Not a conventional cheeseburger, this Mediterranean Cheeseburger recipe from Butterball Turkey was made with a turkey burger, but you can substitute beef, lamb (yes!), salmon, or a veggieburger.

It makes a cheeseburger with halloumi cheese and tzatziki, Greek yogurt cucumber sauce, plus a side of tabbouleh or parsley salad.

Records date halloumi to Cyprus circa 300 C.E. It has become the ultimate grilling cheese in modern times. It retains its shape, even when cooked at high temperatures, and develops a golden crust when seared (although it can be enjoyed in its uncooked state).

Halloumi (ha-LOO-me) is made from sheep’s milk or a combination of sheep’s and goat’s milks. Two rounds of curd cooking give halloumi a spongy, meaty texture. It is mild, with faint herbal notes in halloumi made with milks from luscious grasslands.

Here’s more about halloumi cheese.

> National Cheeseburger Day is September 18th. May is National Burger Month.
 
 
RECIPE #1: MEDITERRANEAN CHEESEBURGER

Ingredients Per Burger

 
Preparation

1. GRILL the burger until fully cooked, with an internal temperature of 165°F. While the burger is cooking…

2. WARM or grill the pita bread. Spread the tzatziki sauce on the pita.

3. Arrange the grilled vegetables and roasted red pepper over the tzatziki. Set the grilled burger atop the grilled vegetables. Top with the grilled Halloumi.

4. SERVE with a side of parsley salad or tabbouleh, and an optional ramekin of olives.
 
 
RECIPE #2: PARSLEY SALAD

Low in calories and high in nutrition, parsley salad is a delicious side with burgers and sandwiches. Or, use it as a burger topping, or as part of a Middle Eastern mezze plate.

When serving this with the halloumi cheeseburger, it’s your decision whether you want the feta cheese. You can leave it out.
 
Ingredients For The Salad

 
Ingredients For The Dressing

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE all salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

2. WHISK together the dressing ingredients.

3. DRIZZLE THE dressing over the parsley salad, then gently toss.

[1] “Mediterranean” cheeseburger on pita with tzatziki and grilled halloumi cheese.

[2] Grilled halloumi cheese. Enjoy it on a burger, sandwich, salad, or mixed skewers (photo © Ina Peters | iStock Photo).

[3] Tzatziki (tsot-SEE-kee), a yogurt and cucumber sauce seasoned with garlic and dill. You can buy it or make your own (photo © Cava Grill).

[4] Parsley salad. The recipe is below (photo © Au Za’aatar Lebanese Restaurant | New York City.

[5] Italian flat leaf parsley (photo © Good Eggs).

[1] Korean-style pulled pork in lettuce cups (photos #1 and #4 © Nakano).

[2] Some people add rice to the lettuce cup. You can add other grains instead (photo © Good Eggs).

[3] Gochujang is Korean hot red chile paste. You can use it instead of hot sauce, sriracha, or other source of chile heat (photo © Trifood).

[4] Nakano makes rice vinegar in conventional and organic varieties, in Natural, Roasted Garlic, Sesame, and other flavors.

National Pulled Pork Day is October 12th and we’ve got a variety of pulled pork recipes. But today we’d like to suggest something different: Korean-style pulled pork lettuce cups.

The Korean-influenced recipe saves both the calories and carbs of the sugar in Southern-style pulled pork.

Not to mention, it saves the calories and carbs in the rolls upon which Southern pulled pork is served.

This Korean-fusion variation also is spicy due to gochujang, the Korean red chile paste (photo #3—here’s more about it).

The cooked meat is shredded with two forks, which is the same as pulled pork. (The term “pulled” refers to pulling the cooked meat into shreds with forks.)

In addition to gochujang, you’ll need rice vinegar. Both have numerous other uses in your pantry.

> What is pulled pork.

> The different cuts of pork.
 
 
RECIPE: KOREAN-STYLE PULLED PORK IN LETTUCE CUPS

Thanks to Nakano, an eighth-generation brewer of fine rice vinegar, for this recipe. It specifically uses Nakano Toasted Sesame Rice Vinegar, but if you already own natural rice vinegar, you can substitute it.

You can substitute white wine vinegar, but we encourage you to use rice vinegar. You’ll find many more uses for it.

We added a garnish of spicy mayonnaise, mixing gochujang paste with regular mayonnaise (to taste). We brought it to the table for optional drizzling over the lettuce wraps.

Prep time is 15 minutes plus marinating (1 hour or overnight). Cook time is 1 hour in a pressure cooker.
 
Ingredients For 10 Lettuce Cups

 
Preparation

1. SEASON the pork with salt and pepper. Toss it in a large bowl with half of the gochujang. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.

2. ADD the marinated pork to an electric pressure cooker. Whisk the remaining gochujang, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil in a bowl.

3. POUR the mixture over the meat. Cook on high pressure for 60 minutes, then manually release the remaining pressure. While the pork is cooking…

4. MARINATE the cucumbers and carrots in rice vinegar. You can let them marinate as long as you like (even overnight). When the pork is finished cooking…

5. CAREFULLY UNLOCK the lid of the pressure cooker. Remove the pork from the cooking liquid; shred it into small chunks.

6. SERVE it DIY-style with the lettuce leaves, cucumber, carrots, kimchi, and optional garnishes. Or prepare the lettuce cups in the kitchen and serve them filled.
 
 
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*There are two types of lettuce in the butterhead category, Boston and Bibb. Both are small, loosely formed heads of soft, supple leaves. Boston is a larger and fluffier head than Bibb; Bibb is the size of a fist, and sweeter than Boston. Both are excellent for lettuce cups. The downside: They’re highly perishable. The different types of lettuce.

Readers of THE NIBBLE know how much we love Lady M’s Mille Crêpes Cakes: delicate, elegant, exquisite, ethereal bites that are perfect for special celebrations.

We also serve them at dinner parties where we want something impressive for dessert but need it to be on the light side.

In addition to the year-round menu of flavors, there are always wonderful seasonal specialties.

For October and November, it’s the new Butter Pecan Mille Crêpes Cake: 20 alternating layers of handmade crêpes and pecan-infused pastry cream (photos #1 and #2).

Candied pecan pieces are delicately tucked between the layers to add just the right amount of crunch to each bite.

The cake is topped with roasted pecans and finished with a swirl of buttery pecan pastry cream.

This seasonal confection is available only until November 30th—but just in time for Thanksgiving and seasonal gifts.

The cake serves 10-14 people.

Order yours at LadyM.com.
 
 
WHAT’S A MILLE CRÊPES CAKE?

What’s a Mille Crêpes cake? It’s a stack of paper-thin crêpes. The crêpes themselves are the same as those you might order for brunch, where they are rolled up with a filling.

In a Crêpe Cake, on the other hand, nothing is rolled: The flat crêpes are brushed with light pastry cream and stacked (see photo #3).

At Lady M, the top crêpe becomes a caramelized crust. Then, each flavor of crêpe cake is finished with its own special garnish.

This leads us to a disclosure: While “mille crêpes” indicates that there are 1,000 crêpes (mille, pronounced meel, is the number one thousand in French), there are actually some 20 crêpes in each cake, each crêpe handmade in the Lady M kitchens.

> The history of Mille Crepes Cake.
 
 
LADY M CRÊPE MILLE CRÊPES CAKE YEAR-ROUND FLAVORS

While there are seasonal flavors, the current roster of 9-inch Mille Crêpes Cakes includes:

 
There are seasonal flavors: Chestnut for the holidays, Champagne for the new year, Passion Fruit for the summer, and so on. Keep checking and you may find Purple Yam, Red Bean, and Salted Caramel.

You can even order a three-tier wedding cake, each layer made of “mille” crêpes.

And the website currently offers these specialty flavors: Truffle Mille Crêpes Cake, Purple Yam “Ube” Milles Crêpes Cake, Jasmine Calamansi Mille Crêpes Cake, and Passion Fruit Mille Crêpes Cake.

There are also scrumptious layer cakes and for October-November, a Pumpkin Nuage* (photo #6).

What’s a Pumpkin Nuage? Combine the best elements of pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake, gently spiced with cinnamon, and add a touch of Lady M’s refined elegance. Plus, the most finely crushed graham cracker crust we’ve ever seen.
 
 
ABOUT LADY M

Lady M is a New York City maker of luxury confections, with more than 50 boutiques worldwide. Established in 2001, Lady M is the creator of the world-famous Mille Crêpes Cake.

Lady M marries French pastry techniques with Japanese sensibilities, resulting in delicate cakes that are a touch sweet and perfect for every occasion.

All cakes are handmade and prepared fresh without food additives or preservatives. The crêpes cakes are a very special treat, although Lady M makes a variety of delectable cakes and confections. Learn more at LadyM.com.
 
 
BAKE YOUR OWN: CRÊPE RECIPES

Are you up for making paper-thin crêpes? Check out these recipes.

[1] The new limited edition for October and November: Butter Pecan Mille Crêpes Cake (all photos © Lady M).

[2] A slice of Butter Pecan, with nuggets of candied pecans scattered between the layers for crunch.

[3] Making a Mille Crêpes cake (with just 20 layers, not 1,000).

[4] A popular flavor: Chocolate Mille Crêpes Cake.

[5] Also a fan favorite: Pistachio Mille Crêpes Cake.

[6] The Pumpkin Nuage is available in October and November.

*Nuage, pronounced new-AHJ, means cloud in French. There are different kinds of cloud cake, but they all aim to be light and airy.
 
 

[1] Skillet sausage pizza. Here’s a second recipe from Rachael Ray (photo © Food Network).

[2] Colavita’s sausage skillet pizza. The recipe is at right (photo © Colavita Recipes).

[3] Crushed tomatoes have a smoother texture than diced tomatoes. They make smooth sauces, and are great for soups, chili, or as a pizza topping. Colavita’s crushed tomatoes are grown on the sun-drenched vines of Po Valley in northern Italy (photo © Stock Up Express).

October is National Sausage Month, October 11th is National Sausage Pizza Day, and we’ve got an easy sausage pizza recipe.

This skillet pizza from Colavita is made in a cast iron skillet. Cast iron adds extra crispiness to the crust.

The pizza is still baked in the oven but in a cast iron skillet instead of a regular baking pan.

This might be our new favorite recipe for making pizza. The hot cast iron skillet produces a more crispy and chewy crust than a regular pizza pan. The top gets toasted, cheesy edges, and the recipe delivers mouthfuls of great sausage flavor.

Note: Don’t use a cast iron skillet with enameled coating on the cooking surface—it radiates less heat than straight cast iron.

> More sausage holidays: National Sausage Roll Day is June 5th, and August 16th is National Bratwurst Day.
 
 
> The history of pizza.

> 40 different types of pizza.
 
 
RECIPE: SAUSAGE SKILLET PIZZA

Colavita used its Extra Virgin Olive Oil throughout the recipe, but if you want to conserve your EVOO, you can use everyday olive oil for everything except the last tablespoon, which is drizzled over the top of the pizza.

You can save time with purchased marinara sauce. And yes, you can replace the sausage with pepperoni or whatever topping(s) you like.
 
Ingredients For The Marinara Sauce

 
Ingredients For The Pizza

 
Equipment

1. MAKE the marinara sauce. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the crushed garlic and sauté until softened and brown, about 5 minutes. If using the red pepper flakes, add them and sauté for 1 minute. Add the crushed tomatoes to the pot and stir.

2. SUBMERGE the bunch of basil in the mixture, along with the bay leaf. Pour in the balsamic vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

3. REMOVE the sauce from the heat and set aside. It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 week.

4. MAKE the pizza. Heat your oven to 450°F. While the oven is heating…

5. PLACE a cast iron skillet on your stovetop and heat it over medium-high heat. Pour in 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Stretch out the pizza dough to a size that fits in your skillet. Carefully place the dough in the hot skillet. It will sizzle and that is good! You want it to toast from the bottom. Allow it to toast for a few minutes until golden brown. You can peek underneath using a metal spatula.

6. ADD the marinara sauce all the way to the edge of the dough. Sprinkle the cooked sausage on top. Add the mozzarella cheese on top of the sausage, making sure to sprinkle it all the way to the edge. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon EVOO and dust with the grated parmesan cheese.

7. PLACE in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and garnish with fresh herbs.

8. ALLOW the pizza to rest for 5 minutes. Then remove it from the skillet and place it on a cutting board to serve.
 
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*Tetra Pack is a brand of aseptic (free from pathogenic microorganisms) cartons used for liquid food items that can be stored for up to one year without refrigeration.

October 10th is National Banh Mi Day, celebrating the French-influenced bánh mì sandwich of Vietnam, served on a baguette. Here’s the story of banh mi and a recipe for a classic sandwich.

We’ve also featured a banh mi burger recipe. So today, we’re giving the hot dog equal time, with this Bánh Mì Dog recipe made with Zatarain’s sausage. October National Sausage Month!

Since Vietnamese bánh mì is made with pork, Zatarain’s spicy andouille pork sausage is another take on the recipe.

Vegetarians and vegans, you’re not forgotten. Here’s a recipe for a tofu bánh mì sandwich.
 
 
RECIPE: ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE BAHN MI

Staying true to Zatarain’s Louisiana roots, Dan Whalen, a.k.a @tfimb [The Food In My Beard], honors the Viet-Cajun culture unique to the region with a Bánh Mì Dog recipe. The Andouille and Cajun sausage dog is topped with rice noodles, mint and spicy mayo.

This recipe was adapted from one by Dan Whalen of Food In My Beard for Zatarain’s.

Dan says, “I was inspired by Viet-Cajun cooking that is so popular in Louisiana and Texas, to make Andouille sausages with rice noodles, mint, and spicy mayo. Vietnamese and Cajun foods go so well [together].”

You can see the process in this video.

The pickled carrots should ideally be made a day or more in advance, but make a double batch. They’ll keep for a few weeks.
 
Ingredients For 4 Sandwiches

 
For The Pickled Carrots

 
For The Spicy Sauce

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the pickled carrots. Combine the first four ingredients in a small bowl; whisk until the sugar and salt are fully dissolved. Place the carrots in a jar and pour the vinegar mixture over the carrots. Cover and refrigerate for ideally 1 day, but a shorter time is possible.

Optional: You can also pickle the cucumbers or radishes.

2. MAKE the spicy mayonnaise. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Mix thoroughly, and cover, refrigerated, to allow the flavors to meld. When ready to cook:

3. PREHEAT the grill to medium-high. Make angle cuts going down the top of each sausage, for better grilling. Grill the sausages for 8 to 10 minutes, until cooked through and charred in spots. Remove from grill. While the sausages are cooking…

4. OPTIONAL: Toast the rolls lightly. If you’re using baguettes, they don’t need toasting, although you can toast them. But hot dog rolls can benefit from it.

5. ASSEMBLE: Place the rice noodles in the baguette/roll. Add the sausage. If using hot dog rolls, tamp the sausage into the rolls.

6. TOP with the [drained] cucumbers and shredded carrots. Garnish with peanuts, chiles, and mint.

7. GENEROUSLY slather the bánh mì with spicy mayonnaise.

[1] Zatarain’s Andouille smoked sausage bánh mì. You can also use Cajun sausage. The roll on the left isn’t topped with mint so you can get a better view (photos #1 and #2 © Dan Whelan | The Food In My Beard | Zatarain’s).

[2] Zatarain’s Andouille smoked sausage.

[e] A roast beef bánh mì. You can substitute your protein of choice (photo © True Aussie Beef & Lamb | Facebook).

[5] Chicken meatball bánh mì (photo © Good Eggs).

 
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*Place the dry rice noodles in a shallow baking dish or casserole. Pour boiling water over the noodles and let them sit for 5-6 minutes, or until softened. Drain, rinse, and set aside.