aMeRiCaN / aSiaN FuSioN...

I am going to attempt to entice you to try something and let's not laugh, shall we?

My mom is filipina and for as long as I can remember, she used to make aMeRiCaN FRieD RiCe :o) Sound a little strange? It is so delicious and you can do anything you want when it comes to this, swap ingredients in and out, your choice.

My mothers' recipe called for bacon, hot dogs, eggs, rice and soy sauce. I added minced garlic, onions(sometimes green, mostly your everyday variety of yellow). You can change it to suit your tastes. Feel free to experiment with the meats, use ham if you like!

The only trick to fried rice is you have to use rice that has been sitting in the refrigerator for at least a day. The rice tends to separate faster (because the rice kernels have crystallized a bit) when you pre-separate it in preparation for the stir fry. If you try to use freshly cooked rice then it will definitely clump up and gunk up and YUCK! I also use jasmine rice for all my asian meals. I just love the way it smells and tastes. I have several different rice varieties in my pantry at any given time and jasmine is definitely my most consumed.

First you saute the bacon until it is done and then crumble it. Most of the time I precut the bacon, I find it cooks a bit faster and then the pieces are more uniform. Then I remove the bacon, set aside, along with most of the bacon grease in a separate bowl for disposal but I do leave a little grease to fry the hot dogs in. The hot dogs I precut into half and then quarters lengthwise and then cubes and toss in and fry till slightly crispy. I then remove that and take a couple of beaten eggs and add it to the skillet and I start moving the spatula around right away. It makes the eggs stay a little more separate so you don't have such large chunks of eggs. Once the eggs have just set, I add the chopped onions to the skillet and then the reserved hot dogs and bacon and some freshly minced garlic. Lastly I add the rice and lightly add a little soy sauce to season. I am not one for dousing rice with soy sauce and I always use lower sodium.

Here is a photo for your viewing pleasure! It does sound a bit strange but it's a great way to use up leftover rice. I hope you give it a try sometime, see if you like it!



(btw, my favorite fried rice is garlic fried rice and I get it from one of the local filipino restaurants in the area! I love it! The secret...use LOTS OF MINCED GARLIC!)

BuRGeRS, THe WaY iT'S SuPPoSeD To Be

What is it about hamburgers that used to make me nervous about getting them right. Mine were always too thick or not juicy. I always wanted to reach for the box of ol' reliable bubba burgers. At a cost of about $10 for 6-8 burgers (approx. 1/3 lb each), that can be more like $4-5/lb for ground beef. Kinda high imho, soooo...

I once watched Paula Deen on tv add water to her hamburger meat and grill it. Tried it, okay, but nothing to write home about.

What do those Bubba people know that I don't know anyway???

So one day I decided to make my own BUBBA burgers. I pulled out my digital scale, hamburger patty maker, wax paper and a cookie sheet and got to work. I cut the wax paper (more like ripped...) into 6x6 inch squares. Make sure the scale is tared. The scale seems a bit much, BUT have you ever noticed that bakeries use scales? It's for the consistency. Without a scale, you can get CLOSE but that may mean the difference between a dried up patty or a juicy one. Measure out about .65 oz of ground beef for each patty(I use 81%, you ARE grilling and the grease WILL cook out). If you decide to go with a leaner blend, they may wind up dry. Place this meat into the patty maker and depress. I then remove the patty and flatten it a bit more carefully to spread out the patty. The idea is to get them about 1 inch thick keeping the nice shape, they'll shrink yet still fill the bun. I lay them on a wax paper lined cookie sheet and freeze for about 1 hour covered with wax paper. Remove and vacuum seal or bag, removing as much air as possible. When you purchase the ground beef on sale, approx. $2/lb, it is a great deal cheaper to do it this way.

Now for the grilling...Throw the burgers on the PREHEATED grill FROZEN. These will not take long to grill. Leave them on, do not flip until you see some nice grilling color all over the patty, then flip.

It has taken me many years to try this and I don't want you to waste another day looking for a solution to your burger grilling problem.

I always visit my local salad bar and pick up fixins to top my burger. Like olives? Try an green olive burger but mixing green sliced olives stuffed with pimientos along with some miracle whip salad dressing. Spoon on top of the burger. I prefer mine with a slice of cheese romaine lettuce, red onion, tomato and ketchup with mayo.

Try this burger tip. See if it works for you :o)