A burger fit for the (Greek) gods...

A burger fit for the (Greek) gods...

After perusing the incredible cars on Main street in Grand Junction and getting our ooo-pah from baklava at the Greek festival on Saturday, we decided that Red Robin would be in order. Good food, decent kids menu, and the prices are not bad. The kids both ordered pizza from the kids menu (I know, pizza in a burger joint, crazy right?), my wife ordered her staple BBQ bacon cheeseburger (with Swiss cheese) and I ordered the Mt. Olympus burger (we did go to the Greek festival). 

The place was busy because of homecoming at one of the local high schools, but the bottomless fries and drinks kept us going until the food arrived. Everyone was very happy with their choice and dug in right away. I looked at my burger and was a little intimidated. Here was a couple of brilliant ideas melded together an oregano seasoned burger covered in creamy spinach and artichoke dip, feta cheese, BACON (yes the capitalization is intentional) bits, served with garlic mayo, lettuce, and tomatoes, on ciabatta bun.

As the parent of a tweenager, I have the right to say OMG! That burger was so delicious. The seasoned meat had just a bit of pink in the middle and the multitude of flavors came together in a symphony of unique delicioucity! The bun was soft and light but still strong enough to hold the burger together until the last bites, the spinach and artichoke dip was cool and fresh, not like the cheesy dips that I am used to, this was similar to French onion dip but bright and tasty without being overpowering.

Side note, for almost 13 years my wife and I have had a unique restaurant game, I try to have her taste my food in an attempt to broaden her palette and have her try new things, and usually she declines. There are the few times she does try and even rarer that she is excited for that new dish. When she does like the new food, she tries (and usually succeeds) in participating in food piracy and I end up eating what she ordered because I am so excited that she likes something new.  On this occasion I asked her if she wanted a bite and to my surprise she was delighted in the experience. She pulled out the puppy dog eyes and pouted out the lip and asked if we could trade. Unfortunately for her the answer was as resounding NO! In our marriage I am usually the one to give in and hand over my food, but not this time baby!

In the end I stood my ground and did not share my burger, which I could have afforded because they are on special for only $6.99. Of course they do have all kinds of salads at Red Robin, but seriously folks… have you tried the burger?

Here is a quick spinach and artichoke dip recipe from: http://www.greatpartyrecipes.com/spinachdiprecipes.html

(Cold) Spinach Dip

1 cup chopped cooked spinach (1 10 oz. frozen pkg.)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
6 green onions, chopped
1 8-ounce can water chestnuts, finely chopped

Add 1 cup chopped artichoke hearts to the recipe above.

2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons pepper
Salt to taste

·  Squeeze the spinach dry and pat it down with paper towels.

·  In a medium bowl stir together all ingredients until well combined.

·  Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

(This recipe can be prepared in a food processor and/or a day ahead with great results.)

·  Serve chilled with sour dough bread and raw vegetable dippers like turnip slices and red pepper strips. Or serve in a scooped-out sour dough bread bowl, if desired, and save the scooped-out bread for dippers.

·  Makes about 3 cups.

 EAT!

Spices and Carnitas...

Spices, Spices, and Spices

Soooo you know how I like to keep it natural most of the time, right? I found this great little store on main street, Orrs Trading Company next to the Avalon Theater. At first it looks like a bead and novelty shop, but if you walk past the interesting trinkets in the back you can buy bulk herbs, spices, and teas. I was actually compared to kid in a candy store! I bought paprika, granulated garlic, dried basil, pure dried stevia (more on that later), spirulina, and a tea mixture.  The Deborah was working in the store and she was wonderful to talk with and very helpful. There are also tons of other non food things to shop for, beads, leather, bones, arrows, jewelry, etc. If you haven’t been to Orrs I recommend you get there quick.

What did I make with my purchases? Pork Carnitas… nuff said.

Pork Carnitas (adapted from http://www.itsfordinner.com/recipe/pork-carnitas)

Pork

• 3-4 pounds of boneless pork shoulder (may be called Boston butt) or 4-5lbs of bone-in pork shoulder

Spice rub

Note: This amount of spice works well for the amount of meat we normally use (3-4lbs), but it's a simple ratio so simply scale it for your amount of meat

• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp chile powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Braising liquid

• 3/4 cup no sugar added apple juice
• Water to cover (for our pan that's usually about 2 cups)

Technique

1. Heat a dutch oven or other heavy bottomed oven-ready lidded pan over medium high heat with just enough vegetable oil (or lard if you have it) to cover the bottom .
2. Pre-heat oven to 300ºF
3. Cut pork into 1-2" cubes, trimming large sections of fat off (we need fat for the flavor, so just cut off any real large pieces). Toss pork pieces with spice rub.
4. Brown the cubed pork well in the dutch oven, going in batches so there is only one layer of meat at a time.
5. Introduce all of the meat back to the pan and cover with water until it's nearly submerged.
6. Bring to a simmer, cover, and place in the oven. Cook covered for two hours.
7. After letting the pork cool for a few minutes work through with your hands to separate and discard any fat or gristle pieces that hadn't melted in the braise. Tear the meat into smaller pieces.  I used my handy dandy Pampered Chef Mix N Chop (very cool for ground beef and several other applications).
8. Turn your broiler on to high and place a rack towards the top
9. Toss the now shredded pork with some of the reduced braising liquid (that should have boiled down significantly by now) and spread in a single layer on a sheet pan.
10. Broil the pork for approximately five minutes per side until the outside begins to caramelize

Serve with tortillas and salsa verde (recipe to come later), beans would have been nice but we did not get past the meat!

Orrs Trading Company

Beads, Native American products and a variety of teas.

Location:	639 Main Street, Suite B

, Grand Junction, CO 970-241-1126

STEAK!!! Latest article from Your Valley Source

What's for dinner?
So I am not Sam Elliott, and I am never going to have the six pack abs of Matthew McConaughey, but I still think Beef! It's what's for dinner! Whether it is a juicy cheeseburger, a Sunday after church pot roast or a big ass hunk of beast on the grill, it is alright with me.
 Not only is steak a universal high class meal and the staple of grill masters everywhere, but there are so many choices, Rib eye, T-Bone, Top Loin, Skirt, rare, medium, burnt, seasoning, marinades, aging, broiling, roasting, frying, grilling, even the infamous TarTar.
Ok, so what steak is right for you? It depends on your needs. Personally I like a nice juicy rib eye grilled to medium rare with a little salt and pepper because great meat should stand on it own (insert your favorite dirty joke here).

Grilled Rib eye Steak with summer vegetables

Prep steak: 1 inch rib eye per person removed from refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes. Sprinkle with coarse ground salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Prep veggies: Prepare 1 small zucchini and ½ bell pepper (I like red, or orange) per person,
You can slice the zukes and peppers in half or you can chunk them up and add them to a grill basket either way toss with a little oil before cooking

Prep grill: Preheat grill (charcoal or gas) until the heat is medium high, oil grates with a paper towel and tongs.

Place steak at a 45 degree angle on the hot part of the grill and wait 2 minutes then turn steak 45 degrees (do not flip the steak as this will create grill marks like a pro) wait another two minutes and then flip.

At this point you can add your veggies to the grill and when the steak has cook 7-8 minutes total remove and let rest while the veggies finish.

When the veggies have reached the level of doneness you prefer (I like a little char on mine) remove and toss with a pinch of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.

Now you have created a great meal full of healthy proteins, vegetables but most importantly you got to play with fire!

www.cookingwithtrace.blogspot.com