Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book (30 page)

SERVES 4 REALLY HUNGRY PEOPLE

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Arrange the bacon strips on a slotted broiler pan and bake until crisp, 15 to 20 minutes.

Use your hands to combine the meats in a bowl with the paprika, poultry seasoning, grill seasoning, parsley, and shallots. Score the meat into 4 equal portions with the side of your hand, and form each portion into a patty. Make them thinner at the center and thicker at the edges for even cooking. Heat the EVOO in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Cook the burgers for 14 to 15 minutes, turning once.

Pour the buttermilk into a bowl and stir in the garlic, lemon juice, hot sauce, chives, and salt and pepper.

Split and toast the rolls.

Place a burger on each bun bottom and top with 2 slices of the bacon and 2 lettuce leaves. Season the tomatoes, arrange them on top of the lettuce, and top with 2 avocado slices. Slather the bun tops with the buttermilk dressing and set in place.

SERVES 4 to 6

Place the potatoes in a pan with water to cover. Bring to a boil, salt the water, and cook until the potatoes are just tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return them to the hot pot to dry out for a minute or two. Transfer the potatoes to a bowl and gently combine with the scallions and salsa. Serve warm or chilled.

BISTRO NIGHT AT HOME

•
PROVENÇAL CHICKEN BURGERS WITH PISSALADIÈRE TOPPING

•
ROASTED BEANS AND TOMATOES

Here, the burgers carry the flavor of a traditional French sausage. They are topped with cheese and with caramelized onions flavored with olives and anchovies—the topping of
pissaladière,
my favorite savory French tart. Ooh-la-la!

SERVES 4

Combine 1 tablespoon of the EVOO and the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook slowly for 20 minutes to caramelize the onions a golden brown. Stir in the olives and anchovy paste and cook for 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat.

While the onions cook, in a bowl use your hands to combine the chicken with the herbes de Provence, fennel seeds, lemon zest, garlic, and salt and pepper. Score the meat into 4 equal portions with the side of your hand, and form each portion into a large patty. Heat the remaining tablespoon of EVOO in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the patties for 6 minutes on each side. During the last 2 minutes of cooking time, place a slice of cheese on each burger and loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil to melt the cheese. Serve the burgers on buns topped with lettuce and caramelized onion topping, with some olive-oil potato chips and roasted beans and tomatoes alongside.

SERVES 4

Preheat the oven to 450°F with an empty rimmed baking sheet on an upper rack. Coat the beans and tomatoes with EVOO and season them with salt and pepper. Pour the beans and tomatoes onto the hot baking sheet and roast for 22 to 25 minutes, until tender and caramelized.

Sloppy Hot Wing Joes

GUILTLESS PLEASURES

•
SLOPPY HOT WING JOES

• SMASHED POTATO SKINS

I cannot provide enough figure-friendly replacements for the artery-clogging guilty pleasure of Buffalo-style hot wings. Here's one more to add to your arsenal in the battle of the bulge. The potatoes taste like skins with sour cream and the works, but they are broiled, not fried. The bacon is baked on a slotted broiler pan so the fat drains away. The sour cream is replaced with buttermilk, which is tangy but made from skimmed milk. I use super-sharp cheddar cheese, so a little goes a long way!

SERVES 6

Heat the EVOO in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meat and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Add the carrots, celery, onions, and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 7 to 8 minutes more. Combine the vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire, hot sauce, tomato sauce, and stock in a mixing cup and pour over the contents of the pan. Mix thoroughly, and simmer for a few minutes more.

Split the rolls and toast under the broiler or in a toaster oven. Pile the sloppy Buffalo-style filling onto buns and top with blue cheese crumbles and chopped pickles.

SERVES 6

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Arrange the bacon on a slotted broiler pan and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until crisp. Let the bacon cool for a few minutes, then chop into small bits.

Halve the potatoes and place them in a medium pot with water to cover. Bring the water to a boil, season the water with salt, and cook the potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return them to the hot pot. Mash the potatoes with the buttermilk, chives, and cheddar, then season with salt and pepper. Fold in the bacon and serve.

Ham Burger

This burger tastes like a Sunday-supper of glazed baked ham with pineapple. The idea for it came from a big, sweet ham in my life—my talented and always hungry hubby, John. Honey, open wide and ham it up!

Serve this with an oil and vinegar slaw salad.

SERVES 4