Goat cheese stuffed Turkey Burgers with red pepper apricot relish

So my MacBook malfunctioned again last week! :( It is the 4th time in a year. First I lost all my pictures. A few months later, the DC board went out so I wasn't able to use my laptop unless it was plugged in. In February, my hard drive completely died. It just literally stopped working. And just recently, the computer screen went blank. Luckily I have a good friend who works at Apple and he is able to get my MacBook running, usually with only a little damage to my pocket book. That is what I love about Apple! Had this been a PC, I would probably still be computer-less and dealing with Geek Squad or whoever you deal with when a PC malfunctions. When my computer screen went blank on Tuesday, I simply made an appointment at the Apple Genuis Bar for Thursday (when my friend worked) and my computer was fixed by Sunday. So Thanks Torey and Thanks Apple Genuises at Fashion Island! That explains my Internet absence last week. And now on to better and tastier things!

A while back, Albertson's had some crazy sale on ground turkey. Being budget conscious, I stocked up and froze a couple pounds. After making several dinners, I had a mere 1/2 lb. left. I also had about 2 oz. left of goat cheese from the Beach Blanket Blackout Bingo Birthday Bash. So I made goat cheese stuffed turkey burgers. I had the perfect amount for 2 burgers and a slider. To accompany the burger, I made a roasted red bell pepper and apricot relish from the bell peppers I bought from the Irvine Farmer's Market. The relish recipe is more than enough for the burger recipe. It taste delicious in grilled cheeses and an accompaniment to any BBQ'd or roasted meat.

This meal is a perfect example of how budget cooking can still produce a gourmet meal. I actually had all the ingredients on hand except for the dried apricots. Lucky for me I have a lemon tree. I made my own bread crumbs by toasting a piece of bread and then grinding it in the food processor. Chicken broth, vinegar, Dijon mustard and hot sauce were all in my pantry. Just because you are poor, you don't have to eat poorly!


Goat Cheese Stuffed Turkey Burgers with Red Pepper and Apricot Relish
adapted from Culinary Institute of America Grilling
makes about 2 burgers

1/2 lb. ground turkey,
1/4 cup toasted bread crumbs
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon zest
pinch of dried thyme
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 oz goat cheese, sliced into 1/4" medallions
hamburger buns or sandwich bread (I used Trader Joe's Cheddar and Garlic Sourdough Loaf)

For the Relish:
Makes 2 cups

2 roasted red peppers
2 TBSP cup vegetable oil
1 cup dried apricots, chopped
1 cup diced red onion
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 TBSP white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2-3 drops hot sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper

1. Combine turkey, breadcrumbs, lemon juice, zest, thyme, salt and pepper. Mix well. Divide into two or three portions. To make the patties, take a 3 inch cookie cutter lined with plastic wrap and press 1/4 of the turkey mixture into the cookie cutter. Place the goat cheese medallion next and then top with 1/4 turkey mixture. Pressed the edges to seal the patties together and lift out of the plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining turkey mixture and goat cheese. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before cooking.

2. Preheat pan or grill to high. Brush burgers with oil and cook fro 7-8 minutes on each side.

Red Pepper and Apricot Relish

1. Roast the bell peppers. The easiest and fastest way to do this is by directly placing the bell peppers on the burner and charring the skin. After the skin has blistered and turned black all over, place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. When the peppers are cool enough to handle, peel the skins off under running water. Seed and dice the peppers into 1/2 cubes.

2. Heat oil in medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Add apricots, onion, and garlic. Saute until translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add the diced red bell peppers and broth. Simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5-10 minutes.

3. Add the vinegar, mustard, and hot sauce. Cook until liquid has almost evaporated. Check the seasonings. Chill. The relish should be served at room temperature or chilled.

Broke as a Joke Risotto

This Saturday will mark seven months since I was laid off as a line cook. It has been a rather tumultuous journey since January. I graduated from culinary school (yay!), mentally prepared myself to leave all my friends and family to move to Baltimore only to find out Matt was laid off from his job one month before I was to move, my roommate asked me to leave earlier than anticipated (thanks for the two week notice, very thoughtful of you), scrambled around Costa Mesa to find a place that accepts two dogs and two unemployed people (next to IMPOSSIBLE), and then on top of it all, there was an incident involving Hank and Matt's dad's cat. Let's just say Hank emerged victorious and the cat, well, it ended up in a box. The cat incident has estranged us from his parents and any help they would offer us.

The money is running out and because I made diddly squat at as a line cook, I barely make anything from unemployment, just enough to pay my phone bill, car payment and insurance. And you want to know the most disheartening thing is? Matt makes more money from unemployment than I do working 60 hours a week as a line cook.

So it has been an interesting past two months, complete with breakdowns and serious contemplation periods of what to do with my life (graduate school? buckle down and get a corporate job? suck it up and get paid $10/hr to work as an overworked/underpaid line cook at a chain restaurant and never see my friends or family?). All that fun stuff plus beach time, bicycling, trips to the library, quality time with Hank and George and LOTS of cooking.

As you can tell, I don't have a very big grocery budget, so many of the dishes I cook now rely on pantry staples. Risotto is a good budget dinner because you can pretty much throw anything in there: from frozen vegetables to last night's take out dinner, risotto is very versatile. I always have frozen peas and some chicken broth in my pantry so pea risotto was the obvious dinner choice. I also had some goat cheese and some cherry tomatoes leftover from the Beach Blanket Blackout Bingo Birthday Bash so I just threw that in as well. The result was a delicious, healthy dinner for less than $6 for the total meal!

TBC Broke as a Joke Risotto
serves 3

1/2 medium onion, chopped, about 1/3 cup
1 TBSP olive oil or butter
3/4 cup Arborio rice
32 oz. carton of low sodium chicken broth
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 cup frozen peas
3 oz. goat cheese
handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Place the chicken broth and crushed garlic clove in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Set aside. Meanwhile, add butter or oil to saute pan over medium heat. Wait until it starts to foam and then add the onion. Saute the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the Arborio rice and saute the rice until translucent, about 2 minutes. Ladle some of the warmed chicken broth into the rice, stirring until liquid has evaporated. Continue adding liquid in stages, constantly stirring. Wait until the liquid has absorbed before adding more. When the rice is creamy and you have used all of the chicken broth, check the seasonings. Add some salt and pepper to taste.
3. Add the frozen peas and the goat cheese and stir to melt the goat cheese and to heat the peas. Add the halved cherry tomatoes and top with Parmesan cheese.

Please don't forget to vote for Hank and George in the Cutest Dog Contest. We could win a million dollars!