Night 12 2/24/10 Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Burgers and Potato Pancakes

Hello again! I will start this post off by saying that this was probably my favorite meal so far, and definitely the one I am most proud of. Yesterday when discussing what we would have for dinner, Lindsey said she didn't want any chicken dishes. As someone who doesn't eat much red meat, and definitely doesn't eat steak, this proved challenging. So, this eliminated a lot of dinner ideas, and we agreed on burgers. But not just any burgers...a roasted red pepper and goat cheese burger! One of our favorite restaurants in Charleston, SC is Moe's Downtown Tavern (in no way affiliated with Moe's Southwestern Grill) and they do this burger, and its delicious. So I sought out to recreate it at home. I also stumbled across a Martha Stewart recipe for potato pancakes that seemed to be pretty easy (it was not.) Here is a picture of the final meal...



First we will start with my burger recipe:

1 lb ground beef (the leaner, the better)
1/4 cup chopped red or white onion (I prefer red)
3 tablespoons worstershire sauce
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste (I always due 2 parts garlic powder, 1 part salt, 1 part pepper)

(This makes 5 burgers)

I bought a little package of goat cheese and a jar of marinated red peppers. I was skeptical about the jar of red peppers but they turned out to be delicious and something I will absolutely buy again. I also bought onion buns. So, spread the goat cheese on the bun and top with burger and red peppers. I personally dont think you need any other condiments (other than ketchup of course). We used our community grill at HC, which is obviously the best way to cook burgers, but cooking them on the stove top isn't bad either.

So now on to the potato pancakes. That Martha Stewart! This recipe sounded so easy when I read it online, it was probably the most difficult recipe I have had to follow since. I will try my best to walk you through it, but I will also include a link at the bottom. Here we go:

4 peeled Russet potatoes
1/4 chopped white onion
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup beer (I used PBR, cause it's classy)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
freshly ground pepper
vegetable oil, for frying

(This recipe makes 10 pancakes)

1. Using a grater, shred potatoes into a large bowl of cold water. Then drain potatoes, keeping the liquid that you drain out. Make sure the potatoes are drained really well. Let the retained liquid sit for about 10 minutes (the potato starch, which is a milky white substance, will sink to the bottom.) Carefully pour the liquid from the bowl, making sure the starch stays at the bottom. Add the shredded potatoes back into the bowl, tossing them so the starch gets added back in.

2. Add onion, flour, eggs, salt, and pepper to the potatoes.

3. In a deep frying pan, heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil. Next, form the mixture into a pancake about 3-4 inches in diameter and about 1/2 inch thick. Each pancake will be about 1/2 cup of the mixture. The mixture does not stay together easily, so form the pancake several times to get it to stay as best as you can.

4. Now for the frying. Carefully add the pancakes into the hot oil, and cook for about 5-6 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Only put about 3 pancakes in the oil at a time, because you don't want to overcrowd the pan when frying. Remove the pancake from the oil, and place it on a paper-towel covered cooking sheet.

Here are some of the frying process pictures:





The bottom picture is what they will look like when done. I served them with sour cream (Martha suggests serving them with caviar as well, no thanks), but we also ended up eating them with ketchup.

I was extremely proud of how these pancakes turns out. My brother went to preschool at the Jewish Community Center, so instead of the Christmas pageants like we had at my Catholic school, they had Hanukkah celebrations where they would serve potato pancakes (aka latkes). Although they looked different, these tasted exactly like them! And although it was difficult dish, it's something I will definitely make again. Here is Martha's recipe: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/potato-pancakes