foodie friday

i used to be OBSESSED with rachel ray. i remember coming home after a L-O-N-G day of work at loews, pouring a glass of wine, curling up on the couch and watching rachel ray from 5:30 to 6:30pm on the food network. those were some good days. i loved it even more when we moved into our house and the den was off the kitchen, unlike it is now. i would start dinner and watch rachel whip up some delightful dish in 30 minutes while i chopped onions. for some reason i like the way those days look.

fast forward 2 years, i have 4 of her cookbooks and haven't opened a single one in a long while. i guess giada came along. well and then the pioneer women.

one of my favorite rachel ray dishes is sure to be yours too. i have really been in the mood to cookout some hamburguesas ... (that was what we always said in argentina) ... but these can be made inside if your weekend weather is looking a little frigid like ours is.

(photo from here)

bbq chicken burgers with slaw

• 1 tablespoon butter, cut into pieces
• 1 small red onion, 1/2 finely chopped, 1/2 thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce, eyeball it
• 1 1/4 pounds ground chicken
• 1 tablespoons grill seasoning(recommended: McCormick brand) a palm full
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 tablespoons honey, eyeball it
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 3 rounded tablespoons sweet pickle relish
• 2 cups shredded cabbage mix
• salt and pepper
• 4 hamburger rolls, split

Melt butter over medium heat in a skillet. Add chopped onions, garlic and tomato paste and sweat them for 5 minutes to soften and sweeten. Sprinkle in sugar and remove from heat. Cool in a bowl for 5 minutes. Add tomato paste mixture, Worcestershire, hot sauce to bowl and combine. Add chicken to bowl then grill seasoning and mix burger mix well with hands. Makes 4 patties.

Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, a turn of the pan, in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook patties 6 minutes on each side.

Combine the honey, lemon juice, and remaining extra-virgin olive oil in a bowl. Add relish, cabbage mix and sliced onions and season with salt and pepper. Toss the slaw to coat and reserve.

Serve burgers on bun bottoms topped with slaw and bun tops.