Turkey Burgers

In Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem, Ode to the West Wind, he asks “If Winter Comes, can Spring be far behind?”

I think of this every year as soon as the weather warms up and the days get longer. In no time I forget the cold, snow and gray skies of just a few short months before.

I take the winter cover off the grill, clean the grates and get ready for months of quick, easy, outdoor cooking.

I light the fire.

It’s burger time!

Sometimes turkey burger time! Like this eggless version that’s so incredibly tender and flavorful and best served with mashed avocado but, hey, if you’re like my husband and insist on ketchup that’s ok too.

It’s a good bet for Father’s Day. Labor Day too.

EGG-FREE Turkey Burgers with Mayo and Mustard

• 1 ripe avocado, peeled and pitted

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

• 20-24 ounces ground turkey

• 1 small onion, grated

• 1 large clove garlic finely chopped

• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs, seasoned or plain

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, optional

• 4 slices lightly toasted bread

• 2 tomatoes, sliced

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat an outdoor grill. Mash the avocado with the lemon juice, cover and set aside. Place the turkey, onion, garlic, mayonnaise, mustard and bread crumbs in a bowl and mix to combine the ingredients evenly. Shape the mixture into 4 burger patties about 3/4-inch thick. Grill the burgers for about 5 minutes per side OR heat the vegetable oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and cook the burgers for about 5 minutes per side or until crispy and cooked through. While the burgers are cooking, toast the bread. Place 4 slices of toasted bread on each of four plates. Spread equal amounts of the avocado on each slice. Place tomato slices over the bread. Top with the burgers. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 4 servings

Roasted Strawberry Ice Cream

Roasted Strawberry Ice Cream

Many years ago Ed and I were on a cruise with our cousins and there we were, lounging on a public deck, when we overheard a woman consoling another woman whose husband had died on board the night before.

It was so shocking that we still talk about it. I felt sorry for the widow of course and something she told the other woman has haunted me ever since.

She said “I told him not to eat the ice cream!” — as if that one dessert was responsible for the heart attack that killed him.

My first thought was “at least he had the ice cream.”

Next week I celebrate a big birthday. I mean big as in round numbers. I mean I have passed my grandparents round numbers. I’m about the age of that widow and her poor husband. And I now say:

“Eat the ice cream!”

Because you never know.

For most of my married life, the food we usually eat at home — with indulgences here and there — is healthy. I make fresh food, have cut down on meat, fat and salt over the years, don’t serve processed foods or junk.

We’ve reached the age that an occasional ice cream — especially on vacation — won’t be the thing that kills us. And if it is, well, at least we had the ice cream.

So, for my big round birthday I am going to eat some ice cream.

I love strawberry ice cream so I already made some for the occasion. I would normally have preferred fresh strawberries but I haven’t found a good source yet for real strawberries, the kind I remember from the old days that were small, sweet and smelled like caramelizing sugar. So I roasted the best looking ones I could find with a bit of orange zest and brown sugar and this combo turned out to be absolutely scrumptious for ice cream.

Roasted Strawberry birthday Ice Cream

• 1 pint strawberries

• 1/4 cup orange juice

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest

• 3 cups half and half, light cream or whipping cream

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 3 large egg yolks

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Rinse the berries, remove the hulls and chop the berries into smaller pieces. Place the berries on the parchment. In a small saucepan, combine the orange juice, brown sugar and orange zest. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the liquid has thickened slightly. Pour the liquid over the berries and toss the fruit to coat all sides. Roast the berries for about 10 minutes or until softened and glazed. Remove from the heat and let cool. Heat 2 cups of the cream over medium heat until bubbles appear around the edges of the pan. Set aside. While the cream is heating, beat the sugar, egg yolks and salt at medium speed in an electric mixer (or with a hand mixer) for 3-5 minutes or until light and thick. Gradually add the heated cream and mix the ingredients until the mixture is uniform. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 5-6 minutes or until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Pour in the remaining cream and blend it in thoroughly. Pour into a container and refrigerate until cold. Stir in the vanilla extract. Freeze in an ice cream freezer according to manufacturer’s directions, until almost firm. Add the strawberries plus any juices that have accumulated. Continue to freeze until firm.

Makes about 6 cups

Asparagus Salad with Potatoes, Tomatoes and Feta Cheese

We’re big dairy eaters. And when the weather turns warmer, we’re big salad eaters too.

So this salad is perfect for us as summer approaches. I’ve made it a zillion times. Sometimes I substitute green beans or zucchini for the asparagus. Sometimes I use blue cheese (I’ve tried it with firm cheeses such as cheddar but prefer a soft, crumbly one). Sometimes I add leftover cooked fish, but mostly serve it as a side dish.

If you’re having a dairy meal for Shavuot, this would make a delicious first course or side dish. It’s filling, but light, so you have some room for cheese cake!

Asparagus Salad with Potatoes, Tomatoes and Feta Cheese

• 12 baby potatoes (such as Yukon Golds or Red Bliss)

• 1 bunch (about 12-16 ounces) asparagus, trimmed and cut into pieces about 2-inches long

• 1 cup cut up grape or cherry tomatoes (or chopped large tomato)

• 3 scallions, chopped or 1/3 cup chopped red onion

• 1/4 cup olive oil or avocado oil

• 2 tablespoons wine vinegar, approximately

• 1/2 cup crumbled feta, blue or goat cheese

• freshly ground black pepper to taste

• chopped parsley or chives

Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat to medium and cook for about 15 minutes or until barely tender. Add the asparagus to the saucepan and cook for about 3 minutes. Drain the vegetables and cool them down under cold running water. Drain and place on paper towels to dry. Peel the potatoes and cut them into smaller pieces. Place the potatoes and asparagus in a mixing bowl. Add the tomatoes and scallion and toss the ingredients to distribute them evenly. Pour in the olive oil and toss the ingredients. Add the vinegar and toss again. Add the cheese and sprinkle to taste with pepper. Taste and add more vinegar if needed. Place in a serving bowl and sprinkle with parsley.

Makes 6 servings

Mini Khachapuri

Mini Khachapuri

Khachapuri is one of life’s culinary treasures. I’ve eaten it at restaurants, made it at home. Sometimes I make my own dough, but frequently I use store-bought pizza dough which — I confess — isn’t exactly like khachapuri dough but makes this dish much easier to prepare.

Also, cutting the classic long, boat-shaped khachapuri into single servings is fine, I’ve done it many times, but it’s much more convenient to serve individual ones. Also they’re much easier to prepare if you make them round, like pizza, rather than shape them into boats.

These days? I like easy.

So I made a recent batch of khachapuri into individual “pizzas.”

Yes, this is not the authentic way. You don’t have to tell me that. I know. I know.

But jeeeeez! They are so good! So it’s okay.

I added spinach to the last batch I made. Nope, that’s not traditional either. But it was delicious. And added some color too.

Khachapuri is a good dish any time for any meal! But because it’s a dairy — cheese item — it’s perfect for Shavuot. Hanukkah too.

Mini spinach Khachapuri

• cornmeal

• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

• 1/2 cup farmer cheese (or use dry curd cottage cheese)

• 1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach

• 1 large egg

• 1 pound pizza dough

• egg yolks, optional

• 1 tablespoon butter, cut into 8 small pieces, optional

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Sprinkle the paper lightly with cornmeal. Place the mozzarella cheese, feta cheese, farmer cheese, spinach and egg in a bowl and mix for a minute or so until well combined. Set aside. Cut the dough into 8 pieces. Stretch or roll each piece into a 4-inch circle. Form a higher edge around the perimeter of each circle. Spoon equal amounts of filling into the center of each circle. Place each filled circle on top of the parchment paper. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. If desired, place an egg yolk and/or a small piece of butter on top of the filling if desired. Bake for another 5 minutes or until the pizza crust is browned.

Makes 8

Mango Salsa

When the weather gets warmer I like to make foods that I can bring outside, that can sit for an hour as we nibble and sip a cocktail or two before dinner.

This salsa is a perfect example. It’s fresh fruit, citrus and a bit of heat thanks to the chili pepper. It’s colorful, so it’s nice for company. And it stays fresh for a while.

I use this salsa as an hors d’oeuvre and serve it with corn chips but it also makes and excellent side dish for burgers, grilled chicken or fish.

Remember this for summer picnics. Memorial Day weekend. Father’s Day. July 4th! Labor Day.

What I’m saying —- it’s a keeper!

Tropical Dip and Chip

• 1 large ripe mango

• 1 ripe avocado

• 1/4 cup chopped red onion

• 1 teaspoon chopped jalapeno (or other chili) pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest

• 1 tablespoon lime juice

• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro (or use parsley)

• salt if desired

• corn or plantain chips

Peel and pit the mango and avocado. Chop the fruit into small pieces (or use a food processor) and place the pieces in a mixing bowl. Add the red onion, chili pepper, lime zest, lime juice and cilantro. If using a food processor, process on pulse to desired consistency. Taste for seasoning and add salt if desired. Serve with chips.

Makes about 2 cups

Derby Pie

When Ed was growing up, it was a tradition in his family to watch the Kentucky Derby. One year he told his grandpa that a particular horse was a “sure thing.”

It wasn’t.

Lessons learned.

We watched the Derby as a family when our kids were young and then, one year, miracle of miracles! We went to the Kentucky Derby for real!

I placed a small bet on what I thought was a “sure thing.”

It was! I won!

I was elated and bought mint juleps for the people we were with.

Never again! Don’t waste my time adding sugar and mint to Bourbon.

And we had Derby Pie, which is a sweet confection with loads of sugar and chocolate and pecans too.

I’ve made my own versions over the years — I can’t have pecans in the house because of allergies so I use almonds or cashews. But pecans taste better and have the best texture for the pie.

So here, for all of you who will watch on Saturday (and even if you don’t) is my latest recipe for Derby Pie (which apparently is a trademarked title so I changed the name a bit to Derby Pie (Sort-of).

Derby Pie (Sort-of)

• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust

• 6 tablespoons butter

• 6 ounces chopped semisweet chocolate

• 3 large eggs

• 1 cup sugar

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 2 tablespoons Bourbon

• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 cups chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prick the bottom of the crust with the tines of a fork, cover with aluminum foil, including the edges, and weight the foil with baking pellets or dried beans. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and weights, return the crust to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and set it aside. Lower the heat to 350 degrees. Melt the butter with the chocolate over low heat, stir to blend them thoroughly and set aside to cool. Using a mixer or hand mixer, beat the eggs, sugar, flour, Bourbon, vanilla extract and salt together at medium speed for about 2-3 minutes until thoroughly blended. Add the melted butter-chocolate mixture and beat for another minute or so to blend the ingredients thoroughly. Fold in the nuts. Spoon the mixture into the partially baked crust. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on a cake rack.

Makes 8 servings

Roasted Pineapple Salad with Avocado, Arugula and Greens

We eat salads throughout the year but have them much more often when the weather gets warm. Frequently I’ll toss together some greens, dress them with vinaigrette and it’s done.

But — in the summer, when the tomatoes are good, I’ll add one (or a few baby tomatoes).

If I have a ripe avocado, that gets thrown in.

Leftover veggies, occasionally.

Croutons, sometimes.

You get the picture right?

Salads are among the most versatile and flexible of recipes.

So, this week, when I went to prepare a salad for dinner I opened the fridge to find the remnants of a cut up pineapple. And I decided to use them in the place of croutons. Same look — cut-up cubes — but I roasted and caramelized the pieces (thanks to a bit of honey or maple syrup) and this addition of lightly sweet, roasted fruit, took the salad into a completely new, different and delicious direction. Sweet (pineapple), creamy (avocado), bitter (arugula) all in balance.

When we finished I realized that I could also have added a few roasted cashews.

Next time.

Roasted Pineapple Salad with Avocado, Arugula and Greens

• 2 cups cut up bite size pineapple chunks

• 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup

• 2 cups packed cut up salad greens (about 3 ounces)

• 1 cup packed baby arugula (about 1-1/2 ounces)

• 1 peeled avocado, cut into bite size pieces

• 1/4 cup chopped red onion

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

• Aleppo pepper or freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the pineapple on the baking sheet. Pour the honey or maple syrup over the fruit, toss and roast for about 20 minutes, turning the pieces once or twice, or until they are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool. When cool, place in a bowl. Add the salad greens, arugula, avocado and red onion and toss the ingredients. Pour in the olive oil and toss the ingredients. Pour in the vinegar and toss. Season to taste with Aleppo pepper or freshly ground black pepper.

Makes 4-6 servings

Spaghetti with Fresh Puttanesca

We were on a cruise recently and the ship we were on had a separate pizza restaurant! So of course we had pizza a few times. The varieties were extensive — the chef made pizzas with all sorts of toppings. Mostly I like (and ate) plain pizza Margherita, sometimes topped with arugula, but one time I chose Puttanesca. It was an OMG moment.

Puttanesca is not for everyone. It’s salty and very tangy.

But I absolutely love it.

I’ve made Puttanesca sauce for spaghetti many times, usually with canned San Marzano tomatoes. But the plum tomatoes at the market recently were too good to pass up, so I went to my trusted recipe drawer, “sauce folder” and found my fresh tomato version. It was as good as I had remembered.

Here it is:

Spaghetti with Fresh Puttanesca Sauce

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 2 medium cloves garlic, chopped

• 3 anchovies, chopped (or 1 teaspoon anchovy paste)

• 4-5 large plum tomatoes

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

• pinch or two of crushed red pepper

• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• 2-3 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained

• 12-15 mixed pitted black and green imported olives, cut coarsely

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic and cook briefly. Add the anchovies (or paste), mix briefly, then add the tomatoes, basil and red pepper. Cook, over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 7-8 minutes. Stir in the capers and olives and cook for another 5-6 minutes or until it has reached the desired consistency (use 2 tablespoons of capers if you want it less tangy).

Makes enough for 1/2 pound pasta

Blueberry-Orange Crumb Cake

Post Passover — what could be better than a slice of crumb cake chock full of fresh blueberries?

Blueberry-Orange Crumb Cake

Crumb Layer:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup quick oats

• 1/2 cup shredded coconut

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest

• 6 tablespoons melted coconut oil (or use butter)

Place the flour, oats, coconut, brown sugar and orange zest in a bowl and mix until well blended. Pour in the coconut oil and blend it in. Crumble the mixture with your fingers or a fork and set it aside.

Cake:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest

• 2 large eggs

• 1 cup orange juice

• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil (or butter)

• 2 cups blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9-1/2-inch springform pan. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and orange zest in the bowl of an electric mixer. In another bowl, combine the eggs, orange juice, vanilla extract and melted coconut oil. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ones and stir only to combine: do not overbeat. Turn the batter into the prepared pan. Top with the berries. Cover with the crumb layer. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Makes one cake serving 8

Matzo Topped Turkey Pot Pie

Our first night Passover dinner always includes turkey. My grandmother served turkey on Passover, my Mom did too and so I follow our family tradition.

Also, because we are a family where some of us eat dark meat and some eat white, I roast a whole turkey (instructions here).

I change the seasonings and basting fluids from time to time. Sometimes I flavor the bird with Balsamic vinegar-ginger-pineapple and sometimes with sweet white wine and thyme, sometimes a simple sprinkle of salt, pepper, garlic and parika and a cup or two of orange juice.

My daughter Gillian is our family carver. She is so adept at carving turkey that in another century she would have had a job at some royal household or other.

There is always leftover turkey.

That means we have turkey pot pie at some point during the holiday.

Here’s my recipe for Passover Turkey Pie. Matzo crust of course!

Matzo Topped Turkey Pot Pie

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 medium onion, sliced

• 4 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick

• 2 medium all-purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size chunks

• 4 cups chopped cooked turkey

• 1-1/2 to 2 cups leftover chopped cooked vegetables

• 2-1/2 tablespoons potato starch

• 3 cups stock

• matzo

• 1 large egg

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the turkey and vegetables and stir to distribute the ingredients evenly. Sprinkle the potato starch on top and mix it into the ingredients. Pour in the stock and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened slightly. Spoon the ingredients into a casserole dish. Depending on the size of the casserole, soak one or two sheets of matzo in cool water briefly to soften the pieces. Press out extra liquid with paper towels. Place the matzo on top of the ingredients. Brush with beaten egg. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until crispy on top.

Makes 4-6 servings