Tonight's Special: Turkey Burger Sliders and Zucchini Shoestring Fries

This is what we had for dinner tonight.

I always stock up on the styrofoam packs of fresh ground turkey when they go on sale at Big Y. With the "Buy 1 Get 2 Free" deal, I get 3 20-ounce packs of meat for $5. So I stick some in the freezer for later, but use some soon after purchase. This may be my new favorite.

Turkey Burger Sliders

One 20-ounce package of ground turkey

Approximately 1 Tablespoon Adobo seasoning with cumin*

Burger rolls or bread slices, cut into quarters

Cheese slices (optional) cut into quarters

Condiments as desired

Thoroughly mix the seasoning into the meat. Refrigerate meat for at least an hour to let spices sink in. With your hands, mix the meat for good measure. Using a 1/4 cup measure, divide the meat into portions for the patties. Not filling the measure all the way to the top, you should get 9 or 10 patties. Smoosh the measured meat into a patty shape and cook in a grill pan, Foreman grill, skillet, or on the grill outside until well done throughout. Make sandwiches with patties and quartered bread and cheese.

*Adobo is a multi-purpose seasoning, found in the Latino foods aisle, made by Goya and other brands. It is a mixture of salt and spices, which comes in a varieties like with or without pepper and with cumin. It is inexpensive and versatile; I use it on home fries, and add paprika (for color, mostly) to make taco seasoning. Of course, if you would rather not add sodium to your burgers, feel free to use your own seasoning of choice.

When I mix and shape the meat, I wear unpowdered medical-type gloves, available at drugstores, so that I don't get meat under my fingernails and don't have to scrub my hands so much afterwards, but have the dexterity of bare hands. I also use these gloves when kneading breads, or to mix large batches of cookie dough with my hands.

Ground turkey also comes in frozen rolls, sausage-shaped plastic bundles. I wouldn't use the frozen rolls of ground turkey for burgers because the meat is too mushy and wouldn't hold together well enough. The ground turkey I freeze at home I usually don't want to wait for to thaw enough to be workable. However, the frozen ground turkey is great for shepherd's pie, American chop suey, stroganoff, and other dishes where a crumbly texture is desirable.

The Zucchini Shoestring Fries didn't come out quite as planned. The end result was similar to fried calamari: a tangled mess of moist fried strands that even tasted sort of like calamari (maybe it was the extra-virgin olive oil). But that was fine with us, since we like fried calamari. My comments and modifications are in italics next to the original recipe.

1 very large zucchini (How large is very large? My zucchini was over a foot long, and thick like the business end of a baseball bat.)
1 teaspoon salt (With such a huge zucchini, I used more than that--about 1 1/2 teaspoons)
Several sprigs of rosemary (If you have rosemary leaves that come in a jar, just sprinkle those in.)
1/2 cup olive oil (Maybe I was using a bigger skillet than the author used, it was more than that, enough to cover the bottom.)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (lots o' squash warranted more flour, about 1/4 cup)

1. Cut the squash lengthwise into halves, and then cut into 1/4 inch slices, then cut those into 1/8. (This is where I wanted to go to Williams-Sonoma and buy a gadget that does the cutting for me. After cutting it in half lengthwise, I cut the zucchini into "shoestring-y enough" strips.)

2. Sprinkle and toss with salt in a colander and set in the sink to drain for 30 minutes. After draining, squeeze out as much water as you can with your hands. (You may wish to use a paper towel to bundle the squash in when you squeeze it. This recipe comes from an eco-friendly website, and they would rather not promote unnecessary paper towel use. You could also use a clean dish towel.)

3. Heat oil in a skillet–you want the oil very hot, but not smoking.

4. Toss zucchini with flour in a bowl, then add it to the oil in batches. Cook for about 5 minutes until zucchini is just golden, then toss in a few leaves of rosemary. Cook for another minute until zucchini is golden.

5. Drain zucchini on paper towel and serve immediately. (Apparently, this is necessary paper towel use. I wouldn't wreck a dish towel for this.)

I need a cute and clever sign-off catchphrase.

--M