and stirring the oil and flour over moderate heat until the mixture called a “roux” is a dark reddish-brown color. When the color is sufficiently dark add 1 cup of cold water (it must be cold so that the flour will not clump). The hot oil and flour mixture will react with he cold water as you might expect in a burst of hot steam, so be cautious. Continue stirring until the mixture comes back to a boil . At this point the roux is as thick as it will ever get, so turn off the heat. Add the hot roux over the cooked trinity and the remaining cold water, again bring to a boil, and season to taste with salt fresh ground black pepper and hot sauce. This is the base for any gumbo; now simply add the ingredients of your choosing.

Okra Gumbo

Add sliced okra to the base and continue to cook covered for at least an hour, stirring occasionally to thicken.

Gumbo finish

A typical gumbo contains one or more kinds of poultry, shellfish, and smoked pork. Poultry used is typically chicken, duck, or quail. Local shellfish such as freshwater crawfish, crab and shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico are frequently used as are greens.

To make the following

Gumbo z'herbes is a vegetable gumbo of smothered greens thickened with roux or okra. Typically these include collard greens, mustard greens, spinach leaves, beet greens, watercress and parsley or any combination.

Seafood Gumbo including shrimp gumbo, oyster gumbo, and in Louisiana, crawfish gumbo. Any of these may include other seafood like catfish, clams and mussels as well as a variety of sausages including Tasso or Andouille, a regional spicy favorite, ham hocks or chicken; the list is nearly endless.

Serve over rice with a dusting of powdered filé. (Note, filé does not reheat well so never add it to the pot, instead add it to the plate.

Some historic references gleaned from Wikipedia


Know a great Gumbo place? Tell us about it.

Name: Address: City: State: Phone number: Website: Comments: Tags:

Ingredients: Classic

• 1/2 cup day-old bread, cubed
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup virgin olive oil (more probably garlic oil prepared by placing 4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled and quartered, in a good quality (e.g. Extra Virgin) olive oil and letting it stand at room temperature several hours or even up to 5 days
• 2 medium heads of romaine lettuce -- outer leaves removed
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese -- grated

Ingredients: Neo classic

• 1/4 cup silken tofu
  
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (suggestion: use this vegan, contains no anchovy)
  
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  
• 1 medium garlic clove, crushed
  
• 1 pinch salt
  
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  
• 1 teaspoon capers
  
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  
• 1/3 cup virgin olive oil
  
• 2 medium heads of romaine lettuce -- outer leaves removed
  
• 1/3 cup vegetarian Parmesan cheese -- grated

Preparation:

Combine the Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, garlic, salt & pepper, mustard and capers in a bowl. Crack egg and add to the mix ingredients. Whisk until smooth.

Slowly drizzle the oil in a steady stream as you whisk, again until smooth. If you add the oil too quickly or all at once, the dressing will separate out and not emulsify.

To serve:

Tear the romaine into pieces roughly 1-2 inch pieces (the original Caesar chefs used whole roamaine leaves, which were then coated with the dressing) adding them to a large bowl. Apply half the dressing, toss briefly and with a little flair please, after all this is a Caesar you’re presenting not a side salad. Add remaining dressing, Parmesan cheese, croutons and toss once again.

Serve on chilled plates.

Name Caesar's Address: Caesar's Café or Caesar's Place on the ground floor of the Hotel Comercial at the corner of 2nd Street and Revolution Blvd, exits today though it was relocated in 1929 to Hotel Caesar's a few blocks away near the corner of 5th Street. City:Tijuana State: Phone number: Website: Comments: Tags:

Name Address: City: State: Phone number: Website: Comments: Tags:

Name Address: City: State: Phone number: Website: Comments: Tags:

Name Address: City: State: Phone number: Website: Comments: Tags: