Steamed Hams!

   I saw this post from Gastro Obscura about a regional dish from central Connecticut, the steamed cheeseburger. Being a burger lover I knew I had to give it a try. 

 I didn't document the process because you can find tons of recipes and videos online showing you exactly how to do it. However, here is the result: 

 The flavor was a bit bland despite my slathering the bun with ketchup, mustard and mayo as recommended by one of the videos I watched. Texturally it was a bit dense, but kind of spongy too. I definitely missed the caramelized outside you get when you cook a burger in a skillet or on the grill. The steamed cheese however was awesome, I used a nice aged cheddar and it melted in the steamer a lot better than it would have in the microwave. 

 All in all it was fine, and if someone gave me one I would happily eat it but I don't think I will make them again. 

Tasiwoo Ho!

 I've always wanted to try buffalo. Being part Native, I spent a good portion of my youth reading about my ancestors and wishing that I too could live in a teepee, following the buffalo herds. As I've gotten older, the teepee part has diminshed, but wanting to try buffalo hasn't. After eyeing the package of ground buffalo in the sote for several years, I finally decided to take the plunge and buy it.

 The meat is a bit darker red than the standard ground moo, and there is a very low fat percentage. I shaped up some patties and cooked them in a skillet, since I had been craving a juicy, greasy flat griddle burger for a couple of weeks.

 After cooking, I put the medium rare burgers on some artisan buns with some lovely uncured bacon, queso blanco cheese, blue cheese, red onion, Buttercrunch lettuce and mayo.

 The taste of the burger was everything I had hoped for; juicy, not at all greasy with a full rich beef flavor, more like a good Porterhouse steak than hamburger. We both loved it, and while it's a little pricey to be feeding the kiddies or eating daily ($6.99/lb), it will be replacing steak as a fancy date night dinner. Altho, they DO have a buffalo steak now at HEB.............