Apple Turkey Burgers with Caramelized Onions & Brie

I love experimenting with different types of veggie burgers – from bean burgers to quinoa to even broccoli burgers! – but I also love a good meat burger once in a while.  While I can sometimes tolerate a beef burger, I MUCH prefer turkey burgers, which is a good thing as they’re also a much healthier choice!  I’ve tried a lot of awesome turkey burger recipes in the past, like Thai peanut turkey burgers (which I really must make again) and BBQ pineapple burgers, but these apple ones might just be my new favourite!

These burgers are extra juicy with the addition of grated apple in the patties, then get tons of flavour from the toppings: crunchy apples, melted brie, and caramelized onions.  Each component works so well together to create a sophisticated but super easy burger – don’t leave any of the toppings out!  The caramelized onions are the only time consuming part of this meal but they can easily be done in advance and reheated when it’s time to eat.  And if you’re vegetarian, I think these would work really well as a chickpea burger too!

What's your favourite type of burger?

Apple Turkey Burgers with Caramelized Onions and Brie

Recipe adapted from Carolina Girl Cooks and Iowa Girl Eats

Makes 4 burgers

Ingredients:

4 small yellow onions, peeled and sliced into half-moons (or 2 larger yellow onions)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 lb lean ground turkey

2 granny smith apples, divided

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried sage

Salt and pepper

8 slices Brie cheese

4 hamburger buns

Directions:

Start by caramelizing the onions, as this step can take up to half an hour.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions, stir to coat with oil, and season with salt and pepper.  Spread onions out evenly across the pan and let cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and caramelized, about 25-30 minutes.  Don’t stir the onions too often so they can brown, but don’t leave them alone long enough to burn or stick to the pan.  You may need to reduce the heat or add a splash of water to deglaze the pan a few times to prevent onions from burning.  Once they’re done, set aside in a small bowl.  This step can be done ahead of time and onions can be warmed up in the microwave before topping burger.

Grate one apple for using in the turkey burger and keep the second apple aside for topping the burger later.  Prepare turkey burgers by gently mixing ground turkey, grated apple, Dijon mustard, thyme, sage, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper in a bowl.  Form into four patties, being careful not to overwork the mixture. 

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray or drizzle with oil.  Cook turkey burgers until cooked through (center no longer pink, juices run clear, internal temperature of 165°F), about 5 minutes per side.  Add 2 slices of brie cheese to each burger about 2-3 minutes before it’s done cooking so the brie can melt slightly.

Thinly slice the second apple.  Top each bun with a turkey burger (with brie), sliced apples, and caramelized onions.

BBQ Chicken Quesadillas with Peaches and Brie

Happy Labour Day!  As you all probably have much more exciting plans than me today (unless you consider a day of report-writing fun), I'll keep today's post short!

These quesadillas are a twist on one of my favourite easy dishes from last summer, peach and brie quesadillas, making them a little heartier with the addition of chicken and barbeque sauce, inspired by these chipotle peach bbq chicken quesadillas.  I kept them simple using storebought bbq sauce, so they can be thrown together in no time!

I wasn't sure how the barbeque sauce and peaches would work together, but they turned out so good - I think it's hard to go wrong with quesadillas!  The sweetness of the peaches balances out the barbeque sauce, the cilantro adds a fresh bite, and the brie cheese mellows everything out and of course keeps the quesadillas together.  I still love the sweeter peach and brie version, but these are a nice change for a more substantial dinner that's still easy and fun!

BBQ Chicken Quesadillas with Peaches and Brie

Inspired by Sunflower Supper Club and adapted from these peach and brie quesadillas

Serves 2-4 (makes 4 quesadillas, which can each be cut into 3 wedges, for 12 wedges)

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1/4 cup bbq sauce (I used storebought tequila lime bbq sauce)

4 large tortillas (I used whole wheat)

6 oz brie cheese, sliced

2 ripe peaches, peeled and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Directions:

Combine chicken and barbeque sauce.  Season with salt and pepper, if desired (I season my chicken breasts before cooking).  Divide brie cheese, chicken, peaches, and cilantro among the 4 tortillas, only layering them on half of each tortilla.  Fold the other half of the tortillas over to form half circles.

Heat two large non-stick skillets over medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Place two folded quesadillas in each skillet and cook for about 2-4 minutes, until crispy and golden brown on one side, then flip and repeat on other side.  Serve warm.

Note: I've also tried these with monterey jack cheese instead of brie and they were just as good, so feel free to try a different cheese if you don't have any brie!

Holiday Cranberry Brie Wreath

Back in November I was lucky enough to be selected as one of six Canadian food bloggers to be featured in Eat in Eat Out's premiere issue. My gingerbread crepes with eggnog whipped cream appeared on pages 48-9 of the digital magazine (and if you haven't made them yet, I don't know what you're waiting for!), but we each actually created two original recipes for Eat In Eat Out. My second recipe, which will be featured on their homepage next week, was this amazing holiday cranberry brie wreath.

When I first tried thinking of holiday flavours to incorporate into my two recipes, my thoughts went to gingerbread, eggnog, and cranberry. Since the first two were already covered in the crepe recipe, I decided to make something a little more on the savoury side using the cranberries. Cranberries pair so well with brie cheese, and I don't know anyone who can resist melted brie, so I decided to wrap them together with some crunchy pecans in a sweet dough formed into a festive wreath shape.

I was a little worried that the whole thing would somehow explode in the oven and turn into a giant mess, but while it may not have been a perfect wreath shape after baking, it actually did hold together quite well. The real test came when I sliced into the wreath to try a piece, but as soon as I saw the layers of sweet cranberry sauce, soft dough, and oozing brie, I knew it would be good. One bite in, and I was in heaven!

I knew I would devour the whole thing myself if I stayed in the house with it, and since I wanted to share it with others while it was still warm, I cut a bunch of slices and rushed it over to my Grandma's where some of my family members were already gathered. They all finished their plates pretty quickly and agreed I had a winning recipe.

The only problem was trying to figure out how to classify this recipe. I originally intended it to be an appetizer, which would work well because it feeds a big crowd if you cut really thin slices, and you only need thin slices as it's pretty filling. However, because it's a little sweeter than most appetizers, I think it would also work as a brunch offering, or even a dessert. I guess my problem with figuring out how to categorize it isn't really a bad thing, since it gives you a lot more options for serving it! However you think it should be classified, I hope you give this a try, just make sure you have lots of people to share it with!

Holiday Cranberry Brie Wreath

Serves about 20

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water (110° to 115°)

1 tablespoon plus 1/2 cup sugar, divided

1 cup warm milk (110° to 115°)

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon salt

3 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

1 (12-oz) bag fresh cranberries

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

200g double-cream brie cheese, thinly sliced

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Optional egg wash: 1 egg + 2 tablespoons water

Directions:

Dissolve the package of yeast in 1/4 cup warm water, with 1 tablespoon sugar. Stir and let sit 5-10 minutes, until yeast starts to foam. If it doesn’t, the yeast may no longer be active, and try again with a fresher pack.

Add 1/2 cup sugar, the warm milk, butter, salt, and 2 cups flour to the bowl. Beat until smooth (either with an electric mixer or a whisk). Add in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead 6-8 minutes, adding more flour as necessary if the dough is too sticky, until you have a smooth and elastic dough. Place in a large greased bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 to 1.5 hours.

Meanwhile, prepare cranberry sauce by bringing 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add bag of fresh cranberries and reduce heat. Let simmer about 10 minutes, until cranberries break down and sauce is thickened. Let cool.

Punch down dough and roll on a floured surface into a 16 inch by 12 inch rectangle. Spread cooled cranberry sauce over the surface of the dough. Make sure the sauce spreads all the way to the shorter edges of the dough, but leave a 1-inch border on the long edge of the dough furthest away from you (the edge you will be rolling the dough toward). Cover with slices of brie, as evenly as possible. Sprinkle evenly with chopped pecans. Beginning with the long edge of the dough closest to you, roll the dough towards the opposite end, jelly-roll style. Pinch the seam to seal.

Spray a round baking pan with cooking spray. Transfer the rolled dough to the pan and form into a wreath, pinching the two ends of the log together as best as you can. Use scissors to cut into the wreath so that the filling is slightly exposed - cut about 1/2 to 1 inch into the dough, at about 2 inch intervals (you don't want the filling to fall out, just to show). Cover and let rise 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375°F.

If desired, prepare an egg wash for the dough by whisking together one egg with 2 tablespoons of water. Before baking the dough, brush the surface evenly with the egg wash (make sure you cover every part of the dough evenly so there are no differences in colour).

Bake the wreath for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool slightly, then slice and serve warm.

Peach and Brie Quesadillas with Peach Salsa

People always say it’s the simplest things in life that give the greatest pleasure, and I think this often applies to food too. Some of my favourite things to eat require barely any cooking skill or time, like a tomato sandwich, peanut butter on toast, or melted cheese on a bagel. These quesadillas are also super simple – they have only 4 ingredients and take about 5 minutes to make (without the salsa), yet they were probably one of my favourite things I ate all summer!

I’m pretty sure melted brie makes anything taste amazing, but it really paired well with the peaches and basil. The original recipe from Cooking Light called for chives but I used basil instead because I’m not a big fan of chives. Feel free to use whatever herb you like though, and to adjust any of the amounts in the filling to your liking. I also left out the brown sugar because my peaches were sweet enough on their own – but make sure the peaches aren’t overly ripe so they don’t make the tortilla soggy.

I decided against adding the lime honey dipping sauce because I didn’t really like the idea of dipping the quesadillas in liquid. Instead, I threw together a quick and tasty peach salsa with lime and basil to tie everything together. The salsa added a really nice bright flavour to the quesadillas, but I also loved just eating them plain for the next couple nights (yes, these were so good that I made them for dinner three nights in a row!)

So if you’re looking for a quick and easy dinner for yourself, the quesadilla is perfect on its own, but if you’re serving these to guests, you might want to dress them up a bit with the salsa. You could even double the salsa recipe to have some extra to serve with chips – I bet it would go really well with some lime flavoured Tostitos!

This is finally my last peach recipe of the season, as the weather seems to be rapidly getting colder and I’m starting to crave warm and comforting meals more! If you missed out on any of my peach recipes over the last month, here’s a reminder!

Breakfast: Peach Blueberry Pancakes with Warm Cinnamon Peach Sauce

Snack: Low Fat Peach Blueberry Muffins

Drink: Peach Mojitos

Dinner: Chicken and Spinach Salad with Peaches and Blueberries

Dessert: Peach Pie Bars

Peach and Brie Quesadillas

Adapted from Cooking Light

Serves about 2 as a main course (3 wedges each) or more as an appetizer

Ingredients:

Salsa:

1 peach, peeled and diced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

1/4 teaspoon lime zest

1/2 teaspoon fresh lime juice

Dash of salt

Quesadillas:

2 large (8 or 9-inch) tortillas (I used whole wheat)

2 ripe but firm peaches, peeled and thinly sliced

4 ounces brie cheese, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil

Cooking spray

Directions:

Mix all the salsa ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

To make quesadillas, lay the brie slices on one half of each tortilla. Top with sliced peaches and basil, then fold the other half of the tortilla over the filling to make a half circle. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray. Place quesadilla in pan and cook for 2 minutes, until golden brown and crisp, then flip and cook the other side another 2 minutes. Remove from pan and repeat with the other quesadilla if they could not fit in the pan together. Slice each quesadilla into 3 wedges and serve warm, topped with the peach salsa.