Burger Cake

I saw a burger cupcake at Whole Foods the other day and had to try to make one. This was a fun adventure with my daughter!
INGREDIENTS:

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix
• yellow paste food coloring
• brown paste food coloring
• 3/4 cup prepared chocolate frosting
• 24 orange chewy fruit-flavored candy squares
• 12 leaf-shaped spearmint gumdrops
• 3 large red gumdrops
• 4 large white gumdrops
• 6 candy lime slices
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven according to cake mix directions. Butter and flour one 8 inch round and one 9 inch round cake pan and one 2 quart ovenproof bowl 8 inches in diameter.
2. Prepare cake mixes. Pour 1 3/4 cups of the white mix into the 8 inch round cake pan, and the rest into the 2 quart bowl. Pour 1 3/4 cups of the chocolate mix into the 9 inch round pan.
3. Bake 8 inch cake for 25 minutes, 9 inch cake for 20 minutes and bowl cake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool in pans on racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on racks.
4. In separate small bowls, tint small amounts of vanilla frosting red and yellow, to use as ketchup and mustard. Tint remaining vanilla frosting light brown, using brown and yellow food coloring.
5. For bun bottom, frost the 8 inch cake with light brown frosting.
6. For hamburger patty, spread top and sides of 9 inch chocolate cake with chocolate frosting Lightly press all around sides of cake with folded paper towel, pulling towel straight out to create rough edge of burger. center cake on top of bun bottom.
7. For cheese, arrange orange fruit chews in single layer on microwave-safe plate. Microwave on High 10-15 seconds or until slightly softened. With hands, press and flatten chews together to form 9 inch square. Place on top of hamburger patty. On work surface sprinkled with granulated sugar roll out 5 leaf-shaped gumdrops to 1/8 inch thickness to form 1 large lettuce leaf; repeat rolling with 6 more gumdrops to form another leaf. Arrange over cheese near edges of burger. For tomatoes, roll out red gumdrops individually to 1/8 inch thickness. Arrange over lettuce around burger edges. For onion rings, roll out white gumdrops to 1/8 inch thickness. With round cookie cutters or sharp knife cut out circles; cut 1/4 inch thick rings from circles with small cutters. Re-roll scraps to make additional rings; arrange rings over tomatoes. Arrange fruit-slice candies over onions for pickles. Pipe red and yellow icing around edges of burger for ketchup and mustard.
8. For bun top: If necessary, trim bowl cake so that it will be flat on the bottom when inverted. Invert firm paper plate onto work surface. Center bowl cake, trimmed side down, on top of plate. Starting from the top, spread remaining light brown frosting in lines down sides of cake, turning plate after each section. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Carefully place on top of the cake.

Beet Burgers (and potatoes)

Yes, "beet" burgers - no meat here! It's amazing how many different variations of burgers there are - burgers are definitely made to order! This recipe is very hearty with beets, potatoes, barley, squash, etc... Use your imagination and create your own favorite veggie burger (but please share with us:)

INGREDIENTS:

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 cup drained canned (or freshly cooked) shredded beets

1/2 cup grated yellow squash

1/2 cup grated zucchini

1 cup grated carrots

1/2 cup grated turnip

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1 1/3 cups rolled oats

1 1/2 cups cooked mashed potatoes (not too moist)

8 hamburger buns (whole wheat)

ketchup and mustard & Pickle (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, warm 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil until hot. Add the onion and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.

2. Stir in the vegetables and herbs. Cook for 5 minutes.

3. Add the rolled oats, stirring thoroughly. Check for seasoning, adding salt and pepper, to taste.

4. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, add the mashed potatoes, and mix together thoroughly. Form the mixture into 8 patties.

5. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil until it is hot. Fry the patties for about 3 minutes on each side, or until the burgers develop a crust.

Ultimate Veggie Burger Recipe

Our 16 year old daughter has become a vegetarian and we wanted to make sure she was eating non-processed whole foods. Many of the burger/meat alternatives are filled with a mile long list of technical - non-natural ingredients.

This Garbanzo Burger is awesome and natural!

INGREDIENTS:

These make great do-ahead meals, and you can store shaped, ready-to-cook patties in the refrigerator for a week's worth of work lunches. Sprouted garbanzos are becoming more readily available, but if you can't find them, canned or cooked garbanzos (chickpeas) will work great. Sprouting boosts their already fantastic nutritional value even more...

2 1/2 cups sprouted garbanzo beans (chickpeas) OR canned garbanzos, drained and rinsed
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 onion, chopped
Grated zest of one large lemon
1 cup micro sprouts, chopped (try brocolli, onion, or alfalfa sprouts - optional)
1 cup toasted (whole-grain) bread crumbs
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (or clarified butter)

DIRECTIONS:

1. If you are using sprouted garbanzos, steam them until just tender, about 10 minutes. Most of you will be using canned beans, so jump right in and combine the garbanzos, eggs, and salt in a food processor.

2. Puree until the mixture is the consistency of a very thick, slightly chunky hummus.

3. Pour into a mixing bowl and stir in the cilantro, onion, zest, and sprouts.

4. Add the breadcrumbs, stir, and let sit for a couple of minutes so the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture.

5. At this point, you should have a moist mixture that you can easily form into twelve 1 1/2-inch-thick patties. Some err on the moist side here, because it makes for a nicely textured burger. You can always add more bread crumbs a bit at a time to firm up the dough if need be. Conversely, a bit of water or more egg can be used to moisten the batter.

6. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium low, add 4 patties, cover, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the bottoms begin to brown. Turn up the heat if there is no browning after 10 minutes.

7. Flip the patties and cook the second side for 7 minutes, or until golden.

8. Remove from the skillet and cool on a wire rack while you cook the remaining patties. Carefully cut each patty in half, insert your favorite fillings, and enjoy immediately.

Makes 12 mini burgers.

Serve on whole wheat buns, pickles, tomatoes and sliced red onion

Nothing to do with Burgers But Cool!

Meng Jie, a Chinese man, spent two months to create the unique bicycle in the form of the Olympic rings in Yinchuan, capital of North China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. He plans to ride the Olympic ring-shaped bicycle around the China country.

Burgers in Beijing?

Burger Factoid:

Burgers are being served in Beijing for the summer 2008 Olympics. Olympics sponsor McDonald’s serves the first hamburgers of the Beijing Games.

Five Guys Burgers And Fries

I'm very excited that a Five Guys Burgers is opening up near me in Hoboken, NJ. Five Guys Burgers are top rated and a must try if you're a burger lover.

To find a location near you go to their website and click on store locater. There are Five Guys throughout the US


I love their mission statement on their website:

About Us

Mission: We are in the business of selling burgers.

Goal: Five Guys goal is to sell the best quality burgers possible. To sell the best burger possible we focus on Quality, Service and Cleanliness.

Awards we are most proud of:

• Zagat rated
• Washington Post and Washingtonian
• Best Fries Philadelphia Magazine
• Best Fries Annapolis Magazine
• Best Burger Richmond Magazine
• Best Burger Charlottesville

Gummi Burgers!

Dessert Burgers? For the sweet tooth grab a Gummi Burger, they're fun and vegetarian burger - not a well balanced meal but fun.

Buy them at your local store or order from www.sweetfactory.com