New free ebook: The Not Ketchup Burger Book

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This new free ebook is about to turn your summer grilling and entertaining up to 11.

(Yep, that's a Spinal Tap reference, I'm dating myself.)

Introducing The Not Ketchup Burger Book. This book has 10 of the most delicious burger recipes you've ever tasted. My sweet and tangy Not Ketchup sauces make every burger something truly special.

The recipes:

• Cherry Chipotle Breakfast Burger
• Citrus Crab Cakes with Tangerine Dressing
• Blueberry Bison Burger
• Cherry Chipotle Southwestern Turkey Burger Bowl
• Smoky Date Banh Mi Pork Burger
• Spiced Fig Lamb Sliders
• Spicy Salmon Burger
• Smoky Date Veggie Burger
• Classic Cherry Chipotle Burger
• Tangerine Shrimp Cilantro Burger

I was lucky to have my friend Laura Bashar, who writes the gorgeous blog Family Spice and is co-author of Cooking Techniques with Olive Oil, do all the styling, photography and graphic design. I'm telling you, these are some of the most beautiful burger photos I've ever seen. (If you're looking for an ebook for your business, I highly, highly recommend her and would be happy to put you in touch.)

Click here to get The FREE Not Ketchup Burger Book. I hope you enjoy it!

Buy Not Ketchup on Amazon.com - free shipping with Prime!

Erika's ultimate chicken burger, no grill required

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I know you're supposed to grill burgers.

But for chicken burgers - even when the ground chicken mixture includes plenty of dark meat - I find the grill too aggressive. There's nothing worse than a dry chicken burger. And that's what I get when I cook chicken burgers on the grill.

My favorite chicken burger is moist, well seasoned, studded with chopped green onions, and cooked in a skillet on the stove. Three ingredients, not counting the bun, the garnish, and the sauce. You'll have dinner on the table in less than half an hour.

About the sauce: My favorite for chicken burgers is Blueberry White Pepper Not Ketchup. The combination of sweet, tangy, peppery and savory brings a lot of zest to the delicate chicken. In fact, when I was first working on the recipes for my Not Ketchup sauces, I tested the blueberry prototype on chicken breasts, chicken thighs, chicken tenders, and roast chicken. Blueberries and chicken...who knew?

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Erika's Ultimate Chicken Burger

by Erika Kerekes July-16-2014

A moist chicken burger that's well seasoned, studded with green onions, and served with Blueberry White Pepper Not Ketchup.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 4 burger buns or rolls
• 1 cup Blueberry White Pepper Not Ketchup
• 2 cups baby lettuce mix or arugula

Instructions

In a large bowl, mix the ground chicken, green onions, and garlic salt with your hands until well combined. Divide the chicken mixture into four equal parts, then shape into four patties.Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil, then place the chicken burgers in the pan. Cook about 10 minutes on the first side, then flip and cook until the burgers are cooked all the way through, about 8 minutes more. Put the burgers on a plate, cover with foil, and let rest 5 minutes.To serve, spread some Blueberry White Pepper Not Ketchup on the bottom half of each bun and place a chicken burger on it. Drizzle with more Not Ketchup, add a handful of lettuce or arugula to each burger, and place the other half of each bun on top. Serve immediately.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 25 mins Yield: 4 servings

Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup meatball sliders

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I believe I have now managed to work my new Not Ketchup sauces into a full 50 percent of the meals I have served my family in 2014.

On the Sunday morning I made these Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup meatball sliders, my 15-year-old son's string quartet was rehearsing in the living room. Those poor kids had to smell these delicious meatballs the whole time they were playing Beethoven. When they finished rehearsal they destroyed a large platter of these meatball sliders in mere minutes.

I have a meatball secret (meat loaf, too): I mince a large amount of mushrooms in the food processor, cook them down, let them cool, and mix them in with the ground beef. The mushrooms keep things moist, add fantastic flavor, and keep us all a little healthier. In this version, the earthy background flavor of the mushrooms works particularly well against the sweet, tangy Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup.

What's Not Ketchup and where can you get it, you ask? Click for answers: http://www.notketchup.com

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Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup Meatball Sliders

by Erika Kerekes February-25-2014

Juicy beef meatballs laced with minced mushrooms take a bath in sweet, tangy Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup. Serve on a soft dinner roll garnished with chopped green onions.

Ingredients

• 1 pound mushrooms
• 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 1 pound ground beef
• 3/4 cup green onions, chopped, divided
• 1 slice white or whole wheat bread, broken up into little pieces (use a food processor or your hands)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 1 bottle Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup
• about 24 small soft dinner rolls, like King's Hawaiian

Instructions

Clean the mushrooms and remove any woody stems. Finely mince the mushrooms in a food processor. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large skillet. Add the minced mushrooms and cook until they're soft and the water they give off has mostly evaporated. Remove from the heat and let cool.In a large bowl, use your hands to mix together the ground beef, mushrooms, 1/2 cup green onions, bread, salt, and freshly ground pepper to taste until everything is well combined. Form the meat mixture into 3-inch balls. Heat the skillet in which you cooked the mushrooms over a medium-high flame and add the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil. Put the meatballs into the skillet (if you don't have room, do this in batches). Brown the meatballs on all sides until they are crusty and well caramelized.Pour the Cherry Chipotle Not Ketchup into the skillet and turn the meatballs so they are all coated with the sauce. Turn down the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and cook another 10 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce is bubbling and slightly thickened.To serve, place each meatball on a roll, spoon over some of the sauce from the pan, and sprinkle with green onions. Serve immediately.

Details

Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 40 mins Yield: 8-10 servings

Smoky Date #NotKetchup turkey burger with arugula salad

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Good news: With the help of Smoky Date Not Ketchup, I finally created a turkey burger I can get excited about.

When it comes to burgers, I'm a beef girl. But I'm getting older and I want to stay healthy, so I'm trying to eat less red meat.

Ground turkey on its own doesn't do much for me. But this turkey burger gets a savory boost from chopped green onions, Dijon mustard and my Not Ketchup sauce. Drizzled with a simple dressing and served on a bed of arugula, this Smoky Date Not Ketchup turkey burger has tons of flavor and won't weigh you down.

We're in our honeymoon phase, Not Ketchup and I. Can't get enough of each other. Thanks for following along as I work like a maniac to get Not Ketchup off the ground and into stores - which, of course, includes a slew of Not Ketchup recipes.

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Smoky Date Not Ketchup Turkey Burgers with Arugula Salad

by Erika Kerekes February-16-2014

Moist, flavorful turkey burgers get a savory boost from green onions, Dijon mustard and Smoky Date Not Ketchup, a new gourmet dipping sauce created by food blogger Erika Kerekes. Served on a bed of arugula, this turkey burger satisfies for lunch or dinner without weighing you down.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard, divided
• 5 Tablespoons Smoky Date Not Ketchup, divided
• 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tablespoons grapeseed or canola oil
• 3 cups baby arugula, washed and dried
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

In a bowl, mix together the ground turkey, 2 Tablespoons of Dijon mustard, 3 Tablespoons of Smoky Date Not Ketchup, green onions and salt (wet hands work best). Form the mixture into two large patties about 1 inch thick. Place the flour on a plate and coat the patties on both sides with the flour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.In a large ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium heat, warm the grapeseed or canola oil. Lay the patties in the pan and cook about 3 minutes on each side, until the turkey burgers are golden brown. Transfer the skillet to the oven for 10 minutes or until the turkey burgers are cooked through.While the turkey burgers are finishing in the oven, whisk together the remaining 1 Tablespoon mustard, 2 Tablespoons Smoky Date Not Ketchup, and olive oil in a small bowl.To serve, divide the arugula evenly between two large plates. Place one turkey burger on top of each bed of arugula, then drizzle the olive oil mixture on top of each burger and salad. Serve immediately.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: 2 servings

Potato latke burger sliders for Hanukkah

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Move over, ramen burger. It's Hanukkah, and we're making potato latkes.

Let me introduce you to Potato Latke Burger Sliders.

Take one of those crispy, salty, delicious potato latkes (pan-fried shredded potato pancakes, the traditional Hanukkah dish). Top it with a big meatball or a small hamburger. Add a healthy dollop of your favorite applesauce. Lay a second potato latke on top.

And that's how we make the Potato Latke Burger Slider. Ramen burger, we'll eat you some other time.

Happy Hanukkah to those of you celebrating - may your week be full of light and latkes!

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Potato Latke Burger Sliders for Hanukkah

by Erika Kerekes November-27-2013

Move over, ramen burger. It's Hanukkah and we're surrounding our mini-burgers with crispy, salty potato latkes. The fried potato pancakes make an excellent wrapper for your favorite burger or meatball. A fun dish for any Hanukkah dinner.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1 large Russet potato, peeled
• 1/2 medium-sized yellow onion
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour or potato starch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup grapeseed or canola oil, for frying
• applesauce, for serving (my favorite applesauce recipe)

Instructions

Make the sliders: Divide the ground beef into four small portions and shape into burgers. Pan-fry in a hot, heavy skillet until done. Put the sliders on a plate, cover with foil, and set aside.Make the potato latkes: Grate the potato and onion into a large bowl. (Many people eschew the food processor here, but I go back and forth between the food processor and a hand grater depending on my mood.) Gather the mixture into a ball in the bowl and put a few layers of paper towel on top of it. Squeeze and massage the potato mixture through the towel. When the towel is wet, discard it and use another. When the potato mixture is no longer giving off a lot of water, you have squeezed enough.Add the egg, flour, salt, and pepper to the potato mixture and blend thoroughly with a spoon.Heat the oil in another large, heavy skillet until shimmering. Add the potato mixture, using a very scant 1/4 cup for each latke. Press down the latke mixture in the pan so each latke is round (more or less) and thin. Fry on each side until golden brown, then drain on a sheet pan lined with paper towels or topped with a rack. This mixture should make 8 latkes total.Assemble the sliders just before serving: Place a latke on a plate, then top with a burger. Add a dollop of applesauce and lay another latke on top. Serve immediately (this is very important - the bottom latke will get soggy after just a few minutes.)

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 45 mins Yield: 4 sliders