Recipe Remix: Queens Style Stuffed Tempeh Burgers and The Amends

Last week I posted a new Artist's Cookbook with The Miami. The recipe was for stuffed turkey burgers but seeing as that isn't something that I could easily digest I decided to remix it into a more vegetarian/vegan friendly dish. I'd love to go on and on about how well this remix turned out and how everyone loved it but...no one else had a chance to eat any. It made four burgers and, like one of those A & E television shows, I hoarded them to myself.

Queens Style Stuffed Tempeh Burgers (Tender B. Remix)

(printable version)

-1 block of tempeh, broken into chunks

-1/2 cup of pecan powder

-12 saltines

-6 oz tomato paste

-2 Tbs. tamari

-garlic powder

-fresh mozzarella (or favorite vegan mozzarella)

-crushed red pepper

-steak sauce

-fresh basil

-4 buns, toasted

1. Steam the tempeh chunks in a bamboo steamer (or other steamer) for twenty minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then crumble with your hands into a large bowl.

2. Process the pecans and crackers in a food processor until powdered (if you have actual pecan powder you just need to powder the crackers). Combine powdered crackers and pecans with tempeh.

3. Add the tomato paste, tamari and garlic powder (which I didn't measure but it was probably about a tbs) to the tempeh mixture. Stir until all ingredients are combined.

4. Divide the mixture into four piles. Begin forming patties. Make a hole in the center, rip off a chunk of mozzarella and place it inside along with a pinch of red pepper flakes. Reform the patty so that the mozzarella and pepper are in the middle. Repeat with the other three patties.

5. Using a skillet, heat the patties over medium heat. I heated mine until the were starting to brown (about 8 minutes a side) but you can cook yours until your desired texture (maybe you like your tempeh rare?). With about a minute left in cooking time dump steak sauce on the patties. Smear over the top, flip and smear again. Add some more mozzarella and a few basil leaves. Place a lid over the burger, melt the cheese and serve on toasted buns. Hoard for yourself.

The remixed burgers went great with a band who knows a thing or two about making minor changes (or at least that is what their moniker implies). The Amends are from Boulder, Colorado and they are preparing for the release of their first full length next Saturday (July 23rd). The band will celebrate that night with a show at the Meadowlark in Denver. Until the full length we can celebrate as silicon strangers the rip roaring, mile a minute, dance your face off sounds of the band's previous EP of demos. "Dance" is my favorite tune.

The Amends-Dance (demo mix)

The rest of the EP:

Check out two singles from the upcoming album at the Amend's bandcamp page.

Breakfast Gnocchi Remixed by Hey Sholay!

I ate lunch with my class today and they were having "breakfast for lunch." That meant sausage, hash browns and pancakes. It also meant syrup everywhere. I left the table with no fewer than three sticky hand prints on various parts of my body (I don't even remember them touching my collar right under my chin). While sitting with them certainly didn't save me any laundry, it did inspire me to go with my own breakfast at the wrong time of day celebration. My choice was the Breakfast Gnocchi recipe that Reversing Falls talked about in our interview. Of course, I did a slight Tender Branson remix first. Don't worry, you'll still recognize it.

Reversing Falls' Breakfast Gnocchi (Tender Branson Remix)

(printable version)

-1 package of whole wheat gnocchi
-olive oil
-4 green onions, diced
-4 large mushroom caps, diced
-1 fennel bulb, diced
-2 vine ripened tomatoes, diced
-fresh basil, ripped into pieces
-juice of 1/2 a lime
-4 pieces of veggie bacon, cooked and sliced
-salt and pepper to taste
-four large tortillas

1. Cook the gnocchi according to the directions on the package. Drain, rub with olive oil and set aside.

2. Using a cast iron skillet, fry the green onions, fennel and mushrooms in olive oil until fennel is softened. Add the gnocchi and continue frying until gnocchi begins to brown (mine took roughly about 15 minutes over medium heat).

3. Meanwhile, mix the tomatoes, basil, fake bacon, and lime juice in a separate bowl (do not forget the lime juice, it is what sends this recipe over the edge). Set aside.

4. When the gnocchi has browned, add the contents of the cast iron skillet to the tomatoes. Mix well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

5. Warm the burritos. Plop the breakfast gnocchi down in the middle, wrap it and shove the whole mess into your oral cavity.

You are running the streets of your rainy city and somewhere in the distant you hear the susurration of guitar strums, hand claps and beating drums. You slow down, for an instant, before remembering the rain. Somewhere these two, the music and rain, have a "timeshare." That place is where Sheffield's Hey Sholay begins. That was also where the cooking ended.

In bed with old Nick (Kids in bearsuits on drugs) ((HEY SHOLAY)) by Hey Sholay

Gold teeth and goodbyes (a song for sparrows) ((HEY SHOLAY)) by Hey Sholay

Hey Sholay is preparing for the release of their first single on Fierce Panda/Club Fandango. It is a double A-side of their tracks "Dreamboat" and "The Bears, the Bees & No Clocks." Here is an unmastered version of "Dreamboat."

Hey Sholay-Dreamboat

From the Vault: A Pizza and Pasta Party with the bouncing souls, aquabats, Sam's spaghetti band and smile pasta

There is nothing worse than bad pizza and the Tampa area has some real stinkers. For two years I consumed overdone, tasteless, dry, even chlorine laced pies before striking gold.

The problem is that after spending the first twenty years of my life eating Pizza Hut, Dominoes, Pino's (a small scale New York style pizza joint in Newville that reportedly served drugs on the side), Tony's frozen pizza and Ellio's cardboard covered cheese, I moved to Chicago and enjoyed some of the best pizza in the world. After relocating to Gainesville I discovered Satchel's Deep Dish (like eating Heaven baked in an oven) in the back of a Volkswagen Van.

The pie that saved Tampa came from La Prima Pizza, a corner store in a Target strip mall. J-fur and I stopped there once on a whim and I wasn't expecting much. After some deliberation we decided to go with La Prima Pizza's Sicilian (which is square with thick crust). That was a decision that neither of us would regret. The pizza was extremely doughy and soft with just the right blend of cheese and sauce. Adding in some garlic and basil provided just enough kick to keep our taste buds honest. The best part of the deal? Between the two of us we were only able to finish three slices. That meant that six more went home with us. If you ever in Tampa with a craving for Sicilian style pizza make La Prima Pizza a destination. I'd love to vouch for their subs or thin crust slices but I've never tried them. The Sicilian just holds too much clout.

On the pasta side of things I posted an interview with Frederik from Solander almost two months ago and in the interview he provided us with a recipe for Cannelloni (original recipe here). Frederik checked back in with me last week and asked if I had tried it. I told him that I hadn't yet but I would do so shortly. I made some modifications to Frederik's version in order to better fit J-Fur's tastes (I did not include the white sauce which would've been too creamy for her) and it came out wonderfully. So wonderfully that I awarded it my recipe of the week.

Solander's Cannelloni (Tender B. Manicotti Remix)

(printable version)

-1 Tbs olive oil
-18 oz spinach
-4 cloves garlic
-6 oz neufchatel cheese
-salt and pepper to taste
-1 box manicotti (about 14 noodles)
-20 oz tomato sauce
-basil
-Parmesan, grated
-Mozzarella, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 420 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Heat the olive oil in a wok or non stick frying pan. Add spinach and garlic and heat until spinach is wilted. Stir in neufchatel cheese to create a creamy spinach mixture. Add salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

2. Cook pasta according to directions on the box. After draining the pasta, cut open and place laid out pasta on wax paper. Begin stuffing the noodles with the spinach mixture and then placing in a 9x13 glass dish. Repeat until all noodles have been filled with spinach.

3. Cover the noodles with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese. Add just a little mozzarella. Bake for 20 minutes.

Music from the serious:
Bouncing Souls-Pizza Song


To the "if you want to laugh while you cook:"

The Aquabats-Pizza Day


Sam's Spaghetti Band-I already have a girlfriend


Smile Pasta-Rainbow Smile