viceroy burgers

Sundays are for cheaters. At least according to my friend Paul they are.

This past Sunday, I buckled under the pressure. I cheated.

For those of you who are pure at heart (or maybe for those of you who aren't so pure at heart), don't get too excited.  I wasn't part of a steamy sordid affair with a somehow inappropriate but incredibly good looking man. I'm in the middle of a two week cleanse and Sunday I gave in to a deliciously sinful burger. A burger that was worth every moment. Let me explain.

The inspiration for these burgers came long before my cleanse started and consequently a long way from home. I spent a week in Palm Springs this past February in the fabulous Viceroy Hotel which is home to a little restaurant called Citron. The restaurant was of course overpriced as most hotel restaurants are. So instead of ordering a $20 cheeseburger while lounging by the pool, my friend Jill jotted down all the ingredients to the Viceroy Burger. Horseradish aoli, balsamic onions, gruyere, bacon, blue cheese and arugula. Not one type of cheese, but two. And bacon. Now you see where the word sinful comes into play.

You can imagine my delight when she called me Sunday not only to invite me over for dinner, but to tell me we'd be making Viceroy Burgers. Then I found out Sundays are for cheaters. Perfect!

viceroy burgers
makes 4

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
3 - 4 tablespoons Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 small sweet onion, sliced
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
1-2 teaspoons horseradish
6 strips thickly sliced bacon, cooked
gruyere cheese, sliced
blue cheese, crumbled
1 1/2 cups arugula
4 whole grain rolls or buns

Season ground beef with Montreal Steak Seasoning and form into 4 patties.

Melt butter over low heat in a small skillet. Add sliced onions and cook slowly until they begin to caramelize, about 15 - 20 minutes. Meanwhile combine horseradish and mayonnaise. Set aside. Add balsamic to skillet and allow onions to cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Place burgers on hot grill and allow to cook for 4 minutes on each side. Top with blue cheese and gruyere and allow cheese to melt. Remove from grill. Dress burgers with mayonnaise, bacon, caramelized onions and arugula. Serve hot.

san juan steaks

This past Monday was great. No, really. It was! It was MLK day which meant I was thankfully home from work enjoying a completely lazy afternoon. The sun was shining and I spent most of my morning simply being quiet, enjoying some coffee and the beautiful view my oversized living room window had to offer. As I sat there reminiscing a bit, I was reminded of a weekend spent on San Juan Island last March and the amazing steaks that happened while I was there....well, maybe not just the steaks.

The trip was my first to the islands. Surprising, considering I have an odd affection for ferry boats and had lived in Seattle for almost 2 years at that point in time. I stumbled across the recipe in an adorable bookstore on San Juan after exploring the town in a light morning drizzle. Food wasn't on my mind as my friend, whose family owns the cabin we stayed in, and I poured over antiques and other odds and ends. Then I found myself in said bookstore faced with one of my biggest weaknesses, cookbooks. Suddenly all I could think of was dinner. Well, maybe not so suddenly having had only pancakes for breakfast; turns out stores close early the night before when you miss the ferry boat by one car. I suppose suddenly envisioning steak for dinner in the middle of the afternoon wasn't much of an epiphany after all. I started flipping through books and almost immediately found this recipe which was quickly committed to memory. While I wouldn't recommend eating these steaks at 11 p.m. as we did that night, I would recommend the roasted garlic mashed potatoes we had with them; recipe forthcoming. I guess the beautiful cabin, along with the beachside hot tub, great company and um....wine tasting (we'll call it that), proved to be quite a distraction from dinner. The steaks themselves were a hit and have been every time I've served them since. I suppose that's why the name has stuck.

Tip: If you don't want to spring for filet mignon, even though you should, sirloin steaks work well too. The balsamic "nap" will make almost any cut tender. Enjoy!

san juan steaks
serves 2

2 filet cuts
3-4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
salt & fresh ground pepper
4 tablespoons flour
olive oil
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup sweet vermouth
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

Pat steaks dry and let them rest for approximately 5 minutes in the balsamic vinegar to tenderize. Salt and pepper both sides. Coat one side of each steak in flour. Heat olive oil and garlic over medium - high heat in a skillet. Add steaks to skillet flour side down. Add vermouth and Worcestershire sauce to skillet. Cook steaks approximately 5-7 minutes on each side depending on how well you want them cooked (7 minutes should be medium). Remove steaks from skillet and allow them to rest. Add butter, lemon and parsley to the skillet; reduce to a sauce and serve over the steaks immediately.

meatballs

I feel my last post left something lacking. I mean, what good is a great marinara recipe without the meatballs (and fresh pasta) to go with it? Also, a friend of mine has been looking for a good meatball recipe and I can't think of a better way to pass this one along.

So here you have it, meatballs!

meatballs
yields approximately 25 - 30 
1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb ground sausage
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 C milk
1 1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 C seasoned bread crumbs, plus more if needed
1 TBL olive oil

Mix ground beef and sausage together in a large bowl with hands. Add in eggs, milk, garlic salt and pepper and mix well. Add bread crumbs. Mixture should be moist but still hold its shape if formed into meatballs.  Roll into 2 inch balls. Brown meatballs in olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once all sides have browned, transfer the meatballs to a large pot of marinara sauce and simmer until cooked through.