Better than Oprah

Turkey and apple are not a traditional pairing, but they are a perfect together. I rarely order omelets in restaurants, for example, but enjoyed a scrumptious turkey-apple-bacon-brie omelet just last week at Duesenbergs in Catonsville. (The coffee was horrific, though!)

As Pam wrote back in February, shredded apple brings a lot of flavor to a turkey burger and greatly improves the texture. My effort yesterday was a further modification of the modified Oprah recipe that Pam made so marvelously in the winter. Starting with a half pound of ground turkey, I added some sliced, local scallion tops, herbed bread crumbs, and half a shredded granny smith apple. I simply mixed these ingredients together and formed the patties. I then heated a little canola oil in our indispensable cast-iron skillet, added the patties, and covered so they would fry and steam at the same time.

After flipping the burgers, I topped each with a generous spoonful of Trappist mango pepper jelly from the monks in Spencer, Massachusetts. I then lowered the heat and we read together for a while so that the burgers would cook through and the jelly would turn to a nice glaze. We put them on soft, multi-grain buns. We knew these would be good, but were not prepared to be overwhelmed by the savory, hot sweetness and amazing texture of these burgers.

We decided that our friend Anna -- who brought us the jelly -- is now responsible for keeping us supplied permanently. Or we might just order it by the case!

These burgers worked perfectly, by the way with one of August's (or near-August's) great pleasures: Pam's fruit salad, with peaches, bloobs, the rest of that apple, and a banana -- tossed with mint from our garden and our Pam's "secret weapon" for fruit salad: margarita mix. Some home-brewed pale ale completed this memorable meal.