Avocado & Turkey in Onion Fire Balls

Here's a new take on a classic campfire meal, and perfect for the Summer grill.  The secret ingredient is California Avocados.  Okay, so avocados aren't so secret.  In fact, this July 4th more than 96 million pounds of avocados will be consumed in the United States. I'll be doing my part, that's for sure.

 

Combining the avocado with ground turkey and seasonings is the big whamo, the secret ammo in these Onion Fire Balls.  The velvety avocado chunks replace any need for more processed ways of adding moisture to ground turkey.  There's no need for mayonnaise or oils.  Adding fresh tarragon, kosher salt and cracked pepper and a dash of soy sauce (or Worcestershire) and the optional minced peppers give the turkey meat robust flavor.  Then, if that's not enough, it gets hugged together by an onion layer and grilled inside a foil wrapper that holds in all the smokey juices.  Wowza - that's just good! It's

also naturally Gluten Free, Grain free and low in the bad fats.

Red Onion & Pineapple Relish - I can, you can, we all can!

I was never one to relish Relish. However, it's the little things that can make an ordinary dish something amazing and a little bit of this spicy/sweet/tangy relish does exactly that. Imagine a spoon of this beside your scrambled eggs, or dabbed beside a chicken breast. Saute a simple piece of fish, then add a dollop of this and now you've got layers of flavor on flavor.

Red Onion & Pineapple Relish

The ways to use this relish are unending: on a baked potato, mixed in with cooked carrots, add zing to pork tenderloin or can you even imagine how great it would taste on a hamburger? If you don't usually "can" stuff, then just make this and put it in a cute container (or just a bowl), wrap it up and keep it in the refrigerator. It's good for a couple weeks.

This month the item for the TigressCanJam event is Alliums: onions, ramps, leeks, garlic, etc. I still have a bag of Farmer's Market onions and 2 giant stalks of fennel because I had planned on using them for my "can-can-canning" this month. Then, I came across a recipe that mixed a pungent ruby red onion with one of my favorite fruits, sweet juicy pineapple, and I was in love.

This is a fragrant couple of hours in the kitchen, folks, but when it's done you'll have a hard time not eating little spoonfuls of it all by itself (not that I did that or anything.)

Quote from ME: "This works, yeah, this definitely works. I better "can" this before there's none left."
I hope you make this, and then come back and tell me your ideas of other ways to use it, ok?
Red Onion & Pineapple Relish
(adapted from Jellies, Jams & Chutneys - Thane Prince)

1/2 Pineapple, trimmed and roughly chopped
2 Med. Red Onions, chopped
3 small red chiles, chopped fine (can be seeded, but the kick is nice)
2 garlic cloves chopped fine
1 Tbls. fresh thyme leaves
5 oz. sugar
1 cup white wine vinegar
dash of salt

Put all ingredients into a large pot (not aluminum), and bring to boil. Stir often to dissolve sugar. Simmer the relish over med. heat for about 20 minutes until it's thickened. Ladle the relish into hot sterilized jars, cover and precede to water bath canning for 10 minutes.
(Or ladle into clean bowl/containers - cover and keep in refrigerator for 2 weeks).

My Fennel takes on Beet 'n Squash

Let's just admit it, I'm a sucker for a Challenge. I'm still new at blogging, so the whole thing is challenging for me. Earlier today, on Twitter, I read about a Vegetable Challenge that was started by She Simmers and Bouchon for 2; called Beets 'n Squash. For this month, the pick was fennel. They may as well have said my name out loud. I LOVE fennel. I've made muffins, omelets, jam, salads, and even ice cream from this Anise-flavored bulb. But the day to post was less than 24 hours from the time I read about it. Of course, I had fennel in the refrigerator, heh heh; and I was itching to use it. So, here's my draw, and let the Challenge begin:

FENNEL 'n ONION SOUP w/Calvados and Melted Gruyere SOUP SHOOTERFennel is a misunderstood vegetable, I think. A lot of folks think they don't like it because they've heard it has a hint of licorice-like taste and that's enough, it looks like celery and then doesn't taste like celery, or they've eaten it when it was limp and old. If you happen to be one of those peeps, I encourage you to give it another try; at least ROAST it with some olive oil/salt/pepper until it gets a little browned. Almost ANYTHING tastes good caramelized, right?

FENNEL/ONION RECIPE

1/2 large bulb fennel
1/2 large onion
1 TBLS. fresh thyme
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBLs. olive oil
2 TBLs. butter
1/4 cup Calvados (or another Apple Brandy, optional: use apple juice)
16 oz. Beef stock (or vegetable stock)
Several slices of French Bread (can be day old)
1/2 cup grated cheese (gruyere preferred)
s/p

Makes 4 1/2 cups servings or 8 mini cups

[I made these little soup shooters in espresso cups and melted the cheese on top with a cook's torch (little hand held gadget, smaller than a hairdryer).]

1) Start with a half bulb of fennel, trimmed and cored, a half large onion, a little fresh thyme, and 4 cloves of garlic.
2) Slice the onion and the fennel in long, thin strips. Strip the thyme branch to use the leaves. Mince the garlic.



3) Put the onions, fennel, 1TBL olive oil, 2TBL butter into a large saucepan and sweat (cook on low) slowly for about 20 minutes. Cook and stir often until the onions and fennel take on a caramelized color. The color builds depth of flavor, so don't rush this part.
4) Deglaze the pan with a shot of Calvados, add the thyme and garlic. Stir while continuing to cook for about 2 minutes.
5) Add the beef stock (or vegetable stock) into the saucepan and cover. Cook on low for about 45 minutes.
6) Toast the French Bread pieces (cut to the size of your serving vessel) on both sides.
7) Ladle soup into bowls (or for a party appetizer into small cups), top with toasted bread, cover in grated cheese and either torch or put under broiler for just a few minutes.

**Optional: serve by the fire and follow with a glass of wine **