Mini Cuban "Fritas" Burgers

After the fact, I found out that in Cuba, these delicious little "Fritas" are made from chorizo rather than ground beef. While these were quite tasty as they were, I swoon imagining them with spicy chorizo! This Ingrid Hoffman recipe is my submission to this week's Food Network Chefs Cooking Challenge. I prepared it on time but ran into some unforseen computer problems and couldn't get it posted until today. Head over to I Blame My Mother to see what everyone else whipped up this week.

Mini Cuban "Fritas" Burgers
Recipe courtesy of Ingrid Hoffman

1 1/2 cups dried bread crumbs
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
1 large yellow onion, grated on the large-hole side of a box grater
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 pounds lean ground beef
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from about 1 lime)
3 tablespoons ketchup, plus extra for serving
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tablespoon salt
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 mini hamburger rolls or Cuban rolls


Place the bread crumbs in a large bowl. Cover with milk and soak for 2 minutes. Add the onion, the beaten egg, ground beef, lime juice, ketchup, garlic powder, salt, and paprika and work the ingredients together with your hands or a wooden spoon just until combined. Form the mixture into 12 small 1-inch thick patties and refrigerate them for at least 45 minutes or up to 8 hours.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add about 1/2 of the burgers and brown them on each side, flipping with spatula, 5 to 7 minutes. Set the fritas on the rolls and cook the remaining burgers. Serve with generous amounts of ketchup.

Ina Garten's Lemon and Garlic Roast Chicken

Every once in awhile I try to make something meat-like for the carnivorous members of my family. Since my oldest was home from college, I decided to roast a chicken. (Something I don't do very often. I tend to stick to chicken breasts.) I chose Ina Garten's Lemon and Garlic Roast Chicken and I'm glad I did. The chicken was moist and tender (or so I was told). The prep work was simple. And it must have been tasty; The picky girls kept coming back for more!

Ina Garten's Lemon and Garlic Roast Chicken is the recipe I'm submitting for the Food Network Chefs Cooking Challenge this week. Head over here to see what everyone else made this week. Next week's chef  will be Ingrid Hoffman.


 Ina Garten's Lemon and Garlic Roast Chicken
Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten

Serves: 3 to 4 servings
1 (5 to 6-pound) roasting chicken
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme
4 lemons
3 heads garlic, cut in 1/2 crosswise
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 pound sliced bacon
1 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pinfeathers and pat the outside dry. Place the chicken in a large roasting pan. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the thyme, reserving enough thyme to garnish the chicken dish, 1 lemon, halved, and 2 halves of the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Cut 2 of the lemons in quarters and scatter the quarters and remaining garlic around the chicken. Lay the bacon slices over the chicken to cover.

Roast the chicken for 1 hour. Remove the bacon slices from the top of the chicken and set aside. Continue roasting the chicken for an additional 1/2 hour, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove to a platter and cover with aluminum foil while you prepare the gravy.

Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the bottom of the pan. Add the wine and chicken stock and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, or until reduced by half.

Slice the chicken on a platter. Garnish the chicken platter with the bacon slices, roasted garlic, reserved thyme and 1 lemon, sliced. Serve with the gravy.

Killer Inside Out Burger

I don't remember making any of Guy Fieri's recipes before but this is one I will definitely remember. Think delicious burger with melted cheese and spicy Chorizo sausage inside, topped with a spicy homemade ketchup. Yum! I thought Guy's Killer Inside Out Burger sounded great so I wasn't really surprised about how it tasted. What amazed me is how simple the burgers were to put together. Definitely a hit. My nephew was visiting from college and he gave it a thumbs up too.

This will be my contribution to the Food Network Chefs Cooking Challenge this week. Haven't heard of it? A great group of people have decided to cook their way through the roster of Food Network chefs. This week was Guy Fieri. Next week is Ina Garten. They pick the chef. You pick the recipe. How fun! Head on over here to see what everyone else fixed.

Killer Inside Out Burger

Recipe courtesy of Guy Fieri

1/4 pound bacon, chopped

1/2 cup minced red onion

3 tablespoons fresh uncooked chorizo, out of casing

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 pounds ground chuck, 80/20 mix

1/2 pound Swiss cheese, thinly sliced, about 8 slices

4 kaiser rolls, split and toasted

In a medium pan over medium to high heat, add bacon and onions, cook until the bacon is rendered but not crisp. Add the chorizo and cook until done. Remove the bacon mixture to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and cool.

Divide ground chuck into 8 equal parts. Form into a loose ball, and create 4-inch patties. Layer 1 piece of cheese onto the center of 1 patty. Top with 1/4 bacon mixture, another slice of cheese, then add another patty on top and gently seal edges and form into a patty, about 4 inches wide and 1 1/2 inches high. Repeat with the remaining patties to make a total of 4 large patties.

Heat a medium saute pan over medium heat. Place all 4 patties in the pan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on 1 side, then gently turn over and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, cover and pop it in a 250 degree F oven for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven, place onto rolls and serve with Worcestershire Tomato Ketchup.