January Cooking Club: GINGER

The January edition of my co-worker cooking club/Iron Chef competition centered around the ingredient ginger.  The funny thing is that I threw that ingredient out there jokingly having initially thought, “What the heck can you do with ginger?”  I came to find that it is actually a very versatile ingredient and the dishes at this gathering were a testament to that.  I made Asian-Style Turkey Burger Sliders with a ginger soy sauce that was simply to die for.  They were so good that you would be shocked to know the recipe comes from a Weight Watchers cookbook I borrowed from my Mom.  Other contributions included: homemade ginger ale for Dark and Stormy’s, Moscow Mule (has ginger beer in it), lemon ginger scones, a chicken curry dish, orange ginger beets, and ginger snap breaded fried chicken with apple and onion slaw.  What a treat it all was for the tastebuds! This group continues to amaze me with their culinary know-how.  Besides the fantastic eats, the ambiance was particularly welcoming.  Our host, Scott, had us at his almost finished house which he had spent countless months upgrading into a nothing shy of a masterpiece home.  February’s cooking club appropriately requires the ingredient cocoa.  I wonder if this will be a mostly dessert-focused gathering.  I wouldn’t mind a bit 😉

Ingredients:

Turkey Burger Sliders (NOTE: I doubled the below recipe as the cooking club crowd was bigger than your dinner for two or family dinner of four crowd):

• 1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
• 2 TBSP finely chopped onion
• 2 TBSP finely chopped green bell pepper
• 1 TBSP low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• cooking spray
• 1 packages of sliders rolls (usually come in 12 packs so you may have a few left-over rolls)
• lettuce, tomato, onion (optional)

Sweet Ginger Soy Sauce (Adapted from http://disgustinglygood.com/):

• 4 TBSP low-sodium soy sauce
• 3 TBSP sherry cooking wine
• 5 TBSP turbinado sugar
• 2 TBSP minced fresh ginger, or 1/2 TBSP ground dry

Directions:

1. Prepare grill or large cast iron skillet (we used the latter.)
2. Combine turkey and the next 7 ingredients in a large bowl.  Divide into 8-10 equal portions shaping into 1/2 inch thick patties. 
3. Place patties on grill or in your skillet with a healthy amount of of cooking spray.  Cook approximately 5-7 minutes on each side or until done.                                                             
4. For the sauce, simply combine all ingredients with a whisk and cook over a medium heat.  Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for several minutes.  It will thicken as it cools.
5. If desired, toast your slider rolls and melt a little butter to brush on top immediately adding sea salt.  Top with lettuce, tomato, and onion if you wish, but definitely spoon some of the ginger soy sauce for a flavor bomb!

January Cooking Club Spread

Tags: asian, cooking club, digustingly good, ginger, healthy, low fat, protein, turkey burgers, weight watchers