Eating Food

After months of thinking and planning about it, my wife and I finally got down to cooking some homemade burgers. We had initially planned to do it during the Christmas Holidays but never got around to buying the ground beef because of the Christmas rush at the supermarket.

Anyway, we found several recipes at home via my mom’s cookbooks and had actually decided to use one of them. But at the last minute, I decided to Google for some more recipe options. I found a teriyaki burger recipe online at About.com: Southern Food Recipes. It seemed easy enough. A big plus was, except for the meat, the other ingredients were readily available at our house.

I have replaced the two slices of bread (crumbled) mentioned in the recipe with commercially available bread crumbs. Moreover, I added instructions on how to cook them using an electronic grill.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 2 tablespoons bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Procedure

Combine ground beef and remaining ingredients in a large bowl; blend well. Shape beef mixture into 6 patties.

A. Using a broiler:

Broil for 10 to 15 minutes about 5 inches from heat, turning once.

B. Using an electric grill:

1.  Cook each side of the burgers at 245°C for about 3-4 minutes.

2. Reduce heat of the grill to about 200°C and continue cooking each side for another 4-5 minutes.

3. During the last minute of cooking, you may add a slice of cheese on the burgers.

Serve burgers in warm hamburger buns. You may choose to serve with fresh vegetables like lettuce, onions, tomato, and cucumber. Add condiments if desired.

Arancini di Riso - Balls

So now that you know how to cook risotto, here is something that you can do with the leftovers. I first learned about this while watching Giada de Laurentis’ show on Food Network. Eventually, I did find the recipe from Ryan & Verike’s Website: What’s for Dinner: Giada’s Arancini di Riso.

I’ve modified the recipe a bit to the portions and ingredients my wife and I use.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of leftover risotto, cooled
• 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 ounces Mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (You can use more Mozzarella and bigger cubes, if you wish)
• Olive oil

Procedure

1. In a large bowl, combine the risotto, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, Parmesan, and eggs. Mix well. Don’t be afraid to use your hand.
2. In a medium bowl or large plate, spread out the remaining 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs.
3. Using a tablespoon, get half a tablespoon of the risotto mixture and form half ball. Make sure to make a space large enough for the Mozzarella cheese cube in the middle. Place the cheese cube and cover it with another half tablespoon of the risotto mixture to make a risotto ball.
4. In a medium sauce pan, heat enough olive oil to submerge the risotto balls. To test if the oil is hot enough, sprinkle a small pinch of the breadcrumbs into the sauce pan. If the bread crumbs sizzle, then you can start cooking your risotto balls.
   

   Arancini di Riso - Oozing Mozzarella

5. Place two or three of the risotto balls into the hot oil and cook until they are a light golden brown. Once they are ready, use a slotted spoon to remove the risotto balls from the pan and transfer them unto a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Continue with the other risotto balls. As you go along cooking the other risotto balls, cooking time will become shorter as the oil heats up even more.
6. Allow the risotto balls to cool for about a minute and serve.

Basic Risotto

The first time I heard about risotto, I was watching Season 2 of Gordon Ramsay’s  Hell’s Kitchen. I then wondered what it was and how I could cook it. After a quick search in Google, I found that it was a traditional Italian rice dish and it is one of the most common ways to cook rice in Italy.

When cooking risotto, you cannot use ordinary rice. It has to be a high-starch and medium-grain rice. Typically, Carnaroli rice is used. However, Arborio rice is quite acceptable and is cheaper. It took me a while to get my hands on Arborio rice in Manila, since I was told it was only available in certain supermarkets. Luckily, I did find them being sold in SM Supermarket in SM Southmall (Las Pinas).

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