Date Night Dinners - Brenden's Burgers

5/15/2015 tringel 0 Comments

Summer is here! Okay, maybe not, technically. But, with the alternating humid, 90 degree days with bright sunny, breezy days, it sure feels like it is here, and hopefully to stay. While I am in love with this weather, Brenden is quite the opposite of me. Remember the misery I was feeling just a few short months ago, with my frozen fingers and toes, well that is the misery Brenden is feeling now, just replace frozen with melting, and fingers and toes with entire body...at least I am finally comfortable.



The heat has cheered me up and put a damper on Brenden. When he is hot, there will be no going outside, no touching, no moving - unless it is toward the A/C vent. Even eating is a chore for him. Unless it is ice cold water, ice tea, or some other cold liquid, he is not having it. This posed a problem. If Brenden didn't even want to eat, how would I convince him to cook for date night? Anything with complicated prep tasks, long cook times, and a hot, steamy kitchen was out of the question.

A thought crossed my mind; we could grill burgers. It's quick. It's summery. It's delicious. But we don't have a grill and we are trying to cut back on the carbs after our pasta binge. What's a burger without the bun? Then I found a recipe that didn't call for either a grill or a carb-loaded bun. We had to try it, and it was simple enough that it met all of Brenden's I'm-to-hot requirements.


Instead of burger buns, the recipe used cauliflower "buns." We have dabbled in cauliflower substitutes before, trying cauliflower pizza and cauliflower wraps. While not the same as the real thing, our other swaps turned out quite well and we were excited for this new substitute to try. It was bound to be good, and we wanted the new tips so we could continue to strive toward creating the perfect "cauli-dough."

We've come a long way from the mushy mess we started with a few years back. We spent hours scraping our fingers as we grated the cauliflower by hand, only to end up with flavorful mush. While a food processor is helpful with this process in more ways then one, the key to perfect "cauli-dough" is squeezing all of the moisture out of the riced cauliflower. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. And when you think you've squeezed it all out, squeeze some more. After many trials we learned that a cheesecloth is a godsend when trying to remove all of the moisture, compared to the kitchen towels we were using previously. So go spend the extra few bucks on one, it's worth it, I promise!




We decide to put a little southwest spin on these burgers because, well, why not. We topped them with pepper-jack cheese, onion, pepper, and of course a dollop of guac. In between two crispy-on-the-oustide-soft-on-the-inside cauliflower buns, the burger with its toppings was perfection. All of the seasonings and ingredients complimented each other. They melted in our mouths with each bite - they were literally melt in your mouth good. And, Brenden's I'm-to-hot hunger strike was put to rest...that is until the next heat wave comes bulldozing through.

SOUTHWEST CAULIFLOWER BURGERS
recipe adapted from theironyou.com, Cauliflower Crust Hamburgers

INGREDIENTS

• Cauliflower "Buns"
• 1 small head cauliflower, cut into small florets
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• Burgers
• 1/2 lb ground chicken
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• pepper-jack cheese, sliced
• Toppings
• guacamole
• yellow onion, sliced
• bell pepper, sliced

DIRECTIONS
Rice the cauliflower. Place the cauliflower florets into a food processor. Pulse or process on low until the cauliflower is evenly chopped/shredded into small pieces. If you do not have a food process you can use a cheese grater. Pour the cauliflower rice into a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 6-8 minutes, until cooked. Remove from microwave and allow to cool.
Create the cauliflower "buns." Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking pan with parchment paper and generously spray with baking oil. Place the cooled cauliflower in a cheesecloth (I highly recommend using a cheese cloth, but a dish/kitchen towel works fine if it is al you have) and squeeze as much water/moisture out as possible - this is extremely important. The cauliflower should look dough like when you have squeezed enough moisture out. Next transfer the cauliflower "dough" to a mixing bowl and add the egg, mozzarella, salt and pepper. Mix well until fully combined. Divide the "dough" into four equal sized pieces; form each into a circle, about 1/2 inch thick and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Place the baking try with prepared "buns" into the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the tray from the oven and let the "buns' cool on the baking tray before removing for burger assembly.
Make the burgers. In large bowl mix together all of the burger ingredients, except the cheese, until fully combined. Divide the meat mixture in half and form a burger patty shape with each. Heat skillet grill sprayed generously with cooking on medium high. Once warm, place the burger patties in the skillet. Cook on each side for 7-10 minutes until browned and cooked through as desired (I like mine medium well). Or, cook on an outdoor grill as desired. During the last minute of cooking, top cheese and allow it to melt to the burger.
Assemble the burgers. Place one cauliflower "bun" on a plate. Top with a burger. Add onion, bell pepper and guacamole. Place a second cauliflower "bun" on top. Pick up the burger and try to fit the piled high stack into your mouth for a bite. Enjoy.