A Variety Of Burgers

One of the best recipes to have fun with is the hamburger.It can be made a variety of different ways  with different ingredients for oomph and surprise. It can be basic, it can be spicy. It can even have a tangy sweet flavor. Best of all, it can be made by anyone, from a novice to an experienced home chef.

The basic burger is made from a pound of  good ground beef mixed with one egg and half a cup of bread crumbs. The egg is whisked with salt and pepper and then the meat and bread crumbs are added.it can be mixed with a fork or hands and then mounded into balls. From there , they're flattened into patties and either are fried or grilled. If you want more flavor think about cutting the beef amount in half and adding ground pork or just completely going with pork. You can also do the same with ground turkey to create a healthier burger. As for flavorings. this is the fun part. Go crazy. Try a jalapeno burger with the addition of sliced jalapenos and tomato sauce. Garlic and cilantro can also be used too. Speaking of garlic, roast it and add it to the ground meat. It's so flavorful that a bun is not necessary.Onions are another flavoring that can make a burger sing. Mince them very fine before adding for a deliciously sweet and earthy flavor. Caramelizing them  also lends a great depth of taste too. Its just cooking the onions in oil before adding them to the beef.

A burger surprise is always a fun meal. Try any kind of cheese , from cheddar to American. Remember don;t use slices, instead get the bricks and cut them into cubes. These are easy to insert into the patties. Another idea is grating the cheese or cutting it into small bits and flecking it through the burgers. Bacon and hamburgers are a no brainer together .Imagine a burger stuffed with it. The bacon should be thoroughly cooked and crumbled first. You can also add cheese for a fun spin on a bacon cheeseburger.If you want to get the kids to eat nutritiously , you may want to sneak in some broccoli or carrots into their burgers.One of the hottest recipes around is the Paleo influenced avocado stuffed ones. It's a  a perfect marriage between the unami based meat and the sweet , buttery fruit. It's mashing the avocadoesas you would do for guacamole and then slathering the mash  on one thin patty. Another patty is put on top and the edges are them sealed. After grilling, the burgers can be topped with any leftover mashed avocado. The burgers can be served in tacos and with salsa for a neat twist.

Have your burger your way, You may want a garlic infused one or one with a surprise in the middle. It'sup to you,. Any burger is a good one.

The Best Chocolate Cookbook Ever!

Chocolate lovers rejoice ! There is an excellent cookbook, Crazy About Chocolate that has every kind of chocolate recipe in it!What's even more interesting is that several are savory ones, using cacao in a different and unique way. A chocoholic could make an entire dinner using their favorite food thanks to this unusual cookbook.

Krystina Castella wrote this truly original book published by Sterling Publishers. She includes many interesting facts,, from why she loves the brown stuff to cooking with it. I like how she explains the different equipment used  in her recipes. This is handy because one item, such as a cookie sheet, sauce, could have several different uses. What I love about this book is it's versatility and flexibility with chocolate. She uses it in its' original form , mole to create an unusual turkey mole chile as well as chocolate bun sliders with a cocoa sauce. What is truly unique is her chocolate butter with grilled corn as well as her smoked ribs with her cocoa barbecue sauce. These would be hits at any tailgate party. There's also a cool chocolate pasta one that I would  use as a surprise jaw dropper of a dessert.

Of course, since it is a chocolate cookbook, sweet recipes abound. There is a yummy sounding German chocolate French toast as well as chocolate bagels. Her take on cakes are just drool worthy. There is one for a simple orange marble pound cake as well as one for devil's food and Bundt cake. She also categorizes the recipes into holidays, from  steamed Japanese rice cakes with chocolate filling for New Years to chocolate gingerbread men and squares for Christmas. She even has cocoa waffles for  the Fourth of July. There are also recipes to suit r all sorts of gatherings from fancy birthday parties to baby showers. Ms. Castella also has every day ones like the scrumptuous chocolate  and fruit ices , and fun chocolate cookies for after school snacking.

Please get this cookbook if you're a chocolate lover or just want to create tasty and unusual dishes. You can make all sorts of truly delicious sweets and savories using one of the world's most ancient and most popular ingredients. It's a trip into the sweet world of cacao.