The Secret Recipe Club

In the days of the Babysitter's Club books and clubhouses, I always wanted to form a secret club, girls only no less, or be invited to be in a similar club.  The furthest I got was the foot of my bed with my trusty Cabbage Patch dolls.  They all eagerly accepted their invitation and none of them gave me any "yeah right" stares.  Those were good friends to have - no backtalk, no tattle-telling, no bossing, just obedient friends.

I've never really lost that desire to be a part of a secret club.  I'd even be satisfied with a secret bookshelf in my house that gave way to a secret entrance into a secret room.  Can you tell I'm all about secrets?  I love to surprise the ones I love with secret destinations and gifts and I like to be on the receiving end too.  Maybe I'm just a secretive person.

When I first read about The Secret Recipe Club on Peggy's blog, I was very intrigued.  At first I kicked myself for not thinking of it myself and then I wondered if I could be a part.  Finally a club I could be in?  Say it's not so!  It was so and thanks to Amanda, I am a newly inducted member!

Each month we are secretly assigned a fellow blogger and we must find a recipe on their blog that we'd like to try.  We make the recipe and report back on our reveal day.  Sounds fun, doesn't it!

For my introductory month, I was assigned Pass the Sushi.  Admittedly I was nervous.  I didn't know the first thing about making sushi!  I didn't have any of the necessary equipment and I don't like raw fish.  I clicked on over and was relieved to find not a nary sushi recipe in site.  What I did find was a whole host of recipes I wanted to try.  Not surprising, I was indecisive and couldn't choose just one recipe.  Thankfully there is a time limit put on us or I just might have tried to make every recipe that sounded good.  Peanut butter banana cookies anyone?  Yes, please.  Who doesn't love chocolate chip cookies, deep dish style?  Yet in the end, it was the non-dessert option that won me over; Thai Turkey Burgers with Broccoli Slaw it was!

These burgers came together pretty quickly and effortlessly.  I did alter the ingredient a bit because I was too lazy to shred a carrot and garlic powder seemed much easier than getting fresh garlic out of the fridge.  Hey don't hate me, I try to cook a gourmet meal in 30 minutes, so I'm not afforded such luxuries sometimes.  I also omitted the egg in the mix because eggs are a hot commodity in our house and I knew they'd be ok without it. I loved the slaw on the burger but I did modify it slightly so I could use up 1 of the 2 heads of cabbage I already had.

Overall, these burgers were a hit.  I'd add a bit more seasoning next time because ground turkey needs a lot of help.  The slaw added an extra dimension of flavor and a nice little crunch.  I liked the concept of incorporating Thai flavors into a burger and I'm anxious to play with the concept a bit more another time.  Thanks, Kita, for a great recipe.

Thai Turkey Burgers with Broccoli Slaw
adapted from Pass the Sushi

• 1/2 cup of bread crumbs
• 1 lb of ground turkey
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tsp chili paste
• 2 T. cilantro, finely chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp lime zest
• 1 tsp curry powder
• Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Preheat your grill pan to medium-high heat.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine. Form ground turkey mixture into patties.

Grill for about 4 minutes on each side. 

Serve with broccoli slaw as a side or on top with toasted buns.

Broccoli Slaw

• 5-6 cups chopped Napa cabbage (cut as fine as you can)
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1/4 cup mayo
• juice of 1 lime
• bunch of cilantro
• 1 tbsp chili paste
• 1 teas of sesame oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at least 20 minutes, or overnight, so that the flavors meld before serving.


Of course I couldn't stop there.  I had so much fun making these, I decided to whip up the Skillet Baked Chocolate Chip Cookie too!  What can I say about chocolate chip cookies that hasn't already been said?  Me like cookies!