The Squeeze Inn Cheeseburger

Drew and I hit up Squeeze Inn in Napa last week to try their famous Squeeze Inn burger with cheese.  I posted the picture above on Facebook and I had a trillion comments asking where in the world they could find this restaurant so I figured it was worthy of its own blog post.  The Squeeze Inn has various location in Sacramento and just opened up in Napa.  It's a small joint with a long counter where locals (mostly high school kids) roll up their sleeves and get down.  The menu is small, I mean it's really about the burger, so don't expect much variety.  It's cheap, delicious and I suggest you workout before you go or the next day.  Go and get yourself some!

The Squeeze Inn Cheeseburger

Japanese Hamburgers

I have a friend that swears by this recipe. I had her over on Sunday night for Shrimp & Grits and she wouldn't stop talking about it so I asked for the recipe. She came across it on a fellow blog, Just Hungry. The two biggest differences? Adding pork to the meat and the sauce made with tonkatsu. Give it a try.

Japanese style hamburger (Hambaagu or hambaagaa)

This makes 4 small hamburgers, serving 2 to 4 people depending on what else you are serving.

• 200g/ about 7 oz. ground beef (from a cut that has a fair amount of fat in it - very lean beef will not work because it will be too dry.)
• 100g / about 3 1/2 oz. ground pork
• 1/2 medium onion
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• About 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• About 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 cup soft white breadcrumbs (Make the breadcrumbs from regular white bread slices with the crusts off. The crumb of a baguette is really good for this.)
• 2-3 Tbs. milk
• 1 egg
• Oil for cooking

For the sauce:

• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup Japanese tonkatsu sauce such as Bulldog brand

Chop the onion very finely. Sauté the onion in a little oil until translucent. Let cool.

Moisten the breadcrumbs with the milk. Combine the meat, cooled onions, moistened milk, egg, salt, ground pepper and nutmeg. Your hands are the best tools for this. Combine well until everything is amalgamated.

Divide into 4 portions. Form into patties, slapping each with your palms until the surface is smooth. Indent the middle with your thumb - this makes sure the middle gets cooked evenly.

Heat up a large frying pan with some oil over high heat. Place the hamburgers well apart in the hot pan, and fry until browned. Turn over and turn the heat down to low. Put a tight fitting lid on the pan and steam-cook the hamburgers for about 10 minutes until the middle bounces back if you press down on it. Take out and keep warm.

Pour out any excess oil from the pan and turn the heat up to high again. Add the red wine and deglaze the pan with it (scrape off the brown bits and blend). Add the ketchup and the Bulldog sauce and blend. Pour over the hamburgers.

They are best served piping hot, but they are also very popular for bento boxes.

Japanese Hamburgers

Bacon and Pimento Cheese Burgers

This week, I invited a group of friends up from the city to do a day of wine tasting, swimming and BBQ at our place in Napa. I figured that after a long day of tasting wine nothing would hit the spot more than this Bacon Pimento Cheese Burger. Pimento cheese is a childhood friend of mine and it reminds me so much of home and my mom's house.

I'm going to add about a 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce to the meat along with seasoning and worcestershire sauce. The hint of BBQ flavor should go great with the smokiness of the bacon and the heat from the jalapenos.

Bacon and Pimento Cheese Burgers
Serves 4

2 lbs of ground beef (80/20)
8 slices of bacon
1 cup of grated cheddar cheese
1/4 c pimento
1/8 chopped jalapenos
1/4 cup of mayo
Salt and pepper to taste

Fry bacon until done and set aside.

Mix cheese, pimentos, jalapenos and mayo in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to liking. Set aside.

Season meat and form into patties (add BBQ and worcestershire sauce to the meat if you would like). Turn grill to medium heat. Add burger patties to grill and cook 5 minutes per side. Add cheese and bacon on top of each patty and close cover for 1 more minute until melted. Serve on toasted bun with lettuce, red onion and sliced tomatoes.

Bacon and Pimento Cheese Burgers

Bacon Swiss Burgers with Tomato and Avocado

It's almost impossible to make it through Memorial Day Weekend without grilling burgers. Whether it's turkey, veggie, lamb or beef, chances are you'll be at least eating one. Nothing beats grilling with friends and family on a sunny afternoon with some cold beers. It's the type of meal where everyone can chip in on prep and groceries and clean up is usually a snap if you use disposable plates and utensils. The best part about BBQ is that you usually eat more than once. In fact, seconds and thirds are often encouraged. So, dust off your grill, chill some beers and get a group together. Here's a burger recipe that is sure to hit the spot.

Bacon Swiss Burgers with Tomato and Avocado

• 8 slices of bacon
  
• 1 pound ground beef chuck or sirloin
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 or 2 dashes Tabasco sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Vegetable oil, for grilling
• 4 slices Swiss cheese
• 4 hamburger buns, toasted, for serving
• Thinly sliced ripe tomato, for garnish
• Thinly sliced red onion, for garnish
• Sliced ripe avocado, for garnish
• Boston lettuce leaves, for garnish

1. If you will be grilling the burgers, preheat a barbecue grill to medium-high.

2. While the grill is heating up, cook the bacon on the stovetop in a large skillet over medium-low heat until it is just crisp, 6 to 7 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and set it aside to drain. (If you prefer to panfry the burgers, reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat in the skillet.)

3. Place the beef, Worcestershire, Tabasco, thyme, and salt and pepper in a bowl, and toss lightly with a fork to combine. Form the mixture into 4 patties, each about 3 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick.

4. When you are ready to grill the burgers, oil the grill grate well. Add the burgers and grill for about 3 minutes for rare, 4 minutes for medium-rare meat. Turn them over and grill for another 3 or 4 minutes, topping the burgers with the cheese in the last minute of cooking. (Or panfry the burgers in the hot bacon fat over medium heat for 3 minutes per side for rare meat, adding the cheese as described.)

5. Place the burgers on the toasted buns, and top them with the bacon, tomato, onion, avocado, and lettuce. Cover with the tops of the buns and serve immediately.

Bacon Swiss Burgers with Tomato and Avocado

Repeat Offender: Moroccan-spiced lamb burgers with beet, red onion, and orange salsa

It was never my intention to post the same recipe on the blog twice but I can't seem to get this one out of my head and I am scared that if I don't share it with you again that you'll miss out. You see, this is the mother of all burgers in my opinion and people LOVE it. It's colorful, flavorful and down-right redonkulous. Can't wait to whip these up for my family next week when I finally get to Napa for the summer.

Moroccan-spiced lamb burgers with beet, red onion, and orange salsa

I add more cilantro and jalapeno to my mixture and leave the olives out. Olives and I can't seem to get along...

Salsa
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
2 beets, boiled, peeled, cut into 1/3-inch cubes
1 large orange, peel and pith cut away, flesh cut into 1/3-inch cubes
1 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped pitted green Greek olives

Burgers
1 large shallot, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeño chile, seeded, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 3/4 pounds ground lamb
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

4 large cracked-wheat hamburger buns, split horizontally1 1/3 cups thinly sliced Bibb lettuceMayonnaise

PreparationFor salsa: Whisk first 3 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Mix in next 4 ingredients. Season salsa to taste with salt and pepper.Do ahead: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover and chill.

For burgers: Stir shallot, cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, salt, black pepper, paprika, and cumin in large bowl to blend. Add lamb and mix gently to combine. Shape mixture into four 1/2-inch-thick patties. Arrange on small baking sheet. Do ahead: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover and chill.Spray grill rack with nonstick spray and prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Grill buns, cut side down, until golden, about 2 minutes; transfer to work surface. Place lettuce and large spoonful of salsa on each bun bottom. Grill burgers until slightly charred and cooked to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Place 1 burger on each bun. Top each with mayonnaise and bun top. Serve with remaining salsa.

Repeat Offender: Moroccan-spiced lamb burgers with beet, red onion, and orange salsa

Chicken Sausage Burgers with Balsamic Onion Barbeque Sauce

Well, I have finally found something blog-worthy as my first post...

I found this recipe in Rachel Ray's "Just in Time." It says it is a 30 minute meal but I would disagree with that. It's easy and fun to make but it takes about an hour (but then again, I'm cooking in a kitchen at school that hasn't been updated since the Reagan administration.) Anyway, here is the recipe:

Chicken Sausage Burgers with Balsamic Onion Barbecue Sauce

4 tablespoons EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil), plus more for liberal drizzling
1/4 pound pancetta, chopped
2 red onions, chopped, and 1/2 small red onion very thinly sliced
Salt and black pepper
1 fresh or dried bay leaf (I didn't use this, though, and it still was delicious)
2 pounds ground chicken
1 1/2 tablespoons of fennel seed, lightly toasted
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more if you want it extra spicy
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Zest and juice of 1 orange
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary, from 4 to 5 sprigs
4 garlic cloves, finely grated
A couple of generous handfuls of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano cheese (I used Parm)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (eyeball it)
1/2 cup aged balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons honey or dark brown sugar (I used honey)
2 ripe tomatoes sliced
8 to 10 fresh basil leaves, torn
1/2 Belgian endive, chopped
1 cup arugula leaves, shredded
1/2 head of radicchio, chopped
4 crusty rolls, split, toasted, and drizzled with EVOO (the recipe says it serves 4, but the burgers were HUGE... I would say maybe 5 to 6)

Preheat a grill pan or outdoor grill to medium-high.

Place 2 tablespoons of the EVOO in a pot over medium-high heat. If you're cooking outside, you can put the pot right on the grill. Add the pancetta to the pot and cook and stir to crisp it up, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chopped onions to the pot and season them with salt and pepper; go heavy on that pepper, because it will really balance out the sweetness of your sauce later on. Add the bay leaf.

While the onions cook, place the ground chicken in a bowl and add the fennel seed, red pepper flakes, allspice, orange zest, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper, and cheese. Mix the meat with the seasonings and use the side of your hand to score the mixture into 4 equal portions. Form each portion into a large patty. Make a shallow dent into the center of each patty to prevent the burger from bulging as it cooks. Drizzle the patties liberally with EVOO and grill for 6 to 7 minutes on each side.

When the onions are very soft and begin to caramelize, remove the bay leaf and add the Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, honey or brown sugar, and the orange juice. Let the sauce continue cooking to thicken and sweeten up for 6 to 7 minutes, or until the liquids are syrupy. Add more black pepper to taste.

While the onions cook, arrange the tomato slices on a plate. Sprinkle with the red onion slices and basil leaves and drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of EVOO. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix the chopped endive, shredded arugula, and chopped radicchio together. Pile some of the chopped lettuces on the bun bottoms, then top with the burgers and lots of onion barbeque sauce. Set the bun tops in place and serve with the tomato salad.

ENJOY! (For dessert, I recommend mints for your breath...)

Chicken Sausage Burgers with Balsamic Onion Barbeque Sauce