blue cheese


Butternut Bison Blue Cheese Chili
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Butternut Blue Cheese Bison Chili

Butternut Bison Blue Cheese Chili

Welp, it’s chili weather. Chili is basically the best fall/winter dinner ever. It’s easy to throw together, super cozy, and you can really feel good about it because it’s chock full of fiber and protein (and SPICE!) Also because it makes me feel like I’m watching football, even if I’m not. (What, is that weird?)

I usually make my chipotle sweet potato chili but I was in the mood to mix it up this week. I had some butternut squash to use up and figured it’d be a great chili ingredient, along with your requisite beans and meat (in this case, ground bison—it has a sweet, meaty taste with tons of protein and it’s way leaner than ground beef. Thanks, bison!).

To keep things interesting, I decided to top this one with a sprinkle of gorgonzola crumbles and Louisiana hot sauce—blue cheese and butternut squash is lovely together, and obviously hot wings have taught us that blue cheese and hot sauce are also a match made in heaven. I’m pretty proud of this flavor combination, y’all!

Butternut Blue Cheese Bison Chili

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in Recipe / Red Meat 0 comments
Vitabar Forget-me-not burger
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Endless Road Trip Iceland: An Unforgettable Burger

Vitabar Burgers

Here we are, back in Iceland. We’ve talked about cheap and easy hot dogs and we’ve talked about exotic whale meat, so now let’s meet somewhere in the middle: burgers.

Specifically the ones at Vitabar, which is said to have the best burgers in Reykjavik. It’s a pretty divey restaurant/bar and I mean that in a good way. I heard people call it “fast food” but it’s nothing like American fast food restaurants—there’s no drive thru, no neon logos, no franchises. But it is really cheap! Especially by Icelandic standards (as you may recall me lamenting in past posts, going out in Iceland costs a pretty penny).

Getting your grub on at Vitabar is simple. You go up to the register, order your beers, burgers, and whatever sides you want (basically french fries or onion rings) and then they’ll bring everything to your table in just a few minutes. It’s very no-frills but hey, it’s a greasy burger joint, what did you expect? Vitabar is especially known for its Forget-Me-Not Burger, which is absolutely slathered in melty blue cheese and stinky garlic. Your breath will definitely not be forgotten after one of these bad boys. Just check out that monstrosity below. Woof.

Vitabar Forget-me-not burger

The Forget-Me-Nots were really great though! The patties were a little thin but they were flavorful with a nice charred texture, firm enough to stand up to all the sloppy blue cheesy glory. Topped off with a classic sesame bun and paired with a pile of thin, crispy onion rings plus a slightly mysterious packaged “cocktail sauce,” this meal was a bar food lover’s dream.

Also on The Endless Road Trip: Iceland
1. The Best Hot Dogs in the World?
2. I Ate a Whale and I Liked It


For more Iceland travel tips (not to mention cocktails, healthy recipes, and restaurant reviews), check out ES Emily’s individual blog, A Time to Kale, or tweet her @emilyteachout with all your burning food travel questions.

in Food Travel / Red Meat / Restaurants 0 comments
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Hot Dogs Gone Wild! Top 10 Fixin’s for Your Hot Dog

With the Fourth of July ahead, and at least one package of hot dogs sitting in your freezer or fridge, it”s time to start thinking about your cook-out. Whether it”s you alone or at your jam-packed amazing and mega-impressive/amazeballs party, it”s time to think about spicing up your wieners. For you (and only you), I”ve done my research on the craziest and tastiest varieties of fixin”s for your dog. Choose on and serve, or create a twisted hot dog bar.  Then impress. Here we go…

10. Bacon Wrapped (and Stuffed)

bacon-wrapped-hot-dogs

Bacon is one of the few foods that I believe goes well with everything. Bacon makes all things better. Now, combine it with one of America”s favorite foods, by topping it and stuffing it with bacon. Add cheese and sauerkraut with your typical condiments. Bacon inspires all.

Recipe: Simply Recipes

9. Columbian

Colombia-perro-caliente

I”ve put potato chips on sandwiches, burgers, but never thought to put them on a hot dog already topped with slaw and sauces. Some believe that there is such a thing as too many condiments, or strictly using mustard and only that. It looks like the Columbian may change their minds.

Recipe: My Columbian Recipes

8. Mexican

mexican-hotdog_DSC0645

Pineapple is one thing I never thought of topping my wiener with. But along with chipotle sauce, sweet and spicy sounds good. A couple of jalapenos add a nice kick.

Recipe: Homesick Texan

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in Bacon / Cheese / Featured / Holiday / Lists / Pig / Red Meat 3 comments
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Mushroom and Blue Cheese Farrotto

I feel like, by this point in my ES career, there are certain things that we just can’t avoid. For example: I love healthy grains and making plays on risotto with them, I love mushrooms, and I love blue cheese. So it really shouldn’t surprise anyone when I introduce my next recipe creation: blue cheese and mushroom risotto made with farro instead of arborio rice.

Here’s why I like farro: It’s toasty and nutty with a toothsome bite, standing up to heavy sauces much better than plain ol’ rice. Not only that, but it’s freaking healthy! High in fiber, low in gluten, and packing 7g of protein per 1/4c serving, farro is a grain to be reckoned with. I mixed this with the usual risotto suspects (white wine, cheese, more cheese) with spectacular results. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that this is a super healthy meal (because of the aforementioned cheese and more cheese), but it’s a step up from classic risotto thanks to all the benefits of farro plus a load of vitamins and minerals from the mushrooms and iron from the spinach. All in all… you could do a lot worse. Plus this combination is just plain delicious.

MushroomFarrotto

Mushroom and Blue Cheese Farrotto

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in Cheese / Recipe / Veggie 2 comments
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The Endless Road Trip: Salt and Straw

We’re no strangers to crazy ice cream flavors here at ES, and let’s be real—in this brave new dessert world where salted caramel sundaes and olive oil ice cream have become the norm, a chef putting something insane inside your cone is not really newsworthy. HOWEVER, when I heard there is an ice cream shop in meat-mad Portland serving bone marrow ice cream, clearly I was there in a New York minute.

The bad news: Salt and Straw did not have the bone marrow flavor in stock on the day I visited, but really for the very best reason possible: they were waiting for cherry season to start, so that they could make a bone marrow-black cherry ice cream. Obvi.

The good news: I had enough friends with me to order up a smorgasbord of outrageous flavors: honey balsamic strawberry with cracked pepper, sea salt with caramel ribbons, coffee-bourbon, blue cheese and pear (!), honey-lavender, blood orange, and blueberry with key lime marmalade. All head-over-heels amazing. the sweet-and-savory balsamic-strawberry-pepper took top honors for me.

The better news:

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in Desserts / Food Travel / Red Meat / Restaurants 4 comments
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A Very Uniq Salad

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I want you guys to meet my new friend Uniq.  Say hi Uniq.  Aww, he’s a bit shy.  But in fairness if you were the ugly duckling in the family, you may not always warm to strangers either.  Give Uniq a break next time you see him on the produce isle, he kinda looks like shit, but this little guy has some really excellent goodies inside.

The Uniq fruit hails all the way from the island of Jamaica where someone that had very recently smoked a dubie had an epiphany about marrying a grapefruit with a tangerine.  Amazingly, this idea lasted past the munchies phase and Jamaica began harvesting and exporting the fruit by branding it with the tragically fitting name, the Ugli fruit.  Shockingly, the orders for the exotic ugli fruit were not overwhelming.  Fortunately for us, some marketing exec (also probably after smoking a dubie) pushed to have the fruit rebranded as the Uniq fruit.  That’s right Uniq, you’re not fat, you’re just big-boned.

Still suspect?  Maybe a little jump will change your mind..

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in Cheese / Featured / Recipe / Trends 6 comments
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