Hamburger Wrap with Vinegar Chips

Make a burger. Slice it into strips.

Dot a flour tortilla with ketchup. Add lettuce, tomato and sliced pickles. Put salt and vinegar potato chips on top.



Roll up the good stuff in the tortilla and enjoy.

Beef on Beef Burger

This recipe is for meat lovers. I got the idea from the Roy Rogers Double-R-Bar burger which included roast beef. Roy Roger's restaurants are few and far between these days but the spirit lives on.

Ingredients

2/3 pound ground beef, 85%/15%
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Deli provolone cheese
Deli roast beef
Beef bouillon
1/2 cup water
2 slices raw white onion
4 slices of Italian style white toast (for two burgers)
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Coleslaw (recipe follows)
Worcestershire sauce
Kosher salt and pepper to season

The ground beef I buy comes in 1-1/3 pound packages. The 85/15 (85% lean) is half the price of the 93/7 (93% lean) and has twice the flavor. The preference here is 80/20 if you can find it.

Cut the meat in the package in half. Cut the halves in half. We're making two 1/3 pound burgers. Save the rest of the meat for a meat sauce, or more burgers.

Season your two halves by sprinkling Worcestershire on each. Form into patties.

Season the top of each patty with salt and pepper.

Make beef juice by combining the beef bouillon cube and half a cup of water in a small pot. Bring to a simmer.

Make the condiment by combining the ketchup, horseradish and Dijon mustard.

Put the oil in a frying pan. Get the pan hot to the point where you see the oil shimmering. Swirl the oil around the pan.

Place the patties in the pan, seasoned side down. Now season the top with salt and pepper. Flip when you see blood start to ooze out the sides. Personally, I am looking for a rare burger. For a medium burger, flip when you see blood ooze out of the top.

Continue cooking for the same amount of time you cooked the other side.

You can use a meat thermometer. 130 degrees would be rare, 140 would be medium rare. 150 would be medium. 160 and your on your way to well done.

There is the poke method to test doneness but it's a little hard to explain without a video like this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8YQX-QgbXc

Finally, doneness can be tested by making a little incision on the edge of the patty and looking at the color of the meat. Nice and pink to red, that is rare. Just pink is medium rare to medium.

Assemble the burger:

Spread the horseradish condiment on both sides of the toast.

Place coleslaw on the bottom.

On goes the burger.

Place two slices of provolone cheese on the burger.

Heat the roast beef in the beef juice. Still dripping with hot, salty goodness, place the roast beef on top of the cheese.

Place a slice of raw onion on the beef.

Top the burger with the other piece of toast, slice in half and enjoy!

Green Cabbage Coleslaw

Cut a green cabbage into quarters.

Thinly slice one of the quarters into slaw. Place the slaw in a resealable container.

Add a small grated carrot.

Season with celery seed, salt and pepper.

Sprinkle with white vinegar.

Add a couple of tablespoons light mayonnaise and mix well.

Let's Discuss!

Why the raw onion? I got the idea from the Peter Luger Steakhouse house "salad." It is a thick slice of beefsteak tomato, topped with a thick slice of white onion with the Peter Luger sauce poured on top. Besides, onion and beef go together like... fill in with the analogy of your choice.

The provolone cheese should be sharp. Usually this means an aged cheese.

Red cabbage can be used to make the slaw or some combination of red and green.

The slaw should be made the day before to soften the cabbage and for the flavors to meld.

Why the Italian white toast? Inspiration came from Louis' Lunch in New Haven Connecticut. They are considered the oldest hamburger maker in the country and they have always served their burgers on white bread. It just works.

Why not toasted and buttered buns? There is not much taste in a potato roll for instance and this is already a rich sandwich - the butter would be overkill.

Slaw is not crucial. I have also made this with crispy lettuce.  I just like the flavor the mayo and vinegar brings.

The onion might be better placed on the burger and cheese. As it stands, the onion was sliding off the sandwich - a little.

The burger itself would be better if smashed down after it hits the hot pan. As you can see, it doesn't fit the bread. Alternatively, you could cut the crust off the bread.

 

London Broil Steak

No, it's not a dish for one or two. But it's the leftovers I look forward to.

Get a 1-1/2 to 2 pound London broil. Season both sides with a good amount of kosher salt and ground black pepper.



How do you cook this thing? Why, you broil it! You know that broil setting on your oven that you never use? Here is your chance.

This works best on a grate as shown above with the meat at room temperature. Take note of the direction of the grain in the meat.  In this case it looks like it is running north-south. When the broiler looks and feels hot, start cooking 5" to 6" from the heating element.

You will need an in instant read meat thermometer as shown below.



Broil the first side until it looks nicely brown and sizzling on top. About 6-8 minutes. Check the temperature in the center. It should be about 100 degrees. Flip the steak over and start broiling the other side. We are looking for an internal temperature of about 130 to 135 degrees. This will give you a medium rare to medium doneness. This is already a slightly tough cut of meat. Cooking it past medium would make it extremely tough.

Cooking happens fast now. Maybe only 3-4 minutes on the other side.

Out of the broiler:



Cover the meat with foil and let rest for 8-10 minutes. Remember the grain? Slice against the grain and enjoy.



Serve with sauteed vegetables or a salad.

Leftovers! Philly cheese steak sandwiches. Steak tacos. Steak chili. Steak and eggs the next morning.

Moussaka

The Lonely Guy Cooks Greek

I got the idea for this recipe from a colleague who is slightly allergic to eggplant. His wife would substitute thin slices of potato for the eggplant.

The cheese sauce which tops this dish is a little time-consuming to prepare, but it has lots of flavor and binds the dish together.

This recipe will make a 7" X 10" or 9" X 9" tray of moussaka. I used a 7" X 10" Pyrex tray. This recipe makes about six servings. Freeze half.

Greeks love their lamb, but you can make this with beef. I compromised with a 50-50 mixture of beef and lamb.

1 large eggplant, peeled
1 large baking potato, peeled
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground lamb
2 medium white onions, chopped
8 ounce can tomato sauce
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Olive oil as needed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Set oven to 350 degrees (175 degrees Celsius)

Cheese Sauce

3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup light cream or half-and-half
1 large egg
1/2 cup pecorino Romano cheese
1 pinch of nutmeg
Salt and pepper

Slice the eggplant 1/4-inch thick. Slice the potato 1/8-inch thick.

Brush a cookie sheet with olive oil.

Coat each side of sliced eggplant and potato with olive oil then season slices with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Place the slices on cookie sheet as will fit. Broil under the broiler until brown, turn and broil the other side. If slices are left over, broil another batch.

Oil the baking dish. Place eggplant and potato slices on the bottom.

In a large skillet, combine beef and onions and cook, stirring, until the beef is no longer pink. Drain the fat.

Add in the garlic, tomato sauce, cinnamon, oregano, salt and black pepper to taste.

Pour the meat mixture over the eggplant slices.

Arrange the remaining eggplant and potato slices over the beef mixture.

Make the Cheese Sauce

Melt the butter over medium heat in a saucepan, whisk in flour and cook until mixture is just starting to get golden. Don't stop whisking.

Gradually stir in the cream. Keep stirring until thick and starting to bubble. Reduce the heat to low.

In a small bowl, beat the egg,  stir in two or three tablespoons of the cheese sauce (but not so much that it cooks the egg), then add egg mixture to sauce mixture. Stir well.

Stir in the Romano cheese. Stir well.

Pour the cheese sauce over the mixture in the baking dish.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or golden brown on top.

Let stand and congeal for 30 minutes or so. Cut into squares.

If freezing any extra servings, wrap them in plastic wrap and place in a large resealable bag or container. Keep in the refrigerator until cool and then place in the freezer.

Pot Roast and Horseradish Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

This is what you will need for the roast - plus salt and pepper.



I got a good deal on this bad boy.



A big old hunk of beef.

The beef was labeled "bottom round". I think any product with round or rump or roast in the name qualifies for this recipe.

My bad boy was about 4-1/2 pounds. I just happened to be cooking for my daughter and her husband. I had one cancellation. Normally, Lonely Guy cooks for one or two, but this was a special occasion.

I am glad I got the big cut because a lot of fluid leeched out during the cooking process. Plus, it was so good it was one of those you can't stop eating.

The biggest pot I have is a pasta pot and this is what I used for the braise. A braise refers to simmering in a little liquid (but not submerged and boiling).

3 big carrots
5 celery stalks
1/2 large white onion
6 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup sauerkraut
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 to 5 pound beef bottom round
1 handful of chopped parsley

Cut off any of that silvery, bluish fat off of the roast. It never gets tender.

Cut off some of the white fat cap, especially if it's thick.

Oh my gosh, wrestling with this big piece of meat and trying to remove the fat must have looked ridiculous. It took awhile and I made a mental note to re-sharpen my chef's knife.

Give the beef a massage with a generous amount of salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Get the oil hot in the pot and sear all sides of the beef. It's heavy so you will need barbecue tongs and fork to flip the big guy around. I was moderately successful with this approach. I ended up using my hand. Get it browned all over and set aside.

Chop up the carrots, celery and onion and throw them into the pot.

Put the beef in the pot on top of the veggies.

Place the kraut and garlic on top of the roast.

Add the chicken broth, water and vinegar to the pot. Cover.

Bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for 3 to 3-1/2 hours on the stove top. I went 3-1/2 hours.

Remove the beef and cover with foil to keep warm.

Strain the juice in the big pot into a little pot and boil until reduced by half. Taste the gravy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Slice the beef and reheat in the hot gravy before serving.

Garnish with the chopped parsley.

Left-overs? Beef tacos or beef sandwiches with a spread of the horseradish mashed potatoes and some steak sauce. Serve with a big dill pickle. Yum! Or, how about a slider with barbecue sauce and coleslaw?

Horseradish Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

2 big Russet potatoes - peeled
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
Light (lower fat) buttermilk as needed to get a creamy consistency
Salt and pepper

Chop up the potatoes into one inch chunks and boil for 30 minutes.

Strain the water and put the cooked potato chunks into a big bowl.

Mash the potatoes with a good old potato masher or a dinner fork.

Add a good amount of salt, probably at least two teaspoons, and black pepper. Mix.

Add horseradish. Mix.

Keep mixing and add buttermilk, about 1/2 cup or more, until you get a nice creamy consistency. It may look like a thick soup but as it cools, it will tighten up thanks to the starch in the Russets.

The bottom round was surprisingly lean. The mashed potatoes used no butter or cream. Served with a Greek salad, this was meal you can feel good about -even after going in for seconds.