Welsh Rarebit burgers

Gotta love Rachael Ray.  These are huge, insanely messy burgers.  I mean, they're covered in a cheese sauce for crying out loud!  And they're delicious, of course.  I love the unusual ingredients, like Pumpernickel and watercress.  Welsh Rarebit (or Welsh Rabbit) is a British dish that is basically a cheesy sauce served over toast.  

Whenever I cook Rachael Ray recipes, I keep an eye out for opportunities where I can tweak amounts of ingredients or portion sizes so that the meal is a little more reasonable for me.

Case in point: For the cheese sauce, she wants you to use a pound of cheese.  To me, that just seemed excessive.  I probably used about 1/2 to 2/3 of the cheese and I thought it still tasted great.  Even with less cheese, it made so much that we got to use the leftovers as fondue the next night, dipping in chunks of leftover pumpernickel bread and chopped apples.  You could also just make half the cheese sauce recipe, but who doesn't love an excuse to have fondue?

Another part I adjusted was the size of the burgers, but that was only necessary because of the bread we bought.  At our store the choices were either gluten-free pumpernickel or regular rye.  We went with the rye, but it was a rather squatty loaf, so I cut the hamburger patties in half to make them fit.  If you can only find short bread like us, you can figure out some way to make it work for you.   Joe used a whole hamburger patty, but cut it in half and served it open-face on two slices of bread, piling the toppings on the side like a salad.  I just had half a patty between two slices of bread.  It's still really filling considering you have a cheese sauce and bacon on it too (the one pictured above is only half a patty, by the way).  But you could also make two full sandwiches and just place half a patty on each, whatever works for you and your appetite.

Welsh Rarebit Burgers
adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray - August 2008
serves 4 (more than 4 for us, since we aren't big eaters.  Just don't assemble the burgers you aren't going to eat and heat them up the next day in the mircowave.  Use the extra cheese sauce for fondue, if you like, with chunks of extra pumpernickel bread for dipping)

8 slices bacon
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 shallot, finely chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped parsley
salt and pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dry or prepared mustard
1 teaspoon hot sauce (I used half a teaspoon because I didn't want it to be spicy)
3/4 to 1 cup stout, such as Guinness
1 pound shredded cheddar cheese (we used sharp, and about 1/2 to 2/3 that amount)
8 slices pumpernickel bread
1 small bunch watercress, chopped
4 thick slices beefsteak tomato (or just some slices of whatever tomatoes you have)
Salt and Vinegar potato chips, for serving (I think these are gross, so I bought other chips for me)

Preheat oven to 350 F.  

She wants you to cook the bacon on a broiler pan until crisp, about 15 minutes.  We don't own a broiler pan, so we just cooked them on a regular pan the oven (not as healthy of course).  Basically, just cook the bacon however you like it.  

Preheat the broiler.

In a bowl, gently combine the beef, shallots and parsley.  Season with salt and pepper.  Form into four patties.  Dent the center with your thumb so they don't puff up while cooking.   

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a nonstick skillet over high heat (if using fattier meat, like 15-20%, omit the oil entirely).  Cook the patties until they are as done as you like them (She suggested three minutes on each side for medium rare.  We like them more well done then that so we cooked them longer).

In a large saucepan, add the butter and melt over medium heat.  Whisk in the flour, cook until light brown, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the Worcestershire, mustard, and hot sauce.  Whisk in the stout, cook for a couple of minutes until thickened.   Lower the heat a bit, and add the cheese in handfuls, stirring until smooth.  

Lay the slices of pumpernickel on a baking sheet and toast in the oven on both sides.  Pour a little cheese sauce onto each toast, broil a couple of minutes until the cheese bubbles.

Assemble the burgers: Place the four patties onto four cheesy slices.  Pile some watercress on top, followed by the bacon and the tomato.  Top each with another slice of bread, cheesy side down.  Serve with potato chips and lots of napkins.  

Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

I made this recipe without even realizing it.  I was trying to think of a yummy spice mixture for roasted pumpkin seeds, so I used the same spices as for Chex Party Mix: salt, garlic salt, and Worcestershire sauce.  (Side note: in my family, we call it "What's-this-here-sauce"). Turns out, someone has already thought of using that spice combination over at Allrecipes.com.  I used double the amount of spices though, and peanut oil instead of margarine. I also quadrupled the recipe. 

We had some friends over to carve pumpkins this year so I had seeds from 6 pumpkins to roast!  After everyone went home, I picked through the pumpkin innards and collected the seeds, trying to remove as much of the stringy stuff as possible.  Then I put them into a large bowl of cold water and agitated them with my fingers to clean them even more.  The stringy pulp sort of sinks while the seeds float, so you can skim them off with a slotted spoon.  I laid them out in a single layer on baking sheets to dry overnight.  They tend to stick to whatever you lay them on, so make sure you don't use paper towels or anything that will leave lint or a residue, (unless you like a little insoluble fiber on your seeds, then have at it).  I used wax paper, but I would have used parchment if I had had some.

If they are still pretty wet the next day, you can put them into a low temperature oven (the lowest it will go) for a couple of hours (I did that). If you know of a better way to dry them please enlighten me!  At this point, you can proceed with the recipe.     

Happy Halloween!

Spiced Pumpkin Seeds
adapted from Allrecipes.com
makes about 2 cups

Note: All measurements are approximate, so add more or less according to your personal preferences.  I have also tried this spice mixture on hulled pumpkin seeds with equally yummy results.    

2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds
1-2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1-2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350 F.  

In a large bowl, toss the seeds with the oil.  Add the spices, and toss to coat.  Spread onto baking sheets in a single layer.  Bake for about 15 minutes, stir (rotate baking sheets if baking more than one sheet) and bake for another 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Cool on baking sheets.  Store in an airtight container at room temperature if you're going to eat them soon, or in the fridge or freezer for longer storage.  They will go rancid if you leave them at room temperature for too long, so I'm told.  Mine never last that long.  

Pan-Roasted Celeriac with Rosemary Butter

We had a strange visitor in our CSA box a few weeks ago.

I won't tell you what Amy and I think it looks like, but let's just say if you cut the green tops off and put two of them side by side it would be more obvious.      

Celeriac, also called celery root, is related to other root vegetables like parsips and carrots.  It was developed from celery but was bred for its root rather than its stalks.  It smells and tastes like celery and parsley.  It can be cooked just like a potato - mashed, boiled, roasted, fried, etc - so it makes a good low-starch side dish.  

I figured Bittman would have a solid way to cook this, and of course, he did not let me down.  I think you could pan roast anything in butter and I would probably eat it.  

One tip if you decide to make this: don't be lazy and cut your celariac into different sized pieces.  I cut mine into a mix of 1/2-inch and 1-inch pieces because I didn't care and was trying to be quick.  I then got super impatient waiting for them to cook, and as a result, I took them out of the pan before some of the larger pieces were really as soft as they should have been.  The smaller pieces tasted delicious - melt in your mouth, soft and buttery texture - while the larger pieces weren't as soft in the middle, and had a slightly raw flavor.

Bittman says to work in batches if you have more than what will fit into a single layer in the pan.  I had a pretty large pan but couldn't get them all in there.  I was fine with working in batches, until I read how long they take to cook - 30 minutes.  Batches?  Are you kidding me?  Forget that!  I'm not going to hover around in the kitchen for an hour cooking a side dish.  Don't be like me and just try to rush each batch.  I suggest you either get two pans going, or just make half the recipe.   

Pan Roasted Celeriac with Rosemary Butter
adapted from Mark Bittman - How to Cook Everything
Serves 4-6

This side dish would go with any grilled or roasted protein.  If you can't find celeriac, you could use parsnips, rutabaga, turnips, potatoes, or carrots instead.  

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, sage, thyme, or a combination 
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 pounds celeriac, trimmed, peeled, and cubed (see note above)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves

Add the butter to a large skillet set over medium-high heat.  When melted, add the rosemary sprigs (and other herbs if using) and garlic.  Let them sizzle until fragrant for a couple of minutes, turning down the heat if they start to brown.  

Add the celeriac to the skillet, arranging it in a single layer.  There should be some space between pieces, so you might have to work in batches or get another pan going (if you try to crowd the pan it might steam rather than brown, and that's not what you want)  Cook for about 30 minutes, or until the celeriac is soft and golden brown on all (or most) sides, turning the pieces occasionally.  When the rosemary and garlic get brown, remove them from the pan.  

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and the minced rosemary, stir to combine, and serve.