OKlamoma's New Classic The Onion Burger

 Oklahoma is really known for its' oil fields and culinary creations like chicken fried steak. Yet there is a new classic that's equally delicious coming from The Sooner State .It's the onion burger and it's gaining in popularity.

J Kenji Lopez-Alt wrote about this yummy treat in yesterday's New York Times Food section.The recipe comes from the Hamburger Inn in El Reno, Oklahoma located in the middle of the state.It was originally called "the Depression Burger" created by Homer Davis and his son Ross at the height of that era. The onion burger as it's now called has become beloved in recent years thanks to W. George Motz , author of Hamburger America and host of First WE Feast "Burger Scholar Sessions" on You Tube. He would shoot these popular patties through a chute through a kitchen window to waiting diners during the pandemic .He's just wrapped up a European tour, introducing the burger to an international crowd. What makes them so delicious. Blame it on a particular odor molecule,3-Mercapto-2-mentelpentan-1-ol or MMP. It produces an aroma like beef broth. Combine it with chopped beef and it makes the burger taste meatier. You do have to slice the onions paper thin, preferably with a mandolin to release this compound as well as thiosulfinates which also enhances the flavor.

what is the recipe? It's taking two medium yellow or white onions and ground beef.It's shaping the hamburger first  into round  well shaped patties.The onions are then put on top of the burgers, stacked like haystacks. Layer on as many as possible, the higher the better.DO NOT add salt to the onions because it will draw out any moisture. This can ruin the searing the process. Now it's time to cook them, with four burgers in each quadrant of the pan or grill. Use a neutral oil for this however cooking them in butter or a plant based butter will give it a better taste.Smash the burgers with a very sturdy spatula. Focus on the patties' edges to get that crispy finish, The middles should be slightly thicker.It's then scraping the edges off the pan and carefully flipping them onion side down.Use the spatula, tones or even  fork to tuck in any stray onion strings. Chef, Lopez-Alt recommends using King's Hawaiian rolls which have a sweet flavor..It's steaming these and then placing the burgers on top of them.. Add cheese and pickles if you want.

The Oklahoma onion burger may be the star of the summer.It's a yummy way to enjoy  burgers , enhanced with onion. Try it for a tasty change up from the usual ones.

Hot Days Cool Salads

 These days are unbearable to live in  let alone cook in. yet there's still a need to make a decent and filling meal. What to do? Turn to salads. they're quick, easy and coolly delicious.

Cathy Lo, a recent addition to The New York Times Food section created an excellent salad guide for today's section. She enlisted fellow food writers, Melissa Clark , David Tanis,Eric Kim , Ali Slagle , Genevieve Ko and Yewande Komolafe to contribute tasty and blissfully cold recipes to combat this hellish time. The twenty  salads are categorized into leafy, sturdy, pasta grain and bean based along with sweet and savory fruit.Any  would be perfect as a main meal or as a side to either grilled or air fried main courses. Those who appreciate a good green salad should look into making Ali Slagle's arugula salad with just a squeeze of lemon and a shave of Parmesan cheese.ERic KIm gives his crunchy greens with carrot ginger dressing. Fresh ginger gives it bite as it's drizzled over Romaine lettuce.A heartier dish is Yewande Komolafe's chicken with herb salad and nuoc cham. Shredded roasted chicken is mixed with shredded cabbage , cucumber and bell pepper and dresed with a sweet savory lime based vinaigrette.If you want a sturdier salad then think a shrimp salad with chopped red onions and a lemony mayo,. You could also make Genevieve Ko's  tofu and green bean salad with peanut dressing. made with hoisin sauce and peanut butter.

Pasta beans and grains add depth and heft to any salad. A blistering day could end with Melissa Clark's  pasta salad that has the classic ingredients of mozzarella and fresh sliced tomatoes. Cucumber and salami ribbons are also added to make it heartier. Want a more Middle Eastern vibe? Then try Dave Tanis rice salad that laced with almonds, pistacchios and currents, The dressing is a mix of tahini and lemon juice and zest.Add classic Middle Eastern herbs like parsley and mint Of course there is three bean salad.  Celery is also added for crunch ad the dressing has the spiky taste of Dijon mustard.  There is also Yewande Komolafe's millet salad along with Erik Kim's  chickpea one, the last enhanced with seaweed and mayo. It's summer and that means a good fruit salad to be served anytime from breakfast to dessert. Ali Slagle's stone fruit Caprese fits into all these . Cut up any stone fruit , from nectarines to cherries and marinate in  a mix of lemon juice, flaky sea  salt and sugar Drizzle olive oil over this when it's time to serve and spike with freshly ground pepper. There's also mango slaw and the classic watermelon and feta mix. You could also try Eric Kim's tropical taste pleaser of bananas, pineapple and mango Just season with lemon and sea salt.

Beat this hellish heat with a good salad. Try any of these recipes for a cool meal, side or even dessert.  It's a nice way to abide these wildly high temps.

Have Kitchen Will Travel

 Many home chefs love nothing more than a vacation. They also love to cook too, which proves a quandary. Do they bring their gear with them? Or see what awaits them at their vacation home?

Some holiday going  home chefs  are thinking about bringing their air fryers with them. This can be great because there's a familiarity with the controls. There's no learning about a new stove and adapting from gas to electric or vice versa.It also cooks food quicker too.Shrimp can easily be cooked up in less than ten minutes.Home made crab cakes can be air fried in just minutes. It's also good for making bacon and even cinnamon rolls for breakfast. There are smaller air fryers that are perfect to bring on a holiday. Try the Vortex Four In One which can also roast and broil. This is perfect for steaks and chicken pieces tooIt can also reheat, great for all those restaurant leftovers. There;s also the Cosori which is  sleek three to seven quart one.It also tells you when to shake the food too for even browning. You many want to bring a grill instead. Cooking out can be better because you're not messing up the kitchen where you're staying (although some motels and campsites do have barbecue areas). A portable, folding grill is perfect for cooking easy vacation foods like hot dogs and hamburgers.

What about other kitchen basics? Should you bring your knife set with you? Yes, if you feel like you'll need it , especially for deboning fish and chopping veggies. Don't bring the entire set. Good bread, paring and fish knives are all you need for a week or two of holiday prep and cooking.Keep in mind that you're never far from a Target or Wal-Mart where you can also buy these if you forget any of them. If you're barbecuing , plan on bringing tongs and a barbecue fork. Other items are containers for leftovers and raw ingredients. There are even egg containers where you could bring a dozen eggs safely and without any breakage. If your rental has a microwave, it doesn't hurt to pack some microwave plates and pots for cooking and reheating. You can even tote along your microwave corn popper for a healthy snack to enjoy at night. Should your favorite mugs get packed with the beach towels and sunscreen?If you want to , yes. They can not only hold coffee and tea but soup if you're craving it. They can also be used for making mug cakes too, if you're craving a homemade baked treat.

Yes, you can bring your kitchen or part of it with you on vacation. It can make for easier cooking  in a strange space. Just pack and go - that's it.

A Century of Advice

 One word of advice for any novice chef - listen to your elders. The more experienced the home or professional cook, the better their advice. They are a rich encyclopedia of what to do and what to make along with how to avoid disaster and what to do if it occurs.

This is how I feel about my Mom whose advice I still follow. Today would have been her one hundredth birthday (and she would not have liked me putting it out there).  Her cooking advice and culinary curiosity is still being followed today. I constantly hear hear her words and instruction with every vegetable chopped and sauce whisked. She herself came from a rich culinary background with a Piedmontese Italian mother and a Swabian German father. She learned from her immigrant grandparents on how to make a mouth water risotto and tantalizing sauerbraten. it was definitely the best of Northern Italian and Southern German cuisine. There were no measurements. Just intuition and instinct with these  century old recipes that came from both sides of the Alps.I learned these recipes young.One of my favorite , especially now i s her pomodori e uovi, the tasty marriage of tomatoes and eggs. I've adapted to fit a vegan lifestyle by using Just Egg an egg substitute. The flavor and texture is there and I think she would have liked it.

Even though she had a wealth of family recipes to use my Mom was also adventurous. She was the first and the only one on the block to get a wok and cook authentic Chinese food. One of my favorites of hers was Ants Climbing A Tree, a yummy mix of ground beef ,soy sauce and scallions cooked with boiled cellophane or rice noodles. I used to make it with the vegan beef and she liked it.There were also fried dumplings which were a great New Year's Day treat. I feel like I'm copying her when I ]m trying new dishes myself like the Ethiopian stew made with Berbere spice. Her motto always was be curious about the world of cooking.She made tempura when it was popular in the Sixties when the US was discovering Japanese food. We had Mexican long before Taco Bell  and those taco kits came to New Jersey.Her forte was French. She was a big fan of Julia Child and Jacques Pepin. Nothing beat her cassoulet on a cold winter's night. She made Croque Monsiurs when everyone was frying up grilled cheese. Again this was another favorite I learned and enjoyed making for her.Baking she got from her German grandmother. Nothing beat her oatmeal lace cookies and moist cakes with homemade frosting.

I always feel I've inherited a wealth of culinary advice and recipes.My Mom is responsible for that. Through her I can continue the tradition of good family recipes and adventuresome cooking.

Summer Baking Alternatives

It's the middle of summer and you're craving  homemade brownie or cupcake, Yet baking on a humid day van be disastrous. However there are still homemade sweets you can create to satisfy that sweet tooth.

One of the easiest sweet treats to make is the Italian ice granita. This is a crunchy ice  with only three ingredients - water, pureed fruit of any kind and granulated sugar , You could add a squeeze of lemon or lime if you want. The entire mixture is poured into a tray (preferably a  metal one) and then frozen for about thirty to forty-five minutes.Take it out of the fridge and drag a fork over the surface until it looks mushy and textured. Remember to keep breaking it up until there are no more large chunks. Pop back into the freezer for four hours before serving.A really decadent treat is coffee granita served with a side of whipped cream.Coffee granita can be made with instant coffee or espresso, depending on the strength you like. Just melt sugar and syrup together, add the coffee and a teaspoon of vanilla. Freeze the same way as you would for the fruit version.  Serve with a side puff of whipped cream and a light drizzle of chocolate sauce.Another sweet icy treat is ice cream. There are a lot of good no churn recipes, from Melissa Clark's peanut butter one to the ow fat one that has frozen sliced bananas as a base.

If you're still craving something as crispy as a cookie and as chewy as a brownie think Rice Krispie treats. This classic recipe is a super easy one , especially if you use the microwave. It's melting three tablespoons of butter with five and a half cups of mini marshmallows on high for three minutes. Pour into a greased pan, add six cup if the cereal and stir. Even out and flatten the mixture. Cool and cut into two inch squares. If  you want to make them fancy melt a mix of semi sweet chocolate chips and a tiny bit of butter in a microwave. Drizzle onto the treats. What is good about these Rice Krispie treats is that they can be also poured into round pans to create a cake. Layer on top of each other. Use the chocolate drizzle as filling and icing, then decorate with sprinkles or chocolate curls. Another sweet no fuss ideas is a pudding pie using an already made pie shell. Think a chocolate pudding spiked with a drop or two of mint extract in  a chocolate cookie crumb shell. Top with Cool Whip or Reddi Whip and add chopped Andes mints. It's also the perfect summer dessert too.

There are plenty of treats that don't require a hot oven to make. Settle with a cool sweet treat. It's a great way to combat the summer heat.

Easy Veggie Meals

 This is the season of grilling and meats. The problem is home chefs can fall into the rut of barbecuing steak and chicken all the time. A refreshing change up is having vegetables only  dishes. They're easy and tasty,plus being good for you.

One of my summer favorites is ratatouille. This is not the traditional one, with roasted in the oven veggies.

Mine has five Roma tomatoes cooked with one  diced green bell pepper and one sliced zucchini.It should have an onion in it which you can add. It can be intense though so I added a good sprinkling of onion powder along with garlic powder. The veggies were sauteed and simmered in a mix of Miyoko's  Creamery oat butter and olive oil. 

It was an easy fifteen minute simmer which was delicious with a brioche roll on the side. Another easy veggie dish is salsa cruda. Again this is a delicious and easy make, with just pasta to cook. The sauce is just sliced Roma tomatoes mixed with the cherry kind. Chopped onion can be added (or omitted depending on your taste) along with olive oil and fresh basil. Make it super simple by just buying pre cooked pasta. A really chill summer veggie dish is gazpacho. This favorite Spanish dish is a cold soup of blended tomatoes, cucumber garlic and green bell peppers. It's blended with a cup of olive oil and about three tablespoons of red wine vinegar. This is the perfect meal on a steamy hot day. It's refreshing and flavorful , each mouthful a summer harvest. I usually like to serve with slices of Italian or French bread dipped in olive oil.

A meal of fresh summer, veggies is a refreshing turn away from the usual barbecued meats. It's a nice way to enjoy summer's bounty with easy recipes. They're perfect for these sweltering days.

A Different Type Of Cooking Show

 There are no shows about what it;s like to cook in a restaurant. yes there are cooking shows . There are no dramas, like there are about doctors and lawyers. Until now. Hulu has produced an interesting series about chefs.

Regular contributor Julia Moskin wrote about this new TV show in yesterday's New York Times Food section.It's called "The Bear" and it's streaming on Hulu and FX. Jeremy Allen White who was a regular on Shameless and has appeared on "Law and Order" plays the main character Carmen Berzato, a high profile chef. He comes home to Chicago to run his family's Italian beef sandwich shop after his brother Mikey has committed suicide. He has also left a thirty thousand dollar debt but no note.Carmen has a lot going on. He has no time to grieve as he has to retain employees along with trying to make good food. The scripts and acting are riveting. Carmen is running on a hamster wheel of tasks. He's dicing carrots, breaking up fights and peddling his vintage denim  collection to buy meat. Worse he inherits hid brother's prickly crew who are loyal to his brother's memory along with his spaghetti recipe. There's also a raging , grieving manager (who's also a friend " who calls him Bobby Flay and much worse

Is this an accurate picture of the industry? It seems to be. The track record on these kind of shows isn't great according to Christopher Storer, co-showrunner of "Bear". He is no stranger to filming the food industry. His multiple documentaries  were about the food business before turning to fiction with  movies like Eight Grade and "Ramy".His friend, Canadian chef, Matty Matheson ho also produced and wound up with a small part said he wanted an accurate description that showed both the good and bad side of the industry. Some of the best scenes involve sharp accuracy along with reality. The show is sort of based on one of Mr/ Storer's childhood friends, Christopher Zucchero who is Italian beef royalty. His father and uncle opened Mr.  Beef on Chicago's North Orleans Street in 1978 and now he's an owner. "Bear" was filmed there,a warren of small rooms complete with sharp knives, high shelves and hot pans. The actors also added authenticity to the show. Mr. White and the actor,Ayo Edebiri who plays the sous chef both went to LA's Institute of Culinary Education to learn more about the industry and to work in the kitchen,

"Bear" will be an interesting watch. The restaurant industry rarely gets seen on TV. That's about to change.