BAD Blogger

I'm not talking about "Blogger," either. I'm talking about ME! It's been two weeks since I last sat down and blogged! Summer is a busy time.

Let's see what I've been up to over the last two weeks. I threw a birthday party for my friend Suzanne, which was a lot of fun. It was a somewhat different bunch of ladies than usual, and some I haven't seen in a LONG time, so we had a great time catching up. I set the table up on the side of the house with the view of the field, instead of out back, and everybody ended up staying until about 11am out by the fire. Good times!

I've been meaning to share the MOST AMAZING turkey burger recipe with y'all since I made them for my OWN birthday party in June. I served them for this last party, too, and they were a big hit yet again. The chutney for the top is a total necessity--it brings the whole thing together. Serve them on fresh baked focaccia bread, and your guests will rave! It's the recipe from Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. I'm going to copy it here so that just in case they take it off their website someday, it'll still be here in my archives:

Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burger

Recipe courtesy of Jeff O'Neill

Oprah found a new favorite food when she tried this turkey burger at Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump's private club in Palm Beach. "I believe [it] may be the best turkey burger in the entire world," she says. The Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burger will be permanently available at the Trump Bar and Grille in Trump Tower in New York City, open to the public for lunch and dinner. It will also be served during lunch in Chicago at Sixteen, the Trump International Hotel restaurant.

Ingredients:

Serves 6

• 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 3 Granny Smith apples , peeled and diced
• 1/8 cup canola oil
• 4 pounds ground turkey breast
• 2 Tbsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. black pepper
• 2 tsp. Tabasco® chipotle pepper sauce
• 1 lemon , juiced and grated zest
• 1/2 bunch parsley , finely chopped
• 1/4 cup Major Grey's Chutney , pureed

Sauté the scallions, celery and apples in the canola oil until tender. Let cool.

Place the ground turkey in a large mixing bowl. Add sautéed items and the remaining ingredients. Shape into eight 8-ounce burgers. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Season the turkey burgers with salt and pepper. Place on a preheated, lightly oiled grill. Grill each side for 7 minutes until meat is thoroughly cooked. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Serve with a side of Mar-a-Lago Pear Chutney and your favorite toasted bread, pita or hamburger roll.

The recipe for the pear chutney is here:

Mar-a-Lago Pear Chutney

Recipe courtesy of Jeff O'Neill

This pear chutney topping is the key to giving the Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burger that extra zing.

Ingredients:

Serves 6

• 1 Anjour pear , peeled and diced
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups Major Grey's Chutney
• 1/4 cup dried currants or raisins

Preheat oven to 350°.

Toss the diced pears with the cinnamon and salt. Bake on a parchment-lined cookie sheet for 10 minutes.

Cool and mix with the chutney and currants or raisins.

Let's see....I've been tubing down the Battenkill River with friends, sewing a TON of window treatments for a big job, getting the house ready for more guests, (another big party this weekend--family coming--there will be 25+ guests, I think), going to other peoples' summer parties, swimming at my sister's house in her awesome heated pool, and working on a couple more house projects--you HAVE to do house projects just days before guests arrive! It's mandatory! My sister Ann and her family are coming up from Florida, and they haven't seen my house yet!

I'll post pictures of the projects after I finish them. Hey, I have three days left. No problemo! :-/