The Double Turkey Burger Eggplant Stack!

This low-carb mountain consists of sliced eggplant and ground turkey patties  - grilled, stacked and drizzled with my favorite homemade sauce - which for me, in this case, is Sweet Pickle Ranch sauce.

After preparing this breadless-manwhich I realized this could be a featured item at a low-carb Carl's Jr. The only thing missing was a beautiful vixen luring men ages 17 to 34 to buy it.

This is my first attempt at using eggplant in my own kitchen. I have eaten it several times and enjoyed it, but never sought to make it part of a my own recipe collection. I am really pleased with how the eggplant turned out and I am looking forward to experimenting more with it.

I started out thinking the eggplant would work like bread slices and allow me to handle the stack, but cooking it correctly left it too soft to handle and it needed to be eaten with a fork and knife, which was the only thing that slowed this mound of savory yum from entering my belly in record time.

I'm going to refine this for sure - I just thought it was worth sharing.

If you have any great grilled eggplant recipes please send them my way!

Eat well, cook often ...


THE RECIPE
20 minutes, serves 2
1 Eggplant, medium size, sliced into 1/2 inch-thick discs
1 lb Ground Turkey, pattied
4 slices munster cheese
Favorite burger sauce

Heat grill to medium high. Brush eggplant with olive oil and season to taste. Grill 3 to 4 minutes per side or until cooked through and soft, remove let rest. Grill turkey patties 8 minutes or until cooked through, turning once during cooking. After turn, add cheese to patties and let melt. Remove and rest, 5 minutes. On a plate stack eggplant and burgers, drizzle with favorite burger sauce or dressing, then serve.

Low Carb Burger and Fries

Ok. Its not actual fries - but one can dream. It's asparagus spears  — and they were still pretty tasty.

Using lettuce to wrap the double-cheese turkey burger — that's the real low carb thing about this meal.

No bun!

I really like throwing away the bread. The burger is what it's all about for me, so this gets rid of the gluten-loaded pillow that keeps your hands from getting messy and replaces it with a paper thin crunchy leaf. Not a bad trade-off in my book.

Here's what I cooked:
— 4 turkey burgers with a slice of munster cheese for each
— 1/2 bundle of asparagus, split length-wise and tossed in a tablespoon or so of Worcestershire sauce

The burgers were cooked over medium high heat in a little olive oil with salt and pepper to taste, about 5 minutes per side. The asparagus followed in the same pan for 3 to 4 minutes, tossed a couple of times and seasoned with salt and pepper — burgers rested while asparagus cooked.

I ate 2 of the burgers wrapped in big lettuce leaves with chipotle mayo as garnish and all of the asparagus for the meal. I have to admit — it was tasty. A nicely seasoned turkey patty with creamy cheese and smoky chipotle mayo really hit the spot. Although I would love to have had real french fries, the al dente asparagus tossed with Worcestershire had a crunchy, salty and slightly sweet taste that I really liked — but I have always liked asparagus when it's fresh from the produce isle and perfectly cooked.

I'm doing this again for sure.

The experiments continue! I'm not on a strict no-carb diet, I'm just watching them as part of an effort to adjust my diet and life-style to live more healthy.

Eat well, cook often ...

Smoky Chipotle Turkey Chili

Printable version

For the past three Thanksgivings, I have cooked a turkey or turkey breast and traditional sides with my culinary twist applied to publish here. This year, I’m doing something different for the more progressive culinary crowd.

For a main course I have created a smoky chipotle turkey chili!

To enhance the smokiness of the dish I start with diced bacon so that the flavorful renderings can be used to saute the aromatics. I removed the bacon after its cooked and use it as a garnish for the final dish.

Turkey is the star but it really just acts as a canvas for the flavors to stand upon in this recipe. I use a whole can of chipotle chiles in adobe, that I deseed and mince, with cumin and Mexican oregano for the main spice, but to enhance the smoke even further and compliment the chipotle, I add smoked ham hocks to the pot. After a long simmer that reduces the liquid and melds the flavors  – a silky, smoky and meaty chili emerges that can stand tall in any Thanksgiving spread.

BEHIND THIS BITE

My new blog work station.

I’m Back!!!!!!!

After relocating my life 120 miles to the west, I’m finally settled enough to start bloggin' again. I still have a man cave to build and a couple of other projects that will take time away that would other wise be applied here, but I’m finally settled enough to document some of my culinary creations.

I had to convert half of my dinning room into a kitchen work space and food photography studio to do it. I’ve also had to get used to a new place of employment and just move into a new home in general. In the process, I confirmed what I had thought five years ago.

Moving sucks.

Whether it’s across the street or across the country. Having to physically move every thing you own form couches to paper clips is a massive pain in the ass. But, it’s also a new beginning once all of the boxes are in place, which for me has been pretty exciting.

I had to down size significantly when I left New York, so there has been lots of stuff that had to be built or purchased in general just to have a spot to come home to watch TV without a mess in front of me. Now, I can finally do that as well as create a post like this.

I’m happy to have the blogging stuff checked off the list, but what I’m looking forward to most as part of the move is unpacking and displaying my ridiculous Star Wars collection. I just have to build the shelving to house the collectibles as well as the 80 some boxes of books that fill half my bed room!

Yep. I’m a pack rat. Which makes moving even worse!

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Just a small part of the Star Wars collection!

Serves 4 to 6; 3 hours
4 strips Bacon, diced
3 lbs Turkey ground
2 C Red onion, diced
2 Jalapeños, diced, seeded
2 Tbs Cumin
1 Tbs Mexican oregano
2 Tbs Garlic, minced
1 can Chipoltes in adobe, minced (7.5 oz)
1 can Crushed tomatoes (28 oz)
4 C Water
1 lb Smoked ham hocks

Render bacon, brown turkey
In a 6-quart dutch oven over medium-high heat cook bacon until crispy, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add turkey to pot, sear until just cooked through stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove to a bowl.

Create flavor base
Add onions and jalapeño to pot, saute until soft, 4 to 6 minutes. Add chipotle, cumin, Mexican oregano and garlic, let cook 1 to 2 minutes or until fragrant.

Make chili
Stir in crushed tomato, water and browned turkey. Add ham hocks. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, reducing mixture by one-third. If necessary add more water. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat, discard ham hocks and serve. Garnish with reserved bacon bits.