Brats and Burgers at the Ritz

Most of you know that I am active in Saving Grace Productions, I mean the Visual Art Ministry, at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection. Love this group! Great team, and an awesome small group. I am blessed to have them as friends. Earlier this year Peggy signed me up to take my Mac & Cheese to share prior to service. Since then we are trying to have a mini-potluck every 6 weeks or so.

This past weekend is round 2, and since Jeffrey Sheets was heading out off for Colorado, we made it a “camp out” theme. Thinking burgers and dogs, I had to have a creative way to share these and yet keep them warm. I opted for bacon cheeseburger version of the Chorizo Puffs and created a Brat in Blanket. By request, here are the recipes.

Bacon Cheeseburger Puffs

Makes 8 puffs

1 lb ground sirloin

2 strips cooked thick cut bacon (cut in to 4^ths)

½ small onion (finely diced)

Cheddar cheese (sliced or grated) about 3 oz

1 can Pillsbury Crescent sheets (seamless version of crescent rolls)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper (to taste)

2 tablespoons Steak seasoning (I use Penzey’s Old Chicago)

1 egg, beaten (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 F

Spray a small pan with non-stick spray, or add 1 tablespoon oil and heat on medium. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Transfer to paper towel lined plate and set aside to cool.

In a mixing bowl combine the ground sirloin, steak seasoning, Worcestershire, onions, salt and pepper. Mix well. Taking about 1 oz at a time, pat until thin in pairs about 2 to 3” in diameter, but keep separate. Cut or shape the cheddar cheese into 1’ squares by ¼” thick. Place the cheese in the middle of one patty, and place the other patty on top. Shape the patty into 2” squares, with your thumb place a slight depression in the middle of the top. Repeat this until you have 8 patties.

Either on the grill or a griddle, cook until medium (slightly pink in the middle) temperature. Place on paper towel lined plate to cool.

Open the crescent sheet and stretch until solid rectangle. Cut the sheet into 8 equal size rectangles. Place a patty and bacon square into a crescent section, and seal tightly. For a nice appearance, place the square patty on the crescent piece at a 45 degree angle. If you fold the sides up, and pinch tight, you should have a cross-seam on the top. Brush with egg wash if desired.

Place on parchment lined baking sheet, and place in oven for 15  to 20 minutes until top is golden brown.

Serve with favorite toppings (ketchup, mustard, relish, etc.)

Brats in a blanket

Makes 15 pieces

5 brats

½ onion (sliced)

Pepper jack cheese slices

2 cans American ale or lager

2 can Pillsbury Crescent sheets (seamless version of crescent rolls)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Sale and pepper (to taste)

1 egg, beaten (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Heat the beer in a medium saucepan until boiling. Pierce the brats multiple times with a fork. Place the brats and onions in the boiling beer. Cook over medium boil for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a grill or griddle, and cook about 3 minutes on top and bottom. This will add a slight crispness to the skin. Remove to paper towel lined plate to cool. Once cool, cut each brat into thirds. They should be very slightly pink in the middle or no pink at all.

Open the crescent sheet and stretch until solid rectangle. Cut the sheet (width-wise) into strips that are about 50% wider than a brat section, and cut each strip in half. It should be just wide enough to wrap the brat section and leave a pinch of dough on top and at each end. Place a brat section and slice of pepper jack (cut to the length and width of the section) into the middle of each crescent section, and seal tightly. You should have a small seam protruding from the top and ends. Brush with egg wash if desired.

Place on parchment lined baking sheet with the seams pointing up, and place in oven for 15  to 20 minutes until top is golden brown.

Serve with favorite toppings (ketchup, mustard, relish, sauerkraut, etc.)

Something Soft and Creamy

Abbey had her wisdom pulled on Tuesday. Four extractions total. If you have been there, you know it’s not fun.  Last Monday I made a double batch of a creamy bacon potato soup to prep for it. That turned out pretty darn good. Then yesterday I had major dental work done as well. Just as the dentist finished with one filling, and prepped for a new crown, she noticed a problem with an old crown right next to the other two. She pulled that crown, and as she started to do the prep for a replacement crown, I quickly realized that the Novocain was wearing off. Another shot (or two) later, and she was back it. She felt really bad about all the shots and drilling, and this morning, I just felt pretty bad.

So with my sore mouth, and Abbey ready for something with a little more substance than the potato soup, I had visions of mac and cheese. Not the Kraft from a box kind, but something a little closer to homemade. Lacking the ingredients for my awesome Prosciutto & Bacon version, I decided to raid the pantry and see what I could come up with. I had to get creative, but the end product was surprisingly good.

Slam Dunk Mac & Cheese

Serves 6

1 lb pasta (Rotini, shells, bowtie, or similar)

2 tablespoons butter

1 ½ cup milk (or sub 1 cup milk and ½ cup heavy cream) divided

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground mustard

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ cup chicken stock

1 cup grated gruyere cheese (or whatever you have on hand)

1 can (10 ¾ oz) Healthy Request Cheddar Cheese soup

1 can (10 ¾ oz) Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom soup

½ cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400 F

Cook pasta to al dente firmness, drain and set aside.

In large pan over medium heat, melt butter and add 1 cup of milk, nutmeg, ground mustard, and cayenne. Stir until heated through, and add chicken stock and gruyere cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Add both cans of soup and ½ cup of milk (or cream). Cook until soups are blended and heated through (or just starts to bubble), stirring frequently.

Remove from heat and combine with pasta, stirring until well combined. Place in coated casserole dish and top with bread crumbs. Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes.

Potato Soup

Two things to consider before you start.

1. Do you want it all creamy and smooth, or with small chunks of potato.
2. Do you have a submersible hand blender, or a counter top version?

The answers to these will determine how you start. Most recently I used 4 small golden potatoes along with 2 medium russet potatoes. I peeled the golden potatoes, and one of the russets (I like the look of a few chunks with the skin on).  I boiled them in chicken stock in separate pans, cooking the leeks with the golden taters. I blended the golden potatoes, and then combined the mixture with the pan of russets. Add the milk and or cream and you are in business.

Lastly, if you are not a fan of cooking with leeks, try shallots. Nice flavor and not as strong as an onion or as much work as the leek.  For a twist, add diced cooked ham or bacon (or both) to the mixture after it’s been blended, and cook for about 10 minutes.

Basic Creamy Potato Soup

Serves 6

2 tablespoons butter

2 large leeks, diced (rinsed well to remove grit, pale green and white parts only)

5 medium potatoes, peeled and diced (see notes above)

1 quart chicken stock, divided in half

½ cup milk (or heavy cream)

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the leeks, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until tender or about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and potatoes. Boil the potatoes until tender and they just begin to fall apart, about 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer ½ the potatoes and stock to large mixing bowl if using handheld blender, or the pitcher of a full-size blender. Blend until the mixture has a smooth, creamy consistency. Pour back in to the pot with the remaining potatoes and stock.  Add milk (or cream) and cook until heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with cheese, chives, and/or bacon bits as desired.