Columbia Bar & Grill’s Vegetable Burger Is a Healthful Change of Taste

DEAR SOS: Being an avid meat eater, I surprised even myself when I ordered the vegetable burger at the Columbia Bar & Grill in Hollywood. It was out of this world. With today’s emphasis on healthy eating, I think your readers will welcome this outstanding recipe.

--LILA

DEAR LILA: Our thanks to Juan Mercado, the executive chef at the Columbia Bar & Grill, for the recipe. We thought it was great too.

COLUMBIA BAR & GRILL VEGETABLE BURGER

3 cups chopped mushrooms

1 large onion, chopped

Butter

1 cup oats

1 1/2 cups shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese

1 cup cooked brown rice

1/2 cup dry cottage cheese

3 eggs

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup softened bulgur wheat

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

Salt, pepper

Saute mushrooms and onion in butter until tender. Drain, cool, then combine with oats, mozzarella, brown rice, cottage cheese, eggs, Cheddar cheese, bulgur, walnuts, parsley, chives and season to taste with salt and pepper in bowl. Chill overnight in refrigerator.

Divide into 8 large or 12 medium rounded patties. Cook over medium coals, pan fry or broil until golden brown on both sides. Makes 8 to 12 patties.

Note: To soften bulgur, cover with warm water and soak 20 minutes, then squeeze-dry before using. Serve patties on whole-wheat rolls or other desired bread. Fill sandwich with sliced tomato, pickle, lettuce and serve with French fries, if desired.

DEAR READERS: An April 4 article about Ruth Wakefield’s Toll House cookbook in The Times’ Food section mentioned a recipe called Hot Milk Cake and a variation called Mary Anns. Neither recipe was provided in the story because the recipes from the 1930s-era book did not work, probably due to the incompatibility of today’s ingredients, methods and cooking equipment.

However, in an early edition of “The Joy of Cooking,” we managed to find a copy of this old-time recipe that uses the variation for Mary Anns from Wakefield’s book.

HOT MILK CAKE

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Beat eggs until very light. Add sugar slowly, beating constantly. Beat 5 minutes by hand. Sift flour and resift with baking powder and salt. Fold flour mixture quickly all at once, into egg mixture.

Heat milk and butter but do not boil. Add milk mixture to flour-egg mixture all at once, folding quickly and briefly. Add vanilla and lemon zest.

Pour into greased 8-inch square cake pan or 2 (8-inch) layer pans. Bake at 350 degrees 35 to 40 minutes or until until cake springs back when lightly touched. Makes 1 loaf cake or 2 round (8-inch) layers.

Variation:

Mary Anns

Bake Hot Milk Cake batter in 12 well-greased cupcake pans at 375 degrees 30 minutes. Remove from pans and cool. Hollow out centers. Roll in chocolate sauce and fill hollows with peppermint ice cream or other favorite ice cream. Top with whipped cream flavored with almond extract and tinted light green with food color. Allow chocolate base to show.

DEAR SOS: Could you please obtain the recipe for the fried feta cheese served at Angie’s in West Los Angeles?

--KATHY

DEAR KATHY: Ann Pappas of Angie’s suggests serving this cheese dish as an appetizer or luncheon entree with salad.

A word of caution. Quick frying is essential for this warm appetizer. Cook feta cheese quickly in butter to prevent melting and sticking to pan.

FLAMING FRIED FETA CHEESE

1 pound feta or kasseri cheese

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup butter or margarine

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup Cognac or brandy

Marinated Greek olives or green salad

Cut cheese into 2 1/2x2x1/2-inch rectangles or 1-inch cubes. Dredge in flour.

Heat skillet. Melt butter in skillet and quickly add flour-coated cheese. Fry quickly, turning until golden on all sides. Do not cook slowly or overcook, or cheese will melt and stick to pan. Sprinkle with lemon juice.

To flame, heat Cognac and pour over cheese. Carefully ignite. Let flames die out. Garnish cheese with olives or serve warm over green salad. Serve cubes with wood picks. Serve rectangles on individual plates with knife and fork. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

The recipe for Frosted Sandwich Loaf printed in the last Thursday’s Food Section omitted the Cream Cheese Frosting. Here it is now as a complete recipe.

FROSTED SANDWICH LOAF

1 day-old 12-inch unsliced loaf sandwich bread

Butter or margarine, softened

Shrimp Filling

Dill Filling

Cheese Filling

Cream Cheese Frosting

Stuffed olives, pimiento and green pepper strips

Parsley, watercress or crisp lettuce leaves

Remove crusts from bread. Cut loaf lengthwise into 4 slices of equal thickness. Keep slices in order.

Place bottom slice on serving platter. Spread with softened butter, then with Shrimp Filling. Butter both sides of next slice and press in place over bottom slice. Spread with Dill Filling.

Butter both sides of third slice, press in place and spread with Cheese Filling. Butter bottom of top slice and press in position.

Spread Cream Cheese Frosting over top and sides of loaf. If desired, decorate top of loaf with slices of stuffed olive, strips of pimiento, green pepper and other greens. Chill several hours.

Before serving garnish platter with parsley, watercress or crisp lettuce. Cut loaf into crosswise slices to serve. Makes 12 to 16 servings.

Shrimp Filling

1 (4 1/2-ounce) can shrimp

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

Mayonnaise

Drain and chop shrimp, if necessary. Mix with celery and enough mayonnaise to moisten.

Dill Filling

2 medium tomatoes

Mayonnaise

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill weed

Salt, pepper

Peel tomatoes and slice crosswise in very thin slices. Spread bread slice with mayonnaise.

Arrange tomato slices on bread, then sprinkle with dill and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cheese Filling

4 hard-cooked eggs

1/4 cup cream cheese, softened or cottage cheese

Mayonnaise

Salt, pepper

Chop eggs and mix with cream cheese, enough mayonnaise to moisten and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

2 tablespoons half and half, softened

Salt, pepper

Whip cream cheese until light, adding half and half until well incorporated. Beat in salt and pepper to taste. Use as frosting for sandwich loaf. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.