Roasted Garlic and Caramelized Onion Pasta!

   Ok guys get ready to be excited about this one! This is probably one of the better pasta dishes I've ever made. It takes a little more effort and time then my usual pastas but it is so worth it. Also this recipe being pretty budget friendly helps!  The time consuming part is your onions. Once your onions are carmelized and your garlic is roasted it comes together within a matter of minutes. Let's just jump right to it.  

 

   You want to start off making your turkey "sausage". You can use chicken or pork but I chose turkey. Use the ground turkey with white and dark meat in it. For the BEST results make this the night before so you can give all the flavors time to combine. I made it before I started making everything else and just stuck it into the fridge until I needed it. It came out just fine! Ok so in a pound to a pound and a quarter of ground turkey add:

3 cloves grated or chopped garlic

A few stems of rosemary (2-3 Tbsp)

1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 1/2 tsp paprika

1 1/2 tsp fennel seed 

Sea salt and pepper

A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil 

Side note: I always chop up my fennel seeds a bit because my husband doesn't like biting down on them.

Mix this up to make sure everything is distributed evenly throughout the turkey. Stick in the fridge covered until ready to use.

   Ok now I'm going to warn you that the rest of the recipe doesn't have the most visually appealing colors. :) 

It doesn't matter because it delicious!! 

  Now it's time to preheat your oven to 400 degrees. This is for roasting your garlic. 

I am using two heads of garlic. When you roast garlic it turns into this wonderful sweet flavor. So two heads isn't going to be overly garlicky tasting. It's a completely different flavor when it's roasted. 

Cut the tops of the bulbs off to expose most of the cloves. You can discard the top half. Place them separately on a small piece of foil. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Wrap them up in your foil and roast for 40-45 minutes. While those are roasting you will carmelize your onions. 

     So while your garlic is roasting slice up two large onions. It will look like a ton of onions but they will cook way down and develop yet another amazing sweet flavor. 

 

   To a deep skillet on medium heat melt a few pats of butter and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Let it come to a tiny simmer and add your onions and knock your heat to medium low. You might have to adjust your heat up and down. You don't want to cook your onions to quickly or burn them. They need a little time to develop that sweet delicious flavor. 

   Now toss all your onions around so they are coated in your butter and oil. Add just a pinch of sea salt and a scant teaspoon of sugar. Toss that around and cook your onions low and slow stirring occasionally. Don't let them brown. They will turn a brown color but you don't want browned (burnt) edges. Give it time. Mine took a little longer than my roasted garlic. 

 

   Ok fine I'll admit it I browned a few edges!! It's only my second time carmelizing onions ( the first being a complete fail ) so I was proud of how they turned out and hey it was still delicious!! At least they weren't burnt right?

(Oh and by the way I added a little fresh thyme to my onions. I had some In the fridge and decided to throw it in but it's completely optional.)

 

   Ok now that I got that off my chest it's time to deglaze your onions with about a half cup of dry white wine. Or any white wine for that matter. Any kind you prefer. Let that reduce some until it thickens up. 

   Now you've probably pulled your garlic bulbs out of the oven and opened the foil to let them cool. Make sure they are cool enough to handle because you are going to turn the bulb upside down and squeeze that deliciousness out. 90 percent of the time I do it while it's still a tad to hot so be careful. You will have a nice little pile of roasted garlic when you are done. 

 

   About now you can make sure the water for your pasta is working on boiling. 

Start to brown up your turkey "sausage". While your sausage is browning up add your onions and roasted garlic to a bowl. Add in about 1 1/2 cups chicken stock. Use your hand blender (immersion blender) to purée it up until it is nice and smooth. 

Have you noticed I use my immersion blender a lot? I absolutely love that thing. I was at kohls one day with my nana and she asked me if I needed one. I said yes because I really wanted to start making my own salad dressings at the time. She ended up buying me one that day and the rest is history.

Now I use it for SO MANY things it's crazy. I don't know how I ever lived without it. You can pick them up pretty cheap too. I've seen cute colorful ones at Gordmans for like 10 bucks!!! If you don't have one definitely go pick one up. You won't regret it! 

   Ok back to the food. Your puréeing your onions, garlic and chicken stock. 

Yum! 

Hey make sure you've dropped your pound of rigatoni into your salted boiling water. 

  When your sausage is browned up add your garlic and onion mixture to it along with about 3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream. ( half and half works too )

   Stir this around without simmering it. You don't want this on to high of heat. Your milk could separate. Now add a good amount of Parmesan cheese!! 

   Stir this up until your cheese is all melted into the sauce. 

Drain your pasta and add the sauce to it and toss vigorously to combine. 

 

   Ok my mouth is watering! This pasta to SO good!!! A little time consuming with the onions and garlic but so worth it in the end. You have that delicious sweetness from your onions and roasted garlic with a little bit of spice in the background from your sausage. 

Everything balances out perfect. I will be making this again soon. ( I will let you know how my onions turn out next time. ;) ) 

  I really think you guys will enjoy this dish. Thank you to everyone who reads my blog! 

It would be awesome if you guys would look me up on Facebook and like my page. Just search Pinch of Sea Salt Blog.

More posts coming very very soon so make sure you like my Facebook page so you can get updates!!! :)) 

Steakhouse Burger With Steak Fries!

   I know everyone knows how to make a burger but I've made a vow to start blogging more!! Sometimes I don't blog if what I make for dinner is super simple. I want to show you guys anything and everything I make. I've also started a Facebook fan page that I will link at the bottom of this post. If you read my blog please like my fan page!! I would like to know how many of you guys are out there reading!!! ;)

   So usually I add several ingredients to my burgers to add more flavor. This time I only added a couple tablespoons of worcestershire sauce to the ground chuck and that's it. I wanted to really taste the burger and not a bunch of other things. But there are SO many ways to season and flavor a burger. This is just the simplest way to do so and your burger is still going to be awesome!!! I use a couple of tricks while making burgers so let's get started. 

   First thing I started were the steak fries. It was only my husband and I eating so I only used two large Idaho potatoes. (I made 4 burgers so we could have leftovers.) Preheat your oven to 500. Yes 500 degrees! :) 

Cut each potato in half. Then in half again. Then again. You should have 8 large steak fries per person. 

   Put your fries on a baking sheet and coat with extra virgin olive oil, pepper and sea salt. I also added some steak seasoning to them. I used A1 steak seasoning on mine. 

Bake those at 500 degrees for 10 minutes. Now turn your oven down to 450 and bake another 30-35 minutes. Toss them around twice during that time.

   While your fries are cooking add about two tablespoons of worcestershire sauce to one pound of ground sirloin or ground chuck. I used ground chuck. 

 

   Make sure you don't over mix the meat. It can make your burgers tough. When I form my patties I divide my meat evenly into four burgers per pound. Roll it into a ball then slap it between each hand while rotating and while using your thumb around to edges pressing inward. The burger patty should be a perfect circle. Now make an indention in the center of your patty. This will help your burger cook evenly. You know how your burger always puffs up a little? Now it will puff up into an even patty without pushing down on it with your spatula. Pushing down on your burger while it's cooking will dry it out. Your pushing all of the juices out when you do that! Try it. You'll be able to tell the difference. Your burger will me a lot more "juicy". :) 

Now season the outside of your burgers with sea salt and pepper. Salt on the outside of your burger will help it brown. 

   Right before you start cooking your burgers fry up some bacon. I usually put a cooking rack in a pan and put the bacon on top so the grease can drop away from it while it cooks but my cooking rack is missing in action so I had to compromise! ;) 

Bake your bacon right in the oven with your fries until it is crispy. 

   Now add some extra virgin olive oil to your pan on about medium to medium-high. When your oil is nice and hot add your burgers. Only flip them one time! Let one side get nice and brown and flip them. Right after you flip them put your cheese on top so it can melt. I used a horseradish provel and man it was yummy!!!!

 

   While your burgers cook lightly butter your buns. I usually stick them under the broiler to toast them but since I'm making fries and bacon I will just cook them in a skillet. It's the same concept and making a grilled cheese. Your just browning the butter on the bread. Do this low and slow to get a nice golden bun. If you do this on to high of heat you'll likely burn your butter. 

  I cooked the bacon until crispy and pulled both the bacon and fries out of the oven.

    After the second side of your burger is browned up place it on your golden bun and top with some bacon and any other toppings you desire. Serve up with your steak fries. 

Burger night in my house was delicious!! 

Plus my husband loved the steak fries!

I hope you guys enjoy! 

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Spicy Chipotle Beef Stroganoff!

   We are moving very soon (fingers crossed everything goes well) and I will be able to cook more! I'm so excited. I have the cooking itch bad!!! It will be a lot less stressful and way more organized in our new place so I can actually enjoy cooking again. 

   Last night the itch got so bad I went to the grocery store at 10pm and got some stuff to make this amazing Spicy Chipotle Beef Stroganoff. First off I absolutely adore beef stroganoff. I remember being so happy when mom was making it for dinner. This just has a spicy kick to it that amps the dish up to the next level. 

  I fell in love with this recipe after finding it on a Rachael Ray website. This is my second time making it and it was just as good as I remember. I even made it a little more spicy than last time. You can make this recipe to your spicy liking. So if you like your food more mild it's easy to adjust the heat. Well let's get started!!

  As you all know I am famous for changing recipes. In this recipe the only thing I really changed was the cut of beef used. You can choose any type you like. (Especially if it's on sale!) I ended up using a ribeye. It turned out fantastic! 

I started out my sticking the ribeye in the freezer for about 10 mins so when I was slicing it I could get thin strips more easily. While your slicing your meat heat some vegtable oil in your pan so it can get HOT! You can use any high temperature oil. 

Make sure you start boiling water for your pasta. 

   Now brown your beef until it starts to get a deep brown color then take it out of the pan and set aside. While your meat is browning slice up about 8 oz of mushrooms. I used baby bellas. Make sure you wipe them off with a damp paper towel to get all the dirt off them. (I don't buy mine pre-sliced so they are easier to clean.) Do not rinse them in water because they will soak up the water and will turn rubbery when cooked. Plus they won't brown up well if they are "waterlogged".

   Now add a little more oil to your pan and get it hot again. Do not salt the mushrooms until they are browned up. Salt draws moister out and they won't brown well like that either. Man mushrooms are finicky arn't they?

  Make sure you don't burn them. While they are cooking slice up a softball sized onion and chop a few sprigs of fresh thyme up. (Remove the leaves from stem first!) If you have never used fresh herbs please please try it! You will never go back to dried after smelling the fresh! Especially thyme. The aroma is AMAZING! 

Add the onion, thyme and a few grated cloves of garlic to your browned mushrooms. Reduce heat and salt the veggies. You are just softening the onion not browning them. 

Now is the time to drop your pasta into salted boiling water. I used 3/4 pound of egg noodles. (If you use the whole pound make sure you make a tad extra sauce.)

   

   While your onions are softening now would be a good time to purée your chipotle in adobo. I had done it beforehand but at this point in the recipe is probably the most convenient time since the onions take a few minutes. Just add a splash of beef stock to help it purée smooth. 

   Now your onions should be softened up and ready for the next step. Deglaze the pan with a cup to a cup and a quarter of beef stock. Add about three huge tablespoons of sour cream or Creme fresh and one tablespoon of your puréed chipotle in adobo. (I used 2 heaping tablespoons of the chipotle and adobo but we like spicy!) Adjust it to your family's taste. 

   Mix it all together and add your beef. Season and taste. Let simmer for a minute or two then add your pasta. 

   Toss your noodles and sauce vigorously until well combined. 

Plate up and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro. This garnish really brings an amazing finish to the dish. It probably helps that I'm a huge cilantro fan. :)

   This dish is so incredibly easy and fast. It should only take about 30 minutes to make. My husband and I love spicy food but remember you can adjust the heat of your dish. You can even remove the seeds from the peppers in the adobo before puréeing to give the dish more of a smoky flavor than spicy. I hope you guys enjoy!

I hope you come back to visit because as soon as we move I will be cooking up a storm!!! Stay tuned! :)

Shopping list:

• 1 pound beef of your choice
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1/2 pound mushrooms
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 large cloves garlic, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1-1 1/4 cup beef stock
• 1-3 tablespoons pured chipotle in adobo sauce 
• 1/3 cup sour cream or creme frache
• 3/4 pound dried egg noodles
• Chopped cilantro, for garnish

Update:

   I forgot to tell you guys after I purée the chipotle and adobo I put it in a zip lock bag and freeze it. That makes it so much easier for the next time I need it. Just break and peice off the size you need!! 

:)