Kitschy Kitschy Yeah Yeah

Deviled eggs. Kinda trashy, kinda retro and kinda AWESOME.

For reals, who doesn’t love a deviled egg?

Tis’ the season for BBQing, picnicking and all that, so you gots to have a deviled egg recipe in your pocket.

Err. Well, your bag of recipe tricks, I suppose, would be a better place for a hard-boiled egg stuffed with a mayonaissy-yolky yellow-stained filling of deliciousness, right?!

There is a secret ingredient, natch. In my case, it’s horseradish. Gives it a good ole’ kick in the you know what. But your summer partay guests will be all like, “Bro, what’s in these eggs?!?” as they sashay to the buffet for seconds and thirds.

You could totally rock these out for a Mad Men finale soiree as well since Deviled Eggs were all the rage back in the day. Of course, if any of your posse actually WATCHED Mad Men, this would be a more enjoyable fete. My one bestie Sarah is a fan, as is my lil’ sis Monica who lives a bajillion miles away in Virginia and is ALWAYS an epi or two behind. (God, Monica. Get with the program!) And Aunt Lorraine watches, but she's kickin' it in Florida right now. Other than that, I gots nothin’. The Husband won’t even watch with me. Not that I’m bitter or anything. I mean, you know, I SO want to be a part of his daily TV experience each night: Flyers, Phillies, Sixers, Comcast SportsNight, MLB Network, Deadliest Catch, Hannity, Cheers reruns. I mean just shoot me now, why don’t you?

So, I’ll just be in the kitchen “deviling some eggs.” That really was a line on the only show I watch. Which is freakin’ amazingly fab, by the way. (OK. You caught me. I do zone out  to Jersey Housewives and Mob Wives late night. But when you’re ironing The Husband’s shirts (gah!!!) or picking up toy cars for the 900^th time (super gah!!!), you need something mindless on the tube.

In the spirit of all things old school, my deviled egg recipe hails from Betty Crocker’s Cookbook (natch!). You would be horrified to see my copy. It is literally being held together with a rubber band. Sounds fab, I know. But I refer to this book like all the time.

I totally add more horseradish than the recipe calls for (we groove on things spicy in my house. Yowza.) And I whip the yolk filling into a light fluffy frenzy with my handheld beaters rather than the good ole’ mash-it-with-a-fork method, as advised in the recipe. I think Betty was trippin’ with that step. Be sure to chill the eggs for a bit in the ice box aka the refrigerator. And I like to garnish mine with paprika. Love the pop of color!

Just an update on The Jersey Girl since it’s been forevs since my last post: My piano studio students rocked out at my annual Spring Piano Recital last week. So amazingly proud of them. OMG!!! My recital is such an amazing day. I know it invokes anxiety in many of my pupils, but they ALWAYS put on such a fabulous performance. It is so awe-inspiring to see the progress my musical cohorts make each year. Love them with all of my heart!!!

Meanwhile, my beautiful Evan has been walking all over the joint. Yay!! We celebrated Memorial Day and the kickoff of summer down in Stone Harbor. While I don’t have any pics of him fist-pumping, you can see him kickin’ it along the gorgeous beach. He was all go go go during our time on the sandy shore. Momma got a workout going on while relaxing (ha ha) on the beach.

I’m on hiatus from teaching right now until after Fourth of July, so I will get cracking on my blogginess. Woo-hoo!

Zesty Deviled Eggs

From Betty Crocker’s Cookbook

6 Hard-Cooked Eggs

3 Tbsp. mayonaisse

½ tsp. ground mustard

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 to 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

1 tsp. prepared horseradish

To hard-cook eggs:

Place eggs in a saucepan. Fill saucepan with water at least 1 inch above eggs.

Heat to boiling in saucepan; remove from heat. Cover and let stand 18 minutes. Immediately cool briefly in cold water to prevent further cooking. Tap egg to crack shell. Roll egg between hands to loosen shell, then peel. If shell is hard to peel, hold egg in cold water while peeling.

For the deviled eggs:

Peel eggs. Cut lengthwise in half. Slip out yolks and mash with fork.

Stir mayonaisse, mustard, salt and pepper, parsley and horseradish  into yolks.  (Please note: The Jersey Girl mixes the yolk mixture with hand-held beaters). Fill whites with egg yolk mixture, heaping it lightly. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Spring into Action

Spring associations for the Jersey Girl include but are not limited to:

Cute clothes (I mean, don’t you totally covet the entire spring J. Crew collection? No? Just me?? )

Opening Day. (Which means The Husband will be spending all of his upcoming free time with his mistress aka The Phillies.)

Allergies.

Time for a pedicure.

Window cleaning.

Asparagus.

God, my list is so lame.

Today, we will focus on the asparagus. Particularly, the asparagus salad the Jersey Girl rocked out on Easter – the only holiday that the fam permits me to host.

Truth be told, I was totally hoping The Husband would burst into the house during March, pop open a bottle of bubbly and declare, “Woman, Pack your bags. I am whisking you off in a private jet to Aruba for Easter.” Ironically, I have washed my hands of General Hospital for almost a year now. So where this dream came from…. Who knows?

Fun fact: March was the month that The Jersey Girl household was keeping it real with a minimum of one family member per day suffering from some kind of cough, cold or bug. As if, there isn’t enough laundry and cleaning to do when we’re healthy. Thanks, God.

Once April rolled around, my sickly party of three was finally on the mend. And, so of course the Jersey Girl was all about planning the Easter festivities.

By this stage of the game, holiday preparations are a bit like clockwork. Or, tradition if you will.

For instance, my Easter brunch always features Lidia’s Scallion and Asparagus Salad. It’s super awesome and springy. An easy breezy red wine dressing brightens up the blanched vegetables. Once it’s all tossed together, the true symbol of spring – eggs in hard-boiled form – are scattered atop the bowl of green lovelies. Then, you just chill the salad until time to serve.

I suppose the kink in the matter is that the dish MUST be prepared the day of your brunch. This is where my OCD-type list-making comes in real REAL handy.

Scallion and Asparagus Salad

From “Lidia’s Family Table”

Lidia Bastianich

 Serves 6

1 1/2 pounds fresh asparagus

3/4 pound scallions

3 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt, or more if needed

Freshly ground pepper to taste

3 hard-cooked eggs, peeled

Cooking the Vegetables
With a vegetable peeler, shave off the skin from the bottom 3 inches or so of each stalk, so they cook evenly. Snap off the hard stubs at the bottom of the asparagus stalks—they'll break naturally at the right point.

Trim the root end of each scallion and the wilted ends of the green leaves. Peel off the loose layers at the white end too, so the scallions are all tight, trim, and about 6 inches long.

In a wide deep skillet, bring 1 quart of water (or enough to cover the vegetables) to a boil, and add the asparagus and scallions.

Adjust the heat to maintain a bubbling boil, and poach the asparagus and scallions, uncovered, for about 6 minutes or more, until they are tender but not falling apart, and cooked through but not mushy. To check doneness, pick up an asparagus spear in the middle with tongs; it should be a little droopy but not collapsing.

As soon as they are done, lift out the vegetables with tongs and lay them in a colander (any fat asparagus spears may take a little longer, so leave them in a few minutes more). Hold the colander under cold running water to stop the cooking. Drain briefly, then spread on kitchen towels, pat dry, and sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon salt over them.

Making the Salad
Slice the asparagus and the scallions into 1-inch lengths, and pile them loosely in a mixing bowl. Drizzle the oil and vinegar over them, then sprinkle on 1/2 teaspoon salt and several grinds of black pepper. Toss well, but don't break up the vegetables.

Quarter the eggs into wedges, and slice each wedge into two or three pieces; salt lightly and scatter the egg in the bowl, and fold in with the vegetables. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Chill the salad briefly, then arrange it on a serving platter or on salad plates.

Chicken Take 99

It’s safe to say my kid is an eater.

Put some deliciousness on Baby Evan’s tray and he shovels it in, wolfs it down and I’m pretty sure he says, “Please sir, may I have some more?” in between gulping a chilly sippy of ice water and cleansing his palette with 5, 6.… er, 12 blueberries.

Breathe, Baby Evan, breathe!!!

Baby Evan eats often. I’m confident he consumes something every two hours. Not that I’m counting.

Basically, my kid breaks into fits of laughing/crying because he’s THAT excited for yum yums. 

So, if you  need to find me, look in the kitchen. I’m most likely mopping up the remnants of Evan’s meals from my once-shiny floor, wiping down his greasy paw prints from my countertops and scrubbing the high chair - again! -  while sorting out what he’s going to eat next.

It is now clear to the Jersey Girl why my Mom always had enough meals to feed an army in the house at all times. I can not fathom how much food this kid will eat during his teenage years.

And I completely understand why my Mom was so OCD about housekeeping. And why she drinks heavily. KIDDING!!

Word on the street – aka unsolicited pointers from moms my age – is that once Evan turns 2, he will no longer eat anything ever again. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Seriously, Mom. Ummm. Stop taking my picture and feed me.

These days, I am so over-the-moon thrilled when Evan eats something new and totally digs it, especially if the foodie item came from a good place - like a farm - rather than a package. (Yeah, Mr. Animal Cracker and Pepperidge Farm Goldfishie, I’m talking to yous.)

Chicken with Leeks. Yes, it’s good stuff! Sure, cleaning leeks is a pain in the bootie, but the final product is worth the effort. Make sure you soak those suckers, drain, rinse and repeat – maybe twice.

The fact that Evan eats leeks fills my heart with joy because it’s a not-so-obvious vegetable choice. This is food that grownups can eat as well, natch. And really, we all could use a good new way to cook up boring old chicken breasts every now and again. The green leeks taste so yummy with the simple chicken. And leeks just make me long for springtime, right?

 Leeks cooking up. Smells fab.

Chicken with Leeks

6 good size chicken breasts

¼ cup flour

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

2 medium leeks, sliced into discs and rinsed really really well, drained

½ cup white wine

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

In a shallow dish, combine flour with ¼ tsp. salt and pepper. Mix together.

Dredge each chicken breast in the flour mixture. Set aside.

In a large, deep pan, heat 1 Tbsp. butter with 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium high heat. Once bubbling, cook chicken breasts, about five minutes per side. Repeat with remaining butter, olive oil and chicken breasts.

Remove chicken to a covered dish to keep warm. Return pan to heat. Add leeks to pan. Cook until glistening, about five to 10 minutes. Add white wine. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the brown bits off the pan. Add chicken broth. Simmer leeks for about 10 more minutes. Return chicken to pan. Cook for about five minutes more. Make sure your chicken is cooked through and leeks are tender!

Party Like a Rock Star

Crostini and bruschetta make the perfect party food. And the Jersey Girl should know, since she is such the partying fool.

Yeah. You got me. That was so five years ago. OK. Make it like 15 years ago.

True. My throwdowns these days are usually a party of three involving The Husband, The Baby and The Wifey/Momma.

But when we’re not playing beer pong or downing Jell-O shots as The Beastie Boys and Nine Inch Nails blare away with me, a raring-to-go Susan, shimmying across the dance floor in my vinyl go-go boots, you will probably find us chilaxing on the couch sharing a bottle of red with a plate of crostini on hand as Evan drops his sippy cup and points to the TV saying “Boo” in reference to his beloved Blue of Blue’s Clues fame.

Reality check: We don’t REALLY play beer pong or do Jell-O shots or listen to Nine Inch Nails at Chez Jersey Girl. Do I look like an animal? Just having a reminiscent moment of my days as a Delta Gamma, that’s what I am-a. I sometimes imagine my house as a skankadelic fraternity basement trapped in the 90s.

Kidding.

Sidenote: I think if I presented The Husband with a tray of Jell-O shots he would probably ask for a trial separation. However, he would totally dig the vinyl go-go boots.

So crostini and/or bruschetta. They sound so fancy pants, right?! So simple to make, peeps. So simple.

No joke: I cooked these babies in September, making use of the final days of the majorly awesome Jersey tomato. Way to stay on top of things, Susan. Good job!!

Procrastination is not my middle name, but “Really Bad Blogger” probably should be. Trust me, when I’m doing my fifth load of laundry of the day, vacuuming, organizing toys and scrubbing the floor, I really REALLY would much rather be blogging.

Maybe if I get a bumper sticker that says, “I’d rather be blogging,” I would more actively pursue this hobby.

Working moms have hobbies?!? Say what?

I’m giving all y’all two recipes: One by Giada and one by moi.

Obviously, the one invented by me – piano teacher by afternoon/night, average mom who is always cleaning by day – is vastly superior to that of Giada De Laurentiis - seasoned Food Network glamazon/New York Times best-selling author/culinary empire owner who probably has a staff of 100. It’s like the choice has already been made for you. Duh.

I made both of these on the same day. And, they were awesome. They go fab with a glass of red wine. But really, who are we kidding? Make that a bottle of wine.

Baked Caprese Salad
4 to 6 servings
From “Everyday Pasta”
By Giada De Laurentiis

1 baguette, sliced ½ inch thick (30 to 36 slices)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Roma tomatoes, sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
1 ¼ lbs. fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
Leaves from 1 bunch of basil

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet, brush with some of the olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake until the bread is pale golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Top each slice of bread with a slice of tomato and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with a slice of mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with salt. Return the baking sheet to the oven until the cheese and tomato are just warm, about 5 minutes.

Arrange the toasts on a serving platter. Top each toast with a basil leaf. Using the brush, drizzle the remaining olive oil over the basil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve.

Note from the Jersey Girl: I cooked these at 400 degrees Fahrenheit just because high temperatures from the oven always set off my smoke detector (no matter how often I clean the oven). I snipped the basil into ribbons. Also, I only salted the tomato. Giada goes kind of overboard with the salt, in my very humble opinion. Also, I only made about 12 of these because me and The Husband would NEVER eat that much. Jeez.

Prosciutto Arugula Bruschetta

1 baguette cut into 12 slices
Olive oil for drizzling
12 slices prosciutto
Fresh mozzarella, sliced
Arugula
Juice and zest of one lemon
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Drizzle the bread with olive oil and place on baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until golden.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine lemon juice, lemon zest, 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper. In a large bowl, toss dressing with arugula.

Place a small bunch of dressed arugula on top of each slice of prosciutto. Place a slice of mozzarella on top of the arugula. Roll up the prosciutto around the arugula and cheese.

Remove crostini from oven and top with prosciutto wraps. Serve!!

And....... Back

What up, party people?

Yes. The Jersey Girl has been so totally MIA these past few months. Le sigh. Truth is, sometimes I need a break from doing it all. And the blog somehow got buried on my Things to Do List, which has been overrun by a whole list of boring stuff. Yucky.

I'm not a huge believer in the whole New Year's Resolution thang, but I do hereby resolve to get my bootie in gear and recharge the blog. Honest to goodness.

So much has been shakin' in the Jersey Girl Household.

The Husband got a new job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Um. I guess you can say we are over-the-moon excited about this development.) We are totally free from the chains of the newspaper world for reals. Yay! And if you've ever been enslaved by the newspaper industry, you know what I'm tawkin' about. Measly pay. Crap hours. 15-hour work days. Delirium. Headaches. Ulcers. Excessive cursing. Paranoia. Heavy drinking. Cranky pants syndrome. It's freakin' awesome! 

Don't get me wrong. The Husband and I didn't walk away from our daily grind in newsrooms empty-handed: For instance, we totally have a stellar vocabulary, exemplary grammatical skills and can work for 12 hours straight without eating. Oh right, and The Husband got to meet me and woo me and make me his woman.

We also made AMAZING friends in the land of newspapers. Lifelong pals, who are just stand-up peeps. So, for that we are blessed.

I'm just so proud of The Husband for taking a leap with his new gig. Woo-hoo! And he loves it! So happy for him!!

Meanwhile, my bubbalicious Baby Evan has turned the big ONE. Seriously, I can't even believe it. He is so big and cuddly and awesome. He had a rockin' time at his Elmo birthday party. And he has been housing the Jersey Girl's eats. For reals. This kid eats everything. I can't even keep up with him. Two weeks ago, I made beef manicotti and he inhaled a portion that The Husband would eat. Comfortably. And he wanted more. Plus blueberries. Plus Mommy's Mango Banana Surprise (really just mango and bananas smushed together in a blender, but my recipe name has so much more allure, right?) Plus cookies. But Evan's got that one all figured out because cookies make the world a better place.

The Babes is not walking just yet. A fact that I am reminded of every day by the fam. But he's pulling himself up and cruising all around. He's rockin' out an impressive vocab. Among his fave words are: tree, zoo and duck. Not too shabby, right? He's got at least eight teeth, maybe more. Of course, whenever Baby Evan is having an off day, I blame teething. So, according to my math he probably has about 50 pearly whites.

Evan had a grand time at Christmas. The Grinch and Charlie Brown are on his hit list, for sure. And of course, he grooved to some Elvis Pressley while his Jersey Girl Momma baked some fabalicious cookies.

Santa hooked him up with some MAJOR gifts, and the grandparents treated him to his first set of tricycle wheels, which he tried out this week and loved. Thanks, Nanny and Poppy! He was stoked about hanging with all of his cousins and aunts and uncles. And he was rightly impressed by the din dins his family whipped up for him. Feast of the Seven Fishes. Holla!

So, I'm sure at this moment, dear readers, you're all like, "What about you, Jersey Girl? What amazing life-changing experiences have YOU undergone in the past two months?"

OMG. You are so not going to believe it?!?!

The Jersey Girl got a haircut.

Seriously. I got nothin.' I think I am officially The Most Boring Girl Who Ever Was. I've organized a closet, and I'm currently cleaning out the basement.

Riveting.

Onto the food....

Balsamic Roasted Tomatoes with Pesto and Goat Cheese.

O.M.G.

So super delish. This recipe was inspired by the Barefoot Contessa's Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad.

And when I say "inspired" I really mean that the following scenario transpired: I want to make this, but I'm missing two of the three main ingredients. I so did not have fresh basil or fresh mozzarella in the house, so it was my way or the highway. Sometimes, that's how a recipe comes to life, in my opinion. You gotta do what you gotta do. Plus it was New Year's Day, so no stores were open. Plus, I was recovering from the night before and this is what my muddled mind came up with:

Balsamic Roasted Tomatoes with Pesto and Goat Cheese
Serves 4

6 plum tomatoes, cut in half
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil for drizzling
1 tsp. sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves chopped garlic
4 Tbsp. goat cheese
1 Tbsp homemade or storebought pesto.
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit.

On a sheet pan, place plum tomatoes cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with sugar, salt and pepper and chopped garlic.

Roast for two hours. The tomatoes will look dry and crispy on top. Remove from oven. Set aside. (I covered mine with foil to keep them warm.)

When ready to serve: Place three tomatoes on small salad plates. Top with 1 Tbsp. of goat cheese in the center of each trio of tomatoes.

In a small bowl, combine pesto with 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Drizzle the pesto oil over each plate. Serve!

This salad was really quite awesome. I can't believe I came up with on the fly. Yay, Susan. This is a good way to make use of winter tomatoes, which are totally not as yummy as summer tomatoes, especially in Jersey.

Here are some updated pics of my wonderful Evan as well. He's so big!!!

Evan's all set for his big B'day extravaganza in November.

Photo shoot for The Jersey Girl Household's 2011 Christmas card.

And Now I Need to Feed Yous Guys?!

A Rachael Ray pizza salad.

This is what it’s come to.

Yes, dear patient readers. The Jersey Girl has not blogged in well over a month, and all I have is this measly 10-minute I-just-worked-all-freaking-day/took-care-of-a-baby/washed- 10-loads-of-laundry/cleaned-the-house-and-I’m-totally-over-it recipe. By Rachael Ray.

It’s not my proudest moment.

But for reals, peeps. This pizza tastes AWESOME.

And it’s not take out. Plus, you can do it on zero sleep/patience/brain cells.

(Yes, there is a jarred pizza sauce involved, but get over it. And give me a bottle of wine, why don’t ya?)

So, hopefully all y’all have been doing fab.

We have been rocking out at Chez Jersey Girl.

Baby Evan is a super big biggie who is creepin’ and crawlin’ all over the joint.

He’s reaching many milestones: Waving to Daddy; saying hi to Daddy; whacking Daddy in the face; gazing at Daddy when asked, “Where’s Mommy?”

Guess it’s time to get all Bob Dole/Elmo on Evan and start talking about Mommy in the third person.

Anyhoo, to make this pizza I used a prebaked pizza shell, such as a Boboli, or as my Aunt Lorraine says, “Baba-lo,” because as proven on such astute television programs as, “Real Housewives of New Jersey,” we pretty much mispronounce everything in my parts.

The actual recipe calls for unbaked pizza dough. So, yes. As I hang my head lowly lowly lowly in shame - I am taking even MORE shortcuts than Rachael Ray.

I asure you, dear readers, that the Jersey Girl is still a Domestic Goddess of the highest order. It's just that time is not on my side.

Back to the cooking before I have to go fold laundry:

I always have the ingredients for a Pizza Salad on hand: container of designer lettuce, prosciutto, garlic, mozzarella, lemons, hot pepper flakes.

And I buy two pizza shells at once – because that’s how my rocking Italian market Bagliani’s packages them. So, I use one now and freeze one for later.

See. Even with Mommy Brain, I can still plan.

The recipe calls for 2 cloves of garlic, but I seriously quadruple the amount. Sometimes, I go crazy and chop up 10 cloves of garlic for it. (The Husband lurves his garlic.)
So please enjoy the recipe below.

And here’s a picture update on my lovely Evan, who is the cutest cutie pie to ever be in my world. I can't believe he's going to be turning the big ONE soon. Eek!

Pizza Salad
"From Cooking Around the Clock"
By Rachael Ray

All-purpose flour, for dusting
Store-bought pizza dough
1/2 cup pizza sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella or Italian-4 cheese blend
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 lb. prosciutto di Parma, thinly sliced
3 cups arugula leaves
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sprinkle a little flour on a clean work surface. Roll or press out dough to form a 12-inch pie and place dough on a pizza pan or cookie sheet. Spread pizza sauce on dough and top with garlic and red pepper flakes. Top with cheese. Bake pizza until cheese is bubbly and crust is crip. About 12 minutes. Top the hot pizza with sliced prosciutto, working all the way to the crust's edge and covering the whole pie. Toss arugula with lemon juice and olive oil in a large bowl. Season arugula with salt and pepper. Pile arugula up on the cetner of the pizza. Cut into quarters and serve.

Yield: 2 servings.

Please note: The Jersey Girl bakes her pizza at 375 degrees for 12 minutes because she uses a prebaked pizza shell, such as Boboli.

Singing the Blues

One of the many male vs. female myths that has been debunked during my almost-eight-years of marriage is that the lady of the house isn’t the only one who gets a craving for certain food-type indulgences.

Take, The Husband. I suppose if we were cooking up his Last Meal on Earth, it would most certainly involve: Caesar salad (Boring, I know, but don’t give up on my hubs yet. It gets more interesting.); foie gras, escargot, scallions, shark, roasted pork, margarita pizza, key lime pie, crème brulee, pineapple, chocolate chip cookies, non pareils, a really top-notch bottle of wine and limoncello. He also grooves on blue cheese. Every summer he declares that he wants a big, bad blue cheese burger. So the summer of 2011, the Jersey Girl decided to make his dreams come true.

A blue cheese burger is quite simple to make. Yes, you so can get one at home rather than solely at a dark and smoky pub. Well, I guess they’re not really smoky anymore. The Husband wanted blue cheese stuffed in the middle of it all. So I did that, and then topped the burgers with some blue cheese sauciness. Because I’m from Jersey, and our motto here is, “More is More.”

I cooked the burgers on a grill pan due to the fact that our for-reals grill is swimming with the fishes.

If you do cook these on your outdoorsy grill, I would totally cut down the time to 6-7 minutes per side.

Blue Cheese Stuffed and Topped Burgers
Makes four

1 pound ground sirloin
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ small onion, minced
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Blue cheese crumbles, about 1 Tbsp per burger
Olive oil

In a medium-large bowl, combine sirloin with garlic, onion, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper. Gently mix with your hands. Once combined, form four patties with the sirloin mixture. Set aside on a platter. Place about 1 Tbsp blue cheese crumbles in the center of each patty. Gently rework patty to cover the cheese.

When ready to cook, brush each side of each burger with a drizzle of olive oil.

Cook on a grill pan over medium-high heat for 7 to 8 minutes per side.

Serve on a roll with Blue Cheese Sauce (see below) and your favorite toppings such as lettuce, tomato and red onion.

Blue Cheese Sauce
1/4 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tsp. fresh chives
½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
½ cup blue cheese crumbles
Salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix with a hand-mixer until well combined.