Doing the Impossible

Many years ago, I started hearing about something Impossible, a burger that looks like a burger, cooks like a burger, and tastes like a burger, but was made in a lab with plant protein. Suffice to say, it was in the back of my mind for a long time and I was very curious.

When it finally came to market, you could only get this burger at a limited number of fancy restaurants. And no offense, but if I am going to a fancy dinner, I'm not getting a vegan anything. So I waited...

Months and months later, it came to my attention that it was available at fancy burger joint Umami Burger. With my mentee in tow, we decided to check it out.

The Umami Impossible burger comes in the California style, 2 thin patties, grilled hard. Topped with cheese and special sauce.

The results: My first impression was wow! This tastes like a burger. Almost. But very close. Let;s break this down. First, the hard grilling really tasted like grilled meat. Which is why the first impression was so good. When you look at the meat, it even looks like burger meat. Once you take a few more bites, you realize it isn't quite a burger. There is an aftertaste that is not quite right. Not saying it is bad, it just isn't burger. But, my burps sure tasted like burger!

But one thing I had read about this burger, that Umami didn't deliver on, was that apparently when cooked Medium Rare, this burger would bleed. So, had to find an impossibly bleeding burger.

And in stepped The Counter, another burger chain that was now carrying the Impossible burger, and they cook it fat so it will bleed. So one day at work, a bunch of us ordered Impossible burgers. This time the burger came fat and when you bit into it, it definitely was juicy and runny like a burger with a pink color. I was impressed with the technology. Unfortunately, I didn't really pay attention to the condiments they used on the burger when I ordered it. It was very Mediterranean, with goat cheese and balsamic dijon. So the burger got a bit lost with those overpowering flavors. That said, when I found nibbles on the side not covered in cheese, they tasted about the same as at Umami. Good grill flavor, something different at the end. Verdict, mostly disappointed by my not seeing the goat cheese toppings. I'll give it one more bloody try.

And try I did, with another visit to the Counter, but this time, I made it my way. With cheddar cheese, bacon and mushrooms, AKA how I like my burgers normally. And at the end of the day, having it my way was a nice touch, but I probably never need to have another Impossible burger. I love beef. And if I was a vegan, I would still probably not get this burger again. Why? Aside from the slightly different flavor, mostly it is price. This costs more than a regular beef burger, and doesn't taste as good. So in my mind, it is more of a gimmick at this point. If they can get mass production, that is environmentally friendly, so the price is cheaper than beef, I might give it another try.

Until then...

Ya, I got suckered into the Impossible world 1 more time. But this time was different, it was Impossible Chorizo! In a taco salad from Mendocino Farms. Basically, it appears they took the Impossible burger and mixed it with taco seasoning. And it worked. By far the best version of impossible I have had. The seasoning basically makes it taste like chorizo without the weird taste. It reminds me of the Sofritas at Chipotle, which I usually get when I got to there. Why? Because it is an alternative to the same choices I get everywhere else.

So my Impossible quest ends for now. I hope they find a way to make the price more palatable, because beef is still king!

Nacho Grandma's Passover Kugel

This year was my 39th Passover, but it was a year of many firsts!

First, this was the first year my uncle did not lead Sedar. And thus it was the first year that my father did lead Sedar. Let's just say it was a bit more relaxed.

Second, this is the first year we didn't have Passover with our extended family, which meant we hosted and had to do all the cooking.

Which means that Third, we had free reign to make the food our way. 

So while this is not a blog about fast food on Passover, it is a blog about the food we cooked on Passover. 

While there are some dishes that will always be on the menu, I came up with 2 new dishes to celebrate our freedom from the other half of the family cooking, and to celebrate our location, SoCal, versus Chicago or NJ.

So on Friday, rather than roasting a chicken or a turkey for dinner, I decided to revisit a dish from my Naughty or Nice Christmas past, my Turducken roll. For those who don't know what a Turducken is, read here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turducken

Of course, we were only feeding 5 people, so doing 3 whole animals was a bit overboard. Rather, I came up with a smaller version as follows:

What you are looking at here are pounded chicken breasts wrapped around turkey sausage wrapped around duck breast. And all of that wrapped in the Duck and Chicken skins. And the duck came out perfectly pink. Want to learn how? Shoot me a note. 

The second dish I came up with was representative of being in LA/SoCal. Most Kugel recipes are for noodles. Of course, being Passover, noodles are out. The second type of kugel you see, usually for Passover, is a potato kugel. Which is basically potatoes au gratin. No complaints, I love that dish, but it didn't call to me. So I started thinking about what else I could use for the kugel. 

While thinking about this, my roommate and I were having a debate if corn tortillas were kosher for Passover. And it turns out they are, and they are not. It all depends on your upbringing. If you are Ashkenazi, a Jew of Eastern European descent, then they are not kosher. But if you are Sephardic, ie Mediterranean, they are Kosher. Confirmed via the internet (because I believe everything I read that fits in my worldview on the internet) here: https://www.quora.com/Are-tortillas-kosher-for-Passover

Considering LA's climate is more Mediterranean than Eastern European, I say they are kosher. And with that debate completed, the birth of corn tortilla kugel, aka Nacho kugel, was born. 

Basically, I took a normal Grandma's noodle kugel recipe, and substituted corn tortillas for noodles, cutting them about a half inch wide. In place of sour cream, I used Mexican crema. I still kept the cottage cheese but added queso fresco as well for flavor. Toss in eggs and you have kugel. I also went the savory route instead of sweet. 

Since we were protein heavy with the turducken on Friday and smoked Brisket on Saturday, I kept these nachos veggie heavy. I roasted poblano peppers, and sauteed garlic, leeks(cut the same width as the tortillas), mushrooms and tomatoes. Tossing all the ingredients together and baking until the corn tortillas on top are crispy and the whole thing is firm. And then topped with Guacamole.

I'm definitely thinking of adding ground beef, chicken or chorizo next time! Maybe even carnitas or smoked brisket. They are Nachos so almost anything will work. 

And with that, Nacho Kugel was born!

PS I took this picture after people dug in, oops.

PSS After the fact, my brother started making matzoh tortillas, which might be another evolution of this dish for the Ashkenazi peeps out there.

PSSS Huge shout out to the third new tradition by my brother, 10 hour smoked brisket!