Author: ceckman

Blue Apron’s Beef Patty Melts with Green & Yellow Wax Bean Salad

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I’m back everyone! My little sister was in town for a week right after we got back from Hawaii, and I’m now finally just settling in again. One of the ways I get back into the swing of things at home is of course, cooking. But in this case, I didn’t just want comfort food, I wanted something healthy. Tim and I have been doing pretty well losing weight by just eating better and I have no intention of stopping anytime soon. But healthy comfort food isn’t always an easy thing to achieve because butter. And heavy cream. And bacon. You get the idea. When I used to search for recipes I would typically just google whatever I was hungry for an add “Martha Stewart” on to the end of it. (This still works excellently just in case you were wondering). Lately though, I find I’ve been using Blue Apron’s recipe finder when I have already cooked my weekly shipment. That’s how I found this recipe and the ingredients were fairly simple to find in the grocery store. 

I started off with the prep work, which included mincing a shallot. Anything from the onion family has long been at war with me and shallots are no exception. But fear not readers, I battle my onions with a healthy set of Onion Googles. They work best when no one is around to tell you how stupid you look, but since our kitchen is our mainstay for entertainment there is always someone around to say “Chris, what are those. You are ridiculous”. That may be, but at least I can cry on my own terms this way! 

There is also a yellow onion to slice in this recipe so my googles worked double duty, but it was worth it. 

Once I was done with hell, I tossed the shallots in with the Red Wine Vinegar and prepped the green beans. I couldn’t find yellow green beans from Whole Foods this time of year, and the beans I did find were a little peeked but no big deal. Step two was fairly simple, caramelize the onion. So in they went with some olive oil and heat to my Le Cruset 4.5 Quart Round. 

Let me take a moment to tell you about how much I love my cast-iron dutch oven. When I decided I was going to be cooking more frequently, I went out and bought a very nice Cuisinart Stainless Steel Cookware Set. I immediately loved how durable it was and for the most part not too sticky. After watching Julie and Julia for the 78th time, I decided I needed whatever the hell it was they were both cooking in, which it turns out it this weird orange pot thing that costs nearly as much as an iPad. This scared me off for a while as I wasn’t quite ready to explain to Tim why this single pot cost half the price of the entire set we had just purchased a year ago. Then I met my friend Danielle. We were supposed to be cooking Boeuf Bourguignon at the house after I made her sit through the movie with me. Which she has forever slightly ruined for me, for the record. Halfway through, she chimes in “I hate Amy Adam’s hair in this movie. She looks like John Denver.”

I hate Amy Adam’s hair in this movie. She looks like John Denver.

She’s right. Just look at this photoshop I made to prove her point. 

You’re right. I do make a better cook than graphic designer. But now that image is out there, on the internet, forever. Sorry random google image search victim, but don’t blame me, blame Danielle. Anyway, I was trying to impress my new friend, so I went out and bought this thing for this one recipe. I didn’t know it would be my other new best friend. Suffice it to say this cooking vessel has become almost the only one I use to cook in anymore. It regulates heat perfectly, it’s porcelain sticks to absolutely nothing, and it can go from grill to oven to stovetop seamlessly. I have since purchased a second for big meals (think thanksgiving), and can’t imagine cooking in anything else. That being said, it took a while for the onions to caramelize so here are a few in progress shots. If your onions are like mine and pissed that they couldn’t get at you because you had such stylish goggles so are taking a lifetime to cook, take comfort for they will be lovely soon enough. 

And finally…

Beautiful. 
The rest of the recipe is fairly simple. You boil the green beans for a bit and then submerge them in ice water…

Combine the breadcrumbs (I used a piece of the marbled rye I got for the bread from Whole Foods), Worcestershire sauce, and ground beef and form into patties…

And finally make the sandwiches a lot like you would make grilled cheese. 

Fried, plated, and delicious. 

Think meatloaf sandwich with spicy green beans here. I know I rushed the end a little bit but I have to go make turkey meatballs for dinner tonight and I really needed to get this recipe posted so I can at least say I have posted SOMETHING about cooking on my blog. Signing off for now – 

Chris

Adding Social Media

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I haven’t had a Facebook in a very long time. In fact, I’ve completely shied away from Social Media the last few years. There are multiple reasons for this, but in general its made life easier for me and I haven’t missed it. 
But now I want to blog, and I am realizing that if I am ever to get any sort of traction, I’m going to need to engage – at least partially – in social media. Sort of the whole reason I created this space was to have a way to share my life and interests without Facebook. I was spending the majority of my day on it in the past and not in a very enriching way. It prevented some relationships in my life from naturally ending because it forced constant contact. It allowed people from my past to track me in a way I wasn’t a fan of. It was a security issue (not that anything isn’t anymore). That last part in the parenthesis is confusing. I mean to say that everything you say or do online is a security issue these days. There is no escaping us, me, you, if it’s out there it’s staying out there. For now anyway. 
This is getting a little deeper than I had originally intended to go. The main thing I want to say in this post is that I’ve cleaned and updated my twitter and Pinterest accounts to interact nicely with the blog. It will automatically tweet on my account when a new post has been added, and I’m experimenting with a Pinterest board as a widget below. Additionally, all posts and special pages have now been integrated with social media sharing tools so if I post something especially interesting, hilarious, or embarrassing, I’ve made it easier for you to spread around. It’s also a shameless plug for me to get more readers. Or readers that I haven’t personally begged to come here, read, and comment. Not that those readers aren’t dearly valued, they are. Just, they can’t publish me. 

Chris

Last day in Hawaii

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I’m happy to report that the rest of the time here has been exceptionally smooth sailing, without any actual sailing. We’ve been able to spend time by the pool (albeit me under an umbrella with a shirt on the whole time, but at I’m least outside), we went snorkeling this morning and got to see two sea turtles, and we’ve been dining on these amazing Mahi Mahi tacos and having fruity drinks by the pool.
Tim finished reading Unbreakable, and we tried to watch the movie last night but he was tired and I was moritifed. I have enough scary thoughts floating around in my head thank you. I like the Japanese, and I’d like to go on liking them, keeping in mind that both sides were pretty nasty to eachother during the war, and glad to not be in one myself.
Going to start work on an itineary for my little sister and her boyfriend who are coming to visit Denver next Wednesday. Excited to get home and smother my puppies, but am planning to enjoy every last minute here until I have to bid farewell to my dear friend The Ocean. I could listen to it tell the stories of uncertainty, doubt, strength, tragedy, passion, and victory all night long, but I have other plans that need attention. I have to believe that Spring is finally coming, and with it the yearly thaw of winters worries. 
What are you going to do to celebrate?