Before our (delicious) ahi tuna burger and bacon cheddar burger arrived, the duo at the next table received their order: large salad bowls filled with bell peppers, celery, chopped greens, cucumbers, green beans, radishes, red onion slices, tomatoes and Roquefort cheese—topped with burgers. We asked to see the menu again. There it was, in the salad column: Burger Salad.

The burger salad from L.A.’s O! Burger. Photo
courtesy OBurger.net.

While we ate every bite of our buns, we can’t wait to go back to have a burger salad. It’s available with any of the burger choices (which also include an Italian turkey burger, lamb kofta burger and veggie burger).

On the opposite coast, O! Burger, an organic burger restaurant in West Hollywood, has two burger salad options. The large mixed salad bowl on the menu—baby greens, chick peas, cucumbers, napa cabbage and tomatoes—can be topped with one or two beef, turkey or veggie patties. There’s also a “Super Bowl”: two patties with grilled vegetables.

While diners and other casual restaurants have long offered a “diet plate” of a bun-less meat patty with a side salad, in the hands of chic burger emporia it seems a treat, not a deprivation. The higher quality of meat and salad fixing has a bearing on this, of course.

The best-of-both-worlds burger salad gives you the burger you pine for, while replacing the largely high-carb and nutrition-free bun with a choice fiber- and vitamin-filled salad, tossed with a fine vinaigrette.

For those who don’t want that many veggies, Five Napkin Burger restaurant also serves an Inside Out Burger: a ground chuck patty and pickles wrapped in lettuce leaves with tomatoes and special sauce—no bun.

Burger salad, inside out burger and super bowl deliver low carb nutrition and high palate enjoyment. We’ve started making them at home (with the amazing Built Burgers). The effort is minimal, and it beats trying to get a reservation.

 

[1] It tastes like mango juice mixed with vodka (photo by Katharine Pollak | THE NIBBLE).

[2] Fresh mangoes (photo © National Mango Board).

We recently sat down with a bottle of Three Olives Mango Flavored Vodka, made with natural mango flavor. Drinking it in shots was pure pleasure, like a mango cocktail in a bottle—but far more enjoyable for us than any sweet, gussied-up cocktail.

For those who do enjoy sweet cocktails, there is a vast selection of mango cocktail recipes—mixed with mango nectar or other fruit juice such as apple, orange and pineapple; with coconut milk; with other spirits including curaçao, rum, tequila, apple and watermelon schnapps; and laden with fresh fruit—bananas, mango and strawberries, for starters.

While some cocktail recipes are simpler—mango vodka and Sprite, garnished with mango cubes, for example—who needs the Sprite when the vodka tastes this good?

For our second shot, we floated a piece of sweet-and-hot Cowboy Candy—a circle of candied jalapeño—atop the vodka. Next time, we’ll have fresh jalapeños on hand.
 
We must set forth: We don’t drink to get a buzz. When we want a fruit drink, we’ll have a smoothie, a glass of juice or a Diet Snapple (when we’re counting calories). When we want alcohol, we want to experience the taste of the alcohol.

And who needs the sugar calories of juice, mixers and sweeteners, be they sugar or agave? At 69 calories per fluid ounce, two shots of Three Olives Mango Vodka fit into any calorie plan.

Flavored vodkas are a very individual experience. As much as we didn’t care for the Three Olives Grape Vodka we tried last week (again, neat; it would be better in a recipe), the Mango Vodka was a home run.

> The history of mango.

> The history of vodka.
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

August 9th is National Rice Pudding Day. Cold and creamy, rice pudding is fine hot-weather fare and great year-round comfort food.

It can also be glamorous! Here are six ways to raise your rice pudding recipe to fine-restaurant status.

Try all of them to decide what you think makes the best rice pudding recipe. And as a bonus, check out the rice pudding recipes > below.

TIP: You can find great rice pudding in 15 flavors at from Rice To Riches. See photo #6 below.

But first:

> The year’s 17 pudding and custard holidays.

> The history of pudding.

> The history of rice pudding

> The different types of rice.

> The history of rice.

> Below: more rice pudding recipes.
 
 
HOW TO MAKE RICE PUDDING AN ELEGANT DESSERT

1. Spirits: Soak the raisins in Armagnac, Grand Marnier, or other favorite liqueur.

2. Other Dried Fruits: Think beyond raisins: Create a medley of small dried fruits that includes raisins as well as dried blueberries, cherries, cranberries, currants and sultanas (golden raisins).

3. Specialty Rice: Try a different rice such as elegant, long-grained basmati and jasmine or short, oval, arborio (used for risotto).

4. Coconut Milk: Use coconut milk with black rice or red rice for a Thai rice pudding.

5. Garnishes: See the wealth of ideas in the footnote* below.

6. Serveware: Serve the pudding in a Martini glass or other glam dessert dish.

 
 
MORE RICE PUDDING RECIPES

 
 
 

[5] Rice Pudding Brûlée: Add a crackly crème brûlée topping to rice pudding. Here’s the recipe (photo © Taste Of Home).

[2] A sophisticated addition: Soak the raisins in orange liqueur, spiced rum, or other favorite spirit (photo © South Beach Liquor Store).

[3] Thai rice pudding made with black sticky rice and coconut milk. Here’s the recipe (photo © Briana’s Kitchen Creations).

[4] Serve in a wine or cocktail glass. This recipe, Cinnamon Rice Pudding, is vegan. Here’s the recipe Here’s the recipe (photo © Recipes Worth Repeating).

________________
 
*There are numerous interesting garnishes for rice pudding. The key is balancing the creamy, mild rice pudding with something that adds either crunch, brightness, or complementary flavors. Some ideas:

> Fruits Beyond Fresh Berries: caramelized banana slices with a touch of rum, fresh fig slices with a honey drizzle, diced dried fruit mix marinated in liqueur or rum, toasted coconut flakes.

> International Flair: chopped or whole pistachios with candied rose petals or a dab of rose syrup (Persian), dulce de leche with toasted almonds (Latin American), matcha powder with black sesame seeds (Japanese), toasted sesame seeds with a drizzle of tahini (Middle Eastern).

> Nuts & Seeds: candied pecans or walnuts with maple syrup (recipe), mixed salted nuts, spiced pumpkin seedds (check out Superseedz), and for the holidays, chopped plain or candied chestnuts with dried cranberries (you can also substitute dried cranberries for the raisins in the rice pudding recipe).

> Sweet & Spicy: apple chips with cinnamon sugar, chopped dates with a sprinkle of cardamom, poached figs or plums with star anise, shortbread cookie with lavender honey, whipped cream with chai spice or five spices (recipes).

> Textural Contrasts: crushed amaretti, gingersnap, or meringue cookies; candied orange peel (recipe); crushed honeycomb or sesame candy pieces; toasted brioche crumbs.
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

In the days before air conditioning, it wasn’t easy to sell fine chocolates in the summer. Cocoa butter, one of the major components of chocolate (the one that provides the creamy, luscious mouthfeel), melts at 93.4°F to 98°F.

Hot weather can make a mess of a chocolatier’s hard work.

To beat the heat, many chocolatiers made special “summer chocolates” out of what consumers called “white chocolate,” but was actually a product called confectionery coating, a product that substitutes vegetable oil for the cocoa butter.

Confectionery coating is melt-resistant, but without the cocoa butter it doesn’t taste like chocolate—in fact, if you have a good palate, it may not taste good to you at all. Some chocolatiers still use it. It’s easier to work with and it’s much less expensive than real chocolate.

If you like milk chocolate but don’t like white chocolate, chances are you may have been eating confectionery coating instead of the real deal.

A beguiling summer bonbon, the Blood Orange Creamsicle (photo © Bespoke Chocolates [now closed]).

One of our favorite pieces is this Blood Orange “Creamsicle” Bonbon from Bespoke Chocolates: a creamy, top-quality white chocolate shell with a tart-sweet blood orange ganache.

It’s available for a limited time only, so don’t dawdle. But the company’s spectacular Pretzel-Covered Sea-Salted Caramel, which gets our vote for one of the top 10 bonbons in America, is available year-round. Order as many as you can afford.

Pass the bagels! Check out the whole grain, organic bagels from French Meadow Bakery, a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week. They deliver two servings of whole grains per bagel, are only 260 calories (regular bagels can be twice that and more)…and are delicious. This is the Sprouted Healthy Hemp Bagel, with a garnish of fresh-snipped chives (photo by Claire Freierman | © THE NIBBLE.

Dill is often used to garnish a plate of smoked salmon—it’s a perfect pairing. So we tried snipping fresh dill onto our bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon.

The verdict: the more dill, the better.

The pretty, fragrant herb also has a heap of health benefits.

 
Onion lovers may prefer snipped chives as the garnish—or feel free to add both.

Members of the Allium family of vegetables—including garlic and onions—have anticancer, anticlotting, hypolipidemic (lower blood cholesterol), antibacterial, antiviral, and decongestant properties.

Here’s another tip for a healthier bagel:

Instead of high-fat cream cheese, use low-calorie, high protein Greek-style yogurt. Triple-strained, thick and creamy, we like it just as much as cream cheese on a toasted bagel.
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF BAGELS

> MAKE A BAGEL BUFFET