Suggestions for March 'dish of the month'?

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You non vege burgers guys might be surprised. We have a recipe for 1 that Craig, a dedicated carnivore, actually loves. It's basically a stuffed portabello mushroom, and I know @detroitdad doesn't like mushies, but it ends up tasting very similar to beef.. there's also a vege burger in our Burger Meister cookbook that we've never tried, but all the rest of the burgers in the book that we've tried have been great to fabulous.
 
My top 3 of the suggestions so far:
- Veggie burgers: sounds like it could be fun - and probably lots of us would learn something new :okay:
- Pancakes: would be topical for this time of year and it would be interesting to see the different versions from different countries as I know there are huge variations in what type of pancake people are familiar with.
- Potato salad: I only ever really think of potato salad as a summer dish and I don't make it that often, but I'd be interested to see some new ideas

Other ones I also like are macaroni cheese - but I think lots of people already experiment with that so less potential to learn from each other, and whilst I like pies we don't tend to make full pies (with pastry top and bottom) very often so it'd have to be a bit of a wider scope for me to take part.
 
My apologies in advance. I'm confused re the criteria for selecting a simple dish. Too generic or too specific? Are all the same dishes to be cooked exactly the same? Seems as complicated as sharing a recipe, IMHO.
 
Karen W said:
My apologies in advance. I'm confused re the criteria for selecting a simple dish. Too generic or too specific? Are all the same dishes to be cooked exactly the same? Seems as complicated as sharing a recipe, IMHO.
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Not sure why apologising - you already made 4 excellent suggestions in your post above! :happy:
 
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Karen W said:
My apologies in advance. I'm confused re the criteria for selecting a simple dish. Too generic or too specific? Are all the same dishes to be cooked exactly the same? Seems as complicated as sharing a recipe, IMHO.
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It's simply a dish to cook like the frittata . It could be a Spanish or Italian one, it could have any ingredients after the basic requirements ,it could even be made vegan using aquafaba or the often forgotten option of chickpea or gram flour. I might just make a gram flour one this weekend. I love La Socca.
The idea is simply more a theme , like veggie burgers, like pies (British style), it could even be cottage pie or a shepard's pie. No definition on exact filling beyond the technical difference between the two and a veggie option. And it doesn't really have to have mashed potato topping provided it had something! It's just shepard's and cottage pre vary because of beef or lamb filling .

I had simply suggested British pies because British Pie week is coming up and had more options than Shrove Tuesday (strangely in March this year) . It also lasts 7 times longer and isn't a religious festival.
 
So far these are the suggestions and number of members expressing interest:

Pancakes = 4 (including 'pancake art')
Pies = 4 (this includes 1 mention of pot pies and 1 mention of British pies)
Soups= 1
Stews = 1
Chilli = 1
Braised = 1
Macaroni cheese = 1
Pasta salad = 2
Potato salad = 3
Veggie burgers = 5

So - to date (and it is the last day of February!), veggie burger is most popular - but (and its a big but!) there are at least 2 members (and possibly more) who said they would not join in.

My view is that we should simply say 'home-made burgers' and encourage veggie burger entries. That way we include everyone. The whole point of this new feature is to maximise participation. Anyway - maybe if some of us post some mouth watering veggie burger entries the meat lovers will be tempted to have a go!

If anyone wants to add 'votes' to any of the above suggestions or support 'home-made burgers' please feel free - but we've run out of time for any more suggestions. Decision time tomorrow!
 
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I like the idea of keying the monthly dish to the things we celebrate in that month. I'll try to remember this when April comes around. St. Patrick's Day as a trigger for an Irish dish would be perfect, except that there hasn't been any interest in that. But, a pie could do that, and it has a wide range of possibilities. It doesn't have to be a massive thing, either (there are hand pies, after all).

I don't mind making a burger, but - and I'm being totally honest here - it makes me sad to make something that I can't properly cook because of the weather. Yes, burgers can be cooked on a flattop, but they really belong with flames underneath to char the surface. I won't be interested in making a burger until maybe April, if the weather cooperates.
 
The Late Night Gourmet said:
I like the idea of keying the monthly dish to the things we celebrate in that month. I'll try to remember this when April comes around. St. Patrick's Day as a trigger for an Irish dish would be perfect, except that there hasn't been any interest in that. But, a pie could do that, and it has a wide range of possibilities. It doesn't have to be a massive thing, either (there are hand pies, after all).

I don't mind making a burger, but - and I'm being totally honest here - it makes me sad to make something that I can't properly cook because of the weather. Yes, burgers can be cooked on a flattop, but they really belong with flames underneath to char the surface. I won't be interested in making a burger until maybe April, if the weather cooperates.
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Ever tried a smash burger? Screaming hot cast iron griddle or large skillet. It forms a pretty nice caramelized crust. Not a whole lot going on ingredient wise per se, just ground beef and salt, pepper if you want afterward, but it's pretty darn good. Good ventilation though because they do give off some smoke. Craig usually does them outside on his gas burner just because of that.

Don't forget, there are also salmon burgers, crab cake burgers, fish burgers, ground turkey burgers, etc. It's not just beef. Even dessert burgers, remember my chocolate cheeseburger cake challenge entry?
 
medtran49 said:
Ever tried a smash burger? Screaming hot cast iron griddle or large skillet. It forms a pretty nice caramelized crust. Not a whole lot going on ingredient wise per se, just ground beef and salt, pepper if you want afterward, but it's pretty darn good. Good ventilation though because they do give off some smoke. Craig usually does them outside on his gas burner just because of that.

Don't forget, there are also salmon burgers, crab cake burgers, fish burgers, ground turkey burgers, etc. It's not just beef. Even dessert burgers, remember my chocolate cheeseburger cake challenge entry?
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I'm going to have to give a smash burger a try. Okay...I'm changing my vote. The point is to do something that's fun. The variety in burgers makes them fun, even if the lack of flames makes me a little bit sad.
 
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The Late Night Gourmet said:
I'm going to have to give a smash burger a try. Okay...I'm changing my vote. The point is to do something that's fun. The variety in burgers makes them fun, even if the lack of flames makes me a little bit sad.
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I have one word to say: blowtorch!
 
medtran49 said:
Ever tried a smash burger? Screaming hot cast iron griddle or large skillet. It forms a pretty nice caramelized crust. Not a whole lot going on ingredient wise per se, just ground beef and salt, pepper if you want afterward, but it's pretty darn good. Good ventilation though because they do give off some smoke. Craig usually does them outside on his gas burner just because of that.

Don't forget, there are also salmon burgers, crab cake burgers, fish burgers, ground turkey burgers, etc. It's not just beef. Even dessert burgers, remember my chocolate cheeseburger cake challenge entry?
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I was going to suggest changing the wording to say "Non-traditional Burgers", thus challenging us to create a non-beef burger. @medtran49 pretty much covered that!!!
 
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