The Taste via huffingtonpost.com, MasterChef via auditionsfree.com.
As some of you already know, I’m a total MasterChef groupie. My husband and I watched all three seasons, fell in love with the challenges, fell in hate with some of the contestants {seriously, who didn’t cheer when the “Flavor Elevator” got booted?}, and grabbed some tips, tricks, and recipes from master mentors Gordon Ramsay, Graham Elliot, and Joe Bastianich that really helped us step up our cooking game. But while we’re waiting for MasterChef 4 to come on, we’ve been testing out The Taste. The Taste features chef mentors Anthony Bourdain, Nigella Lawson, Ludo Lefebvre, and Brian Malarkey and four contestants, ranging in abilities from pro chef to home chef, facing challenges that get presented before the four judges in an elimination test – the taste test. That taste determines everything – but this is the kicker: the judges have no idea whose dish they’re eating, or even what they’re eating! What a completely different sensory experience, tasting food when you have no idea what it is.
We eat first with our eyes – if something is visually appealing, we approach it with a whole different mindset. With that eliminated, aromas, tastes, and textures take on a whole different importance. But still, it’s an interesting exercise. Does a blind taste test force you to focus on things you might normally gloss over as unimportant? Do you lose or gain in the sensory perception? This led the hubby and me to the idea to set up our own blind taste test – creating and seeing if we could identify ingredients used based on taste and smell alone. This actually led to a pretty romantic date idea. Definitely, try it out!
So when it comes to shows, I’m still a MasterChef fan ~ while The Taste is an interesting concept, I just don’t feel the same connection with the judges and contestants, and I think it’s too one dimensional. MasterChef brings all the pieces together in a more cohesive way, provides a better variety of challenges and experiences, and…well, I just like it better! But like I said, I’m already sold – check both shows out and see for yourself. MasterChef 4 is coming soon {not soon enough, but soon!}, and check out The Taste: Tuesday at 8|7c on ABC.
Now about those burgers…
In honor of this week’s The Taste sandwich-making episode, I’m working on integrating sandwiches back into our new “healthified” diet – namely burgers. But no ground beef. That’s just asking for trouble. Recently, I came across a Moroccan-style turkey burger recipe in one of my cookbooks, but it involved a mint sour cream topping that neither of us were fans of – instead, we opted to incorporate hickory barbecue sauce to bring out the cumin spice and pepper incorporated into the burger. Even with the changes, I love the idea of incorporating a little exotic spice into this burger – and both of us definitely love the taste.
moroccan barbecue turkey burgers
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/2 cup + about 2 tbsp barbecue sauce
- 1 tbsp parsley
- 2 sesame seed buns, toasted
And here’s how you make it:
- Toast the buns lightly until they’re crispy and golden. Set aside.
- Combine the turkey and the spices together. Form them into four patties and place in a broiler pan.
- Broil 10-12 minutes, turning them once about midway through. They should be slightly blackened by the end.
- Serve open faced on buns with a dash of barbecue sauce on each.
Recipe serves 2, 505 calories ea.
We usually have these for lunch with a light side salad, but they could be easily served with a mixture of roasted vegetables or complementary spiced couscous for a full dinner option.
