Juicy Grilled Turkey Burgers (p13 Cook's Illustrated July & August 2012) (not grilled modified and simplified) with Malt Vinegar-Molasses Burger Sauce (p13 Cook's Illustrated July & August 2012)

So there was something about those mushrooms. They were very strong tasting. So much so that even the mixture of turkey and mushrooms never tasted right. And Inconsistant too. My burger was fine, while Shannon's was overpoweringly mushroomy. I don't know if it was because of how I cooked it, or that it was to many mushrooms or etc, but you would think that using the food processor to mix everything together would make for a good consistant mixture.

Meatier Meatloaf (p7 Cook's Illustrated September & October 2012)

So I ignored the recipe.

I figured, hey, If I mix more meat in, I can use the leftover turkey and mushroom mixture from the burgers. So I combine in the pork and the beef and turkey mixture and go from there. Putting together the standard meatloaf. Cover it in the thick bacon. Bake it, no problems?

Nope there were still segments of the meat loaf that were distinctly mushroomy. Far to much so. The only plus here was that it was here and there and not everywhere., so you may get a bit of to strong flavor and then evens out on the next bite.

Fried Meatloaf

I didn't end up frying, but I did end up using the meat loaf.

So we have the mushroom problem still, but I'm in a hurry and need to get dinner out (home late from work, again). We were almost out of bread and I didn't want to use all the oil to fry. So I just seared 'em off.

This was the touch they needed to turn out right. With the thin slices, the sear just created the crust and a very good taste. Was it worth all the hassle of the two other meals? Probably not, but after two problematic meals, having a win, felt good.

Thai-Style Stir-Fried Noodles with Chicken and Broccolini (p15 September & October 2012)

skipped, probably doing it later.

Leek Mac and Cheese

I do love me some leaks. Combining the two together did work out pretty well. I did add more spices a long the way, and I decided to (wrongly) add bread crumbs to the cheese. When broiling, I let it go a bit to long and because of that I had to scrape off a bit of burnt bread crumbs. But after that, it was all right. Not spectacular, but could probably be made better. I think the issue here might have been the cheese I used. The Machego was a bit more aged, then I think the recipe was taking into account for a younger moister cheese and because of that, it ended up a bit dry.

I did grate my thumb a bit, which hasn't happened in a while.