Mmmmm...Burgers.... (by Amber)

Rachel Ray is the queen of 30 minute meals and she loves her burgers.  So in the spirit of Canada Day and Independence Day, we decided to whip up some Rachel Ray burgers this week.  We used two of Rachel Ray’s cookbooks and cooked up two very different meals (in one night).  Helen made up one meal and I made up the other…and we squared off to see who would make the better burger and side.

The Books:

2, 4, 6, 8: Great Meals for Couples or Crowds

365: No Repeats

The Author:

Rachel Ray

The Menu:

Chicken Burger with Chow Chow and Cold Sesame Noodle Salad – Page 64

Super Tuscan Burger with Potato Salad with Capers and Celery – Page 13

The Undertaking:

Fortunately, the undertaking of this evening’s dinner was super easy.  It was our simplest prep and fastest prepared “Helen and Amber” meal yet.  But of course it should be…it’s just burgers J

Just because this was the simplest and fastest “Helen and Amber” meal that we’ve done, doesn’t mean that we were free from foul ups!  I always seem to be missing ingredients or forgetting to pickup grocery list items from the store.  This week I forgot the potatoes at my place (when dinner was to take place at Helen’s place) and I when I asked my hubbie (also my savior of the day*) to do my grocery shopping for me, I had forgotten to tell him what Arugula was (a type of green)…so he ended up looking for it in the cheese section and not coming home with Arugula because he couldn't find it...ooops! 

This week however, I was surprised when it was Helen who added the whole amount of an ingredient only to read later in the recipe that she was supposed to save some of it for later in the cooking process.  Usually it’s me that makes that mistake, so I was excited to get to laugh at her for doing it!  “Didn’t you pre-read your recipe, Helen?  Ha ha!”  My excitement was short lived because moments later I realized that I had added ½ cup of red wine to the burger mixture when I was only supposed to use ¼ cup and save the rest for later…sheepish, that’s all I have to say about that!

The Judgement:

Chicken Burger with Chow Chow and Cold Sesame Noodle Salad:

“The flavor and the texture were wicked good!  The Sesame Noodle Salad had awesome flavor!” – Amber’s Man

“The burger was tasty.  Sweet and Spicy.  The Sesame Noodles had strong flavors.  There was a nice spicy after taste.” – Helen’s Bob

“The burger was sweet and spicy…it was a nice combo.  The noodle salad was interesting, but I am not a big fan of cold 

noodles." - Stu 

“The chicken burger was a little dry, but 

the toppings helped it out.  I didn’t like how 

spicy it was, but would eat it again.  The 

noodle salad was too spicy for me.  I thought 

that it overpowered the other flavors.” 

– Andrea

The Chicken Burger with Chow Chow got an average score of 3.5  out of 5.

The Cold Sesame Noodle Salad got an average score of 3 out of 5.

Super Tuscan Burger with Potato Salad with Capers and Celery:

“WOW!  Favorite to date.  Love the cheese and flavor combo.  These two burgers are the best burgers I have had in a long time.  The potato salad is tasty.” – Amber’s Man

"The Tuscan burger was plain without very strong flavors.  The potato salad had some lemony goodness. No mayo is a nice touch." - Helen's Bob (the man who NEVER eats potato salad because he doesn't like it at all) 

“I’m not a big fan of onions, but it was basically good.  The potato salad was good but a little spicy.” – Stu

“I did not like the toppings (mushrooms and the top part of the bun).  The meat was ok, there was no overwhelming flavor.  The potato salad was delicious!  (But too many onions).” – Andrea

The Super Tuscan Burger got an average score of 3 out of 5.

The Potato Salad with Capers and Celery got an average score of 3.2 out of 5.

The Kids Vote:

Neither burger called for any of the regular type condiments in the recipe…but that didn’t stop the kids from wanting ketchup on their burgers!  Only Abbegail enjoyed the Tuscan burger (and she even asked for a second helping!).  The rest of the kids liked the chicken burger best.  Most of the kids liked the sesame noodles better than the potato salad (what child wouldn’t choose peanut butter flavor over lemon?).

Helen & Amber’s Review:

 “The chicken burger was yummy.  The chow chow was spicy but delicious.  The Sesame Noodle Salad was good.  Spicy.  Tasty.  Very strong peanut taste.”… “The toppings on the Tuscan burger were tasty, but the meat was bland.  I enjoyed the potato salad’s lemony taste.  It was not as heavy as regular potato salad which is great.” 

– Helen

“I was not a huge fan of the chicken burger.  I don’t know what is was…I just didn’t like it.  However I did like the Sesame Noodles.  There was lots of peanut flavor and a touch of spice too! Yum!”…“I really liked the Tuscan burger…but it could have used more seasoning though, I don’t think that I added enough.  I would have also liked more cheese on it (we didn’t have enough, so the cheese that we did have was rationed).  The potato salad would have been REALLY good if I didn’t overcook the potatoes.  The flavors were perfect, but the texture was just a little bit off.”

 – Amber

*I would like to make a special shout out to my fabulous husband and my super helpful bro in law Stuart, because this laid back “Helen and Amber” dinner night didn't start out being laid back and easy.  Earlier in the day while I was working (which some of you know is done in my home with my own computer equipment)…my computer monitor died in the middle of my shift and as I was freaking out and trying to figure out how I was going to finish the rest of my shift, my husband and my brother in law came to my rescue.  They each dropped everything and brought me monitors; Stuart brought me one of his monitors from home and Audie brought me a brand new one from Walmart.  Both men came to my rescue within 10 minutes!  Thank you guys, I appreciate all that you do for me!!!!

CHEERS!