Figs are back, Hooray!

Walking home from work the other day I spotted figs at the corner fruit stand....I was exstatic! I've been waiting since October for fig season to be here, and finally it's here! HOORAY! See I only became a fan of figs this past October when my mom bought a bunch for the Jewish holidays but I only actually tasted one during the holiday of Sukkot, which is the last of the holidays.

Once I decided I loved the taste of figs it was too late and there were gone for the season. So I've basically been dreaming of eating a fig for a long while now....you can probably guess how excited I was to see them at the stand on the corner!

The ones the guy at the fruit stand was selling were kind of mushy, so I thought I'd skip buying them there and visit the supermarket to see if they had any...NOPE, they didn't. My next move was the World Wide Web. Freshdirect is a great resource for finding seasonal fruit and vegetables that are not always sold in your good old supermarket. I was so excited to order them, along with a bunch of other stuff!

I think I'll eat some for breakfast and the others I thought to make a brie and fig mac and cheese, just like the one they make at S'mac in the east village, NYC. But then I came across this recipe and it seemed better suited for me. The S'mac version recipe that I found online uses shitake mushrooms and rosemary and in my opinion those two ingredients just don't fit into the puzzle for me! Sorry S'mac! Anyway stay tuned for the results, meanwhile I'm enjoying my figs, plain and simple!

Aioli on Your Burger?

Roasted Red Pepper Aioli

6 garlic cloves

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cups light mayonnaise

Salt and pepper to taste

1 15oz jar of roasted red peppers, drained

Finely chop garlic cloves in a food processor. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Then add the mayonnaise. Add salt and pepper to taste and blend until smooth. (This is your basic aioli.)

To make red pepper aioli, blend peppers and 1 cup basic aioli in processor until mixture is smooth. Can be made 1 day ahead, keep covered and refridgerated.

Spinach Artichoke Chicken Burgers

Spinach Artichoke Chicken Burgers

2 pounds ground white meat chicken

1 box frozen spinach, defrosted with the water squeezed out (use cheese cloth)

1 can artichokes in water, drained well

salt and pepper to taste

Place drained spinach and artichokes in a food processor and process until ingredients are chopped finely. Add chicken, salt, and pepper, and spinach artichoke mixture into a bowl until well combined. Make mixture into about 10-12 patties and grill on the BBQ! Serve on a toasted potato bun with caramalized onions and roasted red pepper aioli sauce, ENJOY!!

NOTE: To know if you have enough flavor (salt and pepper) in the burgers, make a mini tests burger on a pan and taste, adjust accordingly.

After cooking they looked like this...

Even the Dubie dog enjoyed!!