Entrees

Classic Hamburgers

July 8, 2009 by Charles 2 Comments

Jeffrey Tennyson, an artist and satirist, once remarked that the real American icon is not apple pie, but the hamburger. And Tennyson would know; he spent a good part of his life writing about the hamburger and collecting hamburger memorabilia. When it opened in 1993, Tennyson’s memorabilia formed the core collection of the now-defunct Hamburger Hall of Fame, in Seymour, Wisconsin.

Seymour, Wisconsin, according to some, is the birthplace of the hamburger. In 1885, Charles Nagreen stuck a meatball between two slices of bread, and served the sandwich at the Seymour fair, giving rise to what would later become the modern burger.

Meanwhile, in New Haven Connecticut, Louis Lassen was busy grilling the leftover trimmings …

Grilled Tuna Steaks with Curried Couscous

June 28, 2009 by Charles 2 Comments

After I made the curried couscous, I thought it would make a great base on which to lay an entrée. Always eager to fire up the grill in our courtyard, I decided on tuna steaks. As luck would have it, the colors and flavors of each worked well together.

I cooked the tuna for four minutes on each side, with the grill cover up. The steak cooked through but without being tough or overdone. If your preference …

Croque Norvegien

May 31, 2009 by Charles 2 Comments

If you’ve ever been in a Parisian café, you’ve seen Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle at work. In this environment, waiters move about like errant electrons, brushing past you with little care for their momentum, their movements, or their duties. To a stationary observer, it is impossible to know both the location of a server and the speed at which he is ignoring you.

The croque-monsieur made its debut in 1910, in a café on the Boulevard des Capucines. The origins of the name are unknown, but I suspect the etymology is quintessentially French. An exasperated Frenchman …

Almond Butter, Banana, and Membrillo Sandwich

May 24, 2009 by Charles 1 Comment

The PB&J Sandwich needs no introduction. Its ingredients and structure are tried and true. Add slices of banana, and the PBB&J Sandwich might merit a fleeting handshake. But the ABB&M Sandwich is all but unknown – a foreign dignitary of sorts, whose presence deserves a formal introduction.

Membrillo is Spanish for quince, a lumpy, yellow-green fruit that resembles a cross between an apple and a pear. The quince, born in the Caucasus, dates back to man’s earliest conquests and temptations. The quince started the Trojan War, after Paris awarded the fruit to Aphrodite for the hand of Helen of Troy. The quince is also said to be the apple that tempted Adam and Eve. Which may have been somewhat disappointing for Eve, since the quince is a hard and bitter fruit. Only a few varieties can be eaten raw.

In its modern form, membrillo usually refers to …

Chinese Chicken Salad

April 30, 2009 by Charles 4 Comments

As I’ve mentioned previously, chicken salad is one of my lunch-time staples. Almost without fail, Sunday nights are devoted to preparing my tried-and-true chicken salad for the work week ahead. That said, everyone can use some amount of variety. So, in the spirit of variety, I decided to try a different type of chicken salad. My sense of lunch-time adventure obviously knows no bounds.

This recipe, like the other chicken salad, comes together very quickly, and is perfect served cold. But unlike the other recipe, this Asian version has a little more punch to it…