I have never done a recipe post here on Pop.Bop.Shop. because my love affair with food is of the restaurant variety, not the home cooking variety. However, when the folks at MorningStar Farms asked if I would participate in their Feel Good Grilling Tour, how could I say no?
I've been a vegetarian for over 15 years and the MorningStar Farms products have been a staple of my diet. I prefer their veggie burgers over all other brands, I love their faux chicken nuggets and I have a serious obsession with their Buffalo Wings. I always buy two boxes of wings at a time so I never risk opening the freezer to discover I have none left.
Much to my surprise and delight, MorningStar Farms is coming to Boston on Saturday October 19th and Sunday October 20th for the Head of the Charles Regatta. The brand's Feel Good Grilling Tour will be cooking up veggie burgers for the masses with Boston Burger Co. chef Paul Malvone.
In anticipation of the Boston stop on the tour, MorningStar Farms is celebrating with custom veggie burger creations from local Boston food bloggers. That's where I come in.
I spent the last week thinking long and hard about what type of burger I wanted to create and I decided to go with a celebration of fall flavors, centered around the apple.
Without further a do, my first ever recipe post! I hope you enjoy it.
The Red Delicious Veggie Burger
Serves two.
Ingredients:
- 1 box of MorningStar Farms Griller's Prime Veggie Burgers
- 1 red delicious apple
- 1 package of sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 small white onion
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 1 pinch of sugar
- 2 plain kaiser rolls
Preparation:
- First, dice the small white onion. Place a skillet on the stove on medium heat and melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Once the butter is mostly melted, add the diced onions. Stir with a spatula, turning evenly. After 10 minutes, add a pinch of sugar. Continue to stir. Once onions begin to brown, remove from heat and set aside.
- While the onions are cooking, slice the apple into thin cuts, thin enough to lay flat on your burger. I am recommending red delicious apples, but if you prefer green apples, that works too.
- If you happen to have extra apple slices, dip them into caramel. I happened to have on hand Fat Toad Farm's Caramel with Salted Bourbon, which I purchased at Dave's Fresh Pasta in Somerville.
- Once the apple slices are prepped, open your cheddar cheese package and using a cheese slicer, cut 3-4 slices of cheddar for each burger.
- With the onions done and the apples and cheddar ready, open the MorningStarm Farms package, removing two burger patties. Grill the patties, five minutes on each side. If you don't have access to a grill you can also cook them with a little bit of Pam in a skillet on the stove.
- While the burger patties are cooking, cut your kaiser rolls in half, leaving you with a top and bottom bun. Put the buns on the grill (or if you don't have a grill, in the toaster oven) for 5 minutes, just enough to warm them up before they start to brown.
- Place the toasted buns on a plate.
- Put the apple slices on first, on the bottom bun.
- Remove the patties from the grill and lay them over the apple slices.
- On top of the hot patty, place your cheddar cheese.
- To ensure the cheese melts quickly, add the hot onions in a neat pile atop of the cheese.
- Cover with your top bun and voila! You're ready to dig in.
Never a girl to have a burger without fries, I give you the perfect accompanying recipe.
Chili and Garlic Sweet Potato Fries
Serves two.
Ingredients:
- 2 sweet potatoes
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- A pinch of salt
- A pinch of black pepper
- A pinch of chili powder
- A pinch of garlic powder
Preparation:
- Use a peeler to skin both sweet potatoes.
- Cut the peeled sweet potatoes into fry-sized cuts.
- Toss the cut potatoes in the olive oil, being sure to coat each and every piece.
- In a small bowl, mix the salt, pepper, chili powder and garlic powder.
- Sprinkle the spice mixture over the coated sweet potato fries until each piece is seasoned.
- Once seasoned, spread the fries across a lightly greased baking sheet in one single layer.
- Bake the fries for 30 minutes at 450 degrees, flipping them at the 15 minute mark.
- Remove fries and serve immediately.
With a red delicious veggie burger and chili and garlic sweet potato fries, you are ready for the ultimate fall meal.
I want to thank the folks at MorningStar Farms for encouraging me to embrace my inner budding chef and for gifting me this beautiful table cloth and these fun electric green napkins. I look forward to testing more MorningStar Farms recipes and continuing to recreate tonight's invention!
If you're in town for the Head of Charles in two weeks, be sure to stop by the Feel Good Grilling Tour and meet the MorningStar Farms team. In the meantime, you can follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram on the hashtag #FeelGoodGrilling.
