Rachael Ray, Madeline and Me

My girl Madeline has been raving about these Bacon-Bit Burgers with Smoked Gouda and Steak House Smothered Onions that Rachael Ray deemed the “burger of the month” in the April/May issue of her magazine, Every Day with Rachael Ray. With Madeline’s praise here and here, the recipe was definitely going to get made, and tonight turned out to be the night.

The Neighbors came over for an impromptu dinner tonight, and in 30 minutes we made these burgers (mmmmm, delicious!), another batch of the Caribbean Salsa Bites from the other night, Frozen Lemonade Cocktails and Grilled Shrimp with Garlic and Breadcrumbs. Perfect meal. The Neighbors came bearing a bag of frozen shrimp, which is how the Grilled Shrimp jumped onto the menu. The recipe first appeared exactly eight years ago, in the July issue on Bon Appetit magazine, and it’s been a favorite ever since. It takes just minutes to prepare and produces tender, flavorful little bites of perfection.

Regular Costco members know that Costco very generously gives away a Costco Cookbook every year to its members. They’ve been doing it for the past three years. They only print a certain amount of copies, and since they don’t sell it, unfortunately, once it’s gone, it’s gone. BUT, lucky for you, I found out that they have their current Costco cookbook online, yours for the printing. Not too shabby, eh? The recipes come from chefs all around the country, and we’ve had quite a few good recipes from it ourselves. Happy printing!

Until tomorrow …

A year ago today … Cuba’s in the house!!

Bacon Bit Burgers with Smoked Gouda and Steak House Smothered Onions
Makes 4 Burgers
Smoked bacon and cheese add punch to this beefy burger.

6 slices of smoked bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I used pancetta)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 yellow onions, 1/4 finely chopped and 1 3/4 thinly sliced
1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 tablespoon grill seasoning, such as McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning
4 crusty poppy seed or plain kaiser rolls, split
4 slices smoked Gouda cheese
1/4 cup steak sauce, such as A1 or Lea & Perrins

Preheat the broiler. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium/high heat, then add the bacon and a drizzle of EVOO and cook until the bacon is crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate and drain off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the skillet. Return the skillet to medium/low heat and sweat the finely chopped onion in the bacon fat for 2 to 3 minutes. Combine the onion with the reserved bacon in a small bowl and let cool. Turn off the heat and set the skillet aside.

In a medium nonstick skillet (I used the same skillet as I did above – why dirty another pan?), heat 2 tablespoons of the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium heat. When the olive oil is hot, add the thinly sliced onions and cover them with a lid that fits inside the skillet. Cook until browned, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the onions are cooking, place the sirloin in a large bowl and top with the Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and grill seasoning. Stir in the cooled chopped onions and bacon until evenly combined. Divide the meat into 4 even sections and form 4 large patties. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of EVOO, 1 turn of the pan, to the large skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add the burgers and cook for 4 minutes on each side for medium-rare and 6 minutes on each side for medium-well.

Toast the split rolls under the hot broiler until golden. Place the patties on the bun bottoms and top with the smoked Gouda. Remove the bun tops from the broiler pan. Return the burgers to the broiler to melt the cheese, about 30 seconds. Stir the steak sauce into the smothered onions. Top the burgers with the onions and set the bun tops in place. Transfer to plates and serve.

Grilled Shrimp with Garlic and Breadcrumbs
Bon Appetit, July 1998
8 servings

2 pounds of uncooked, medium shrimp, peeled, deveined
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup dried seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
16 10- to 12-inch long wooden skewers, presoaked in water for 30 minutes (I use metal skewers)
lemon wedges

Stir shrimp, oil and garlic in large bowl to combine. Add bread crumbs and parsley and toss until shrimp are evenly coated. Sprinkle shrimp with salt and pepper. Thread shrimp on skewers; place on plate. Cover and refrigerate up to 3 hours (I always skip). Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Grill shrimp until just opaque in center and crumb coating begins to brown, about 2 minutes each side. Transfer shrimp skewers to platter, surround with lemon wedges and serve.