Portabella Burgers

An eighty-degree day in mid-October? To the grill we go!

Mushroom burgers have always seemed wimpy to me -- a cop-out to a wonderfully rare and juicy beef burger.

But Bean wanted to grill today, and the urge for a burger strikes me in slow intervals. The urge for mushrooms, however? ALL OF THE TIME.

1. Boil some kale that a dear roommate has in surplus.

2. Crack open some goat cheese

3. Put a giant portabella, doused with olive oil, garlic and salt, on the grill for five or six minutes.

4. When you flip the mushroom, put the intended bun on the grill; flip after around three minutes.

5. After five minutes (or so) of second-side cook-time: take everything off!

It is imperative that you assemble all of the ingredients at once after cooking, and then promptly mow down.

1. Spread goat cheese on top (toasted) bun

2. Lay kale on bottom bun

3. Plop on the (flaccid and willing) mushroom

4. Join top and bottom buns

The first (and only previous) time I tried a mushroom burger, it was unsatisfactory, but the heartiness of this might actually pass for a beef patty. And for a mushroom-lover like me, it was many times better!

Macaroni & (Goat) Cheese

Bean wanted to make macaroni today, so I decided to join him with my own take. He does not enjoy mushrooms, so I concocted a single-serving meal for me.

1. Boil some favorite pasta (shells, in this case).

2. Steam some glorious vegetables:

mushroom

cherry tomatoes

spinach

(I added some oregano and basil to the pasta boilage for flavor).

When the pasta was done, I added a chunk o' goat cheese until it melted. When it has just homogenized, add the steamed vegetables, stir, and serve. I topped this with Panko bread crumbs.

Bean's Mediterranean Burger

Goat Cheese Burger

Tuesday grilling!

Burger with a goat cheese & pesto spread, specially mixed by Bean. On the side; grilled mushrooms and spinach, with olive oil and garlic and salt, and a dill pickle from Panera that Dear Morg did not desire.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Buuuuuuuuuurgers

The day after brush-burning there was a Farmer's Market at the Williamsville Chapel (Hubbardston), so I went to say goodbye to Mother and Father. They were there selling beef and volunteering all over the place, since it was put on by the Hubbardston Historical Society and they are involved in everything, somehow. While I was there I bought some goat cheese from Westfield Farm, and Mother gave me a pound of ground beef from our precious cows. On the way out, Fath bought me a birthday quart of pistachio almond ice cream, much of which I had to eat on the drive back to New York because it was melting all over.

So! This was my birthday dinner! We mixed in some soy sauce and oregano with the ground beef, and fried it up; spread goat cheese and spinach on fresh sourdough bread, and.......

PIZZA ROCK!

Every time I try to understand why the entire world loves pizza, I can come to no conclusion except that I completely agree. I suppose it's hard to go wrong with any combination of bread, cheese, tomatoes, and whatever else you want. The customization options are probably what makes it enduring, although it doesn't explain the mass preference in America for pepperoni (a preference that I will never agree with).

Bean and I made this pizza last night, and then we made it again tonight with the leftover crust, because it was so effing good.

Crust:

1 package yeast

1 cup warm water

2 cups bread flour

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

After dissolving the yeast in the water for 10 or so minutes, we mixed the rest of the ingredients in and kneaded it into a dough consistency. Then we let it rise for about 45 minutes, and rolled it out on a gigantic floured cookie sheet.

Then we spread olive oil and oregano over the whole thing, and topped that with a layer of basil pesto and marinara sauce. We covered the entire thing about an inch thick with fresh spinach, and topped that with circles of goat cheese.

Of course then we had to wait twenty minutes for it to bake (at 350 degrees) before we could cure our sudden salivation problem, but seriously. Goat cheese!