There’s a photo of the slider version of Oprah’s Turkey Burgers. Oh my. Oh so good.

And here’s a photo of the delish pear chutney that goes with the turkey burgers. These are a must – don’t make one without the other.

When I started planning, we didn’t know if we were going to have 9 or 15 family members here to celebrate our Independence Day. The group included adults and children, so I needed to find a menu that would appeal to everybody. My DH wasn’t all that thrilled when I said he was going to grill hamburgers. They’re not one of his favorite things – mostly because he doesn’t enjoy eating out of hand – he likes food on a plate with a knife and fork. Weird thing. But he’s not very picky about most things, so I just tried to humor him most times. Told him about the potato salad I was making, about the relishes, the peach dessert we’d have. The big green salad. I knew he wouldn’t go hungry. Indeed he didn’t. He absolutely loved the turkey burgers.

What I decided was this:

Chips & fresh tomato salsa
Hot chile cheese dip with Fritos
Deviled eggs

Beef burger sliders with red onion red bell pepper relish
Oprah’s (Donald Trump’s) Mar-a-Lago turkey burgers (also sliders) with pear chutney
Traditional potato salad (recipe soon)
Green salad with VIP Garlic Dressing

Desserts:
Apple pie and Peach pie
Both served with ice cream or whipped cream

As with most big gatherings, I needed to start cooking the day before. I made the relish, pear chutney and the potato salad. The morning of the 4th I had some help in the kitchen, so between my daughter Dana and me we made the green salad, the dressing and shaped all the burgers. Our daughter in law, Karen, brought the two desserts.

The sliders were all served on King’s Hawaiian bread rolls (both regular white and whole wheat). They’re soft, a bit sweet, and taste better than the soft Styrofoam that comprises most commercially-made hamburger buns. Since we were serving both beef and turkey burgers, I decided we’d have sliders (small burgers) instead of full-size burgers. Easier to eat. And more variety for everyone.

There’s quite a story behind the turkey burgers. In case you missed watching Oprah’s show that day (last month), she told the story about when she and her friend Gail went to the Mar-a-Lago (a Donald Trump resort) in Palm Beach, Florida for a couple of days. It’s a private club, apparently. Don’t know anything about how you get to stay there. Am sure it’s pricey. But anyway, Oprah decided to order the turkey burger on the menu there. She fell in love. Craved it the next meal too. And the next. And the next. Gail tried to get the recipe. Nope, they wouldn’t reveal it. So, when Oprah got back to Chicago she phoned her friend Donald Trump and asked if he’d ever had the turkey burgers at Mar-a-Lago? He scoffed. Of course not, he said. He doesn’t eat anything even related to turkey burgers. She wanted the recipe. Some negotiations later, he agreed and appeared on the show where the burgers were prepared and passed out to the audience. Oprah was in heaven since she now has the recipe. And so do we!

What’s unique about these burgers is chutney. Not just any old chutney. Major Grey’s chutney. Now we need to have a little history lesson here (thanks to Wikipedia).

• The original chutney of India was usually a relish made from fresh fruits and spices. During the colonial era the British took it home and the recipe evolved, until the commercially made mango chutney (“Major Grey’s chutney”) became the British standard chutney. Commercially made cooked chutneys are still popular in Great Britain, and are usually made of fruit (usually mangos, apples or pears), onions and raisins simmered with vinegar, brown sugar and spices for about two hours.
• Chutneys are served with almost every meal in India, especially as relishes with curries, but also as sauces for hot dishes (especially meats). They can be fresh or cooked, and are made from a wide variety of ingredients, ranging in flavor from sweet or sour, spicy or mild, or any combination; they can be thin or chunky and can be made with fruits or vegetables or both.

According to Wikipedia, Sun Brand chutney is the best (contains more fruit than others; can be found online). I bought Crosse & Blackwell’s version (quite pricey at $5.49 for 9 ounces). If you have mangoes, there are recipes all over the internet for Major Grey’s version. I got a kick out of reading somewhere that this Major Grey is also the same “Earl” Grey of tea fame. Who knew! The turkey burgers were a big hit. I loved them. Absolutely loved them. Will make them again, no question. The beef burgers were also wonderful on the small buns, and the onion pepper marmalade I’ll post in the next day or so.
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The other night when I made the Chicken Tikka Masala, I also had an eggplant in the refrigerator. I looked through my one and only Indian cookbook for some ideas and found a recipe for a combination of eggplant and potatoes. I didn’t have any potatoes, and was making rice for the chicken anyway, so I just made this dish with eggplant only and served it as a side vegetable. Indian food is traditionally very heavy with vegetables. I’ve enjoyed the vegetable dishes I’ve made at home better than ones at restaurants. Maybe they’re overcooked from a restaurant kitchen.

Anyway, I was very pleased with this rendition, from Easy Indian Cooking, by Suneeta Vaswani. Several years ago I attended a cooking class taught by the author. Sunetta’s family favorite, Pepper Chicken, I posted earlier this year. I’ve made it many times. I’ve learned to trust this cookbook when it comes to anything Indian, and this eggplant dish lived up to the reputation. I’d definitely make it again, even if it wasn’t an Indian-themed dinner. I liked the spice combo, and the vinegar-sugar (Splenda) mixture poured over the eggplant just at the end was delightful. There’s just a hint of sweetness, and really no sign of the vinegar. I simply couldn’t taste it at all – it gets absorbed into the eggplant completely. As is always the case with brown or beige food, this dish doesn’t photograph very well, but the taste was great.
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It was just a couple of days ago I was watching America’s Test Kitchen. I use my Tivo to record all the ATK programs. The show is broadcast on a different timetable around the country – i.e., not all shows you’d see are current – they may be year old re-runs. And sometimes the recipes have already dropped off the map when you go to the ATK website. Now I’m only recording new programs, so generally the recipes are available online.

Indian food is something I enjoy very much, although we don’t eat it as much anymore since we try to limit our rice consumption. But this version, shown recently on ATK, of Chicken Tikka Masala sounded so delicious, I had to try it. I’ve made it before, but never this well. The recipe is a real winner. I kid you not. If you enjoy Indian cuisine, you’ll likely enjoy this dish very much.

Chicken breasts are seasoned with ground cumin, coriander and cayenne, then dredged in a mixture of whole-milk yogurt, fresh ground ginger and minced garlic. The chicken is broiled while you make the Masala Sauce, which is composed of onion, more Indian spices, garlic, ginger, one moderately warm chile pepper, crushed tomatoes, and some heavy cream. Oh my. When my DH took his first bite of this his eyes rolled and he went into a bit of food rapture. I made a small amount of basmati rice, lapped some thick slices of the broiled chicken breast on top, and then scooped some of the Masala Sauce on top of that. Then sprinkled with mint (I didn’t have any cilantro on hand). I served it with some eggplant (recipe tomorrow) and a wedge of watermelon.
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It’s been nearly a year (in just a few days) that my DH Dave and I went to San Diego (about 90 miles south of us) to spend a few days on our sailboat. And it was on July 3rd that I stepped off the boat, twisted my ankle and broke my foot. Until a few days ago, I hadn’t been back. My DH goes there all the time, usually stays for one night, sails one day, tinkers around on the boat another, before returning home.

I kinda made an issue with my DH. I wouldn’t go back to the boat until he bought a new step (read better, HIGHER) for me to get on and off (would you believe those little things cost about $150?). We had had one, but somebody stole it, and my DH replaced it with a 7-inch high step from Target. I’m very short, so getting on and off the boat using that very short step was nigh on impossible – my DH is very tall and has no problem, even with two artificial legs. You can see the new TALL step in the picture above (just behind the s in sailboat).

The boat is really mostly my hubby’s. He adores sailing. I get seasick. So when I go to the boat with him, we stay inside the harbor, or relax at the dock. We were only there for a couple of days this trip. The weather was absolutely plu-perfect. Couldn’t have asked for two nicer days of sunshine and cool nights. Next time I’ll take a pix of the tiny galley. I have a very hard time doing much cooking on board. Usually we go OUT.

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We have a restaurant chain here in the West (California, Oregon and Arizona) called El Torito. There are “regular” restaurants (maybe 20-30 of them), and also about 10 called El Torito Grill. For some years our family frequented the Grill for Sunday buffet-style brunch. It was the best bargain in town. This was when our children were ravenous teenagers and even into young adulthood. Our son could put away plates and plates of food from this place and still be hungry for more. Back then it was about $12.95 for brunch. If they even serve brunch now, am sure it’s a whole lot more money these days. One of the staples amidst the hot trays for the brunch was this Sweet Corn Cake. It’s kind of a cross between a soft cake and a savory pudding. It’s served with most of their entrees as well. It is sweet, although it’s supposed to be a side dish to an entrée, not a dessert. But, as good as it is, you could likely serve it with a bit of cream and call it dessert. The recipe was printed in the Los Angeles Times many, many years ago.

It’s made with masa harina. Shortened to the word “masa,” it’s a finely ground corn flour that’s mixed with lye – a staple of the Mexican diet. The recipe also calls for lard. Now I don’t have lard in my pantry, so I just substituted additional butter, or you could use shortening too. I also didn’t have quite 10 ounces of frozen corn, either, but once it’s whizzed up in the food processor (or blender) it hardly mattered. And the corn I did have was the scorched, roasted corn from Trader Joe’s, so it gave the cake a bit of a dark fleck. Those alterations made no difference in the scrumptious taste.

My opinion is this recipe should be made in 150% quantity (so it’s deeper in the pan), or maybe even double. You’d have to watch the baking time – naturally it would take longer. And doing it in a food processor won’t make the corn into complete mush. It takes no time at all to mix it up, but note that it takes a good long while to bake (covered with foil) and an additional 15 minutes to sit. So, start an hour and a half ahead of serving time! Serve it hot.
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