Chicken Burgers Deluxe

Husband has been craving a burger for at least a week now; since he can't have beef very often, it's a real commitment to go somewhere for a burger ... will it live up to the craving?, y'know.

So, yesterday at Stop & Shop I bought everything for deluxe chicken burgers.

Serves 4

• 1 lb ground chicken
• 4 "Miami onion" rolls (they were like challah/egg bread inside, with onions and poppy seeds rolled in the outside of the dough)
• Finely chopped onion* and peppers, about 1/2 cup
• Butter
• Special sauce: Mayo, Ketchup, Sweet Relish
• Thick slices of Boar's Head cheddar cheese (1 per burger)
• Ripe tomato slices (yay, the tomatoes on the vine were on sale!)
  
• Thin slices of onion*
  
• Salt and pepper
  

* I usually only have yellow onions.

Combine meat and chopped pepper-onion mix. Divide into 4 and place on Foreman grill at 400 degrees for 7 minutes.

Toast rolls, and butter them.

Make Special Sauce: Mix about equal parts mayo and ketchup in a small dish. Add relish if desired. Layer sauce on the top half of each toasted bun.

When meat is cooked, place burgers on buns and immediately add cheese if desired.
Add thin-sliced onion, tomato, and salt and pepper. Top with special-sauced bun tops.

I also made Sweet Potato fries but didn't look up a recipe, so they were good if somewhat soggy.

Our 2010 Great Hot Dog Cookoff Entry

We didn't win any prizes at The Great Hot Dog Cookoff this year, , but got lots of compliments about the balance of sweetness, heat, creaminess, and meatiness in our dog.

Plus we got some awesome stuff like a Sigg bottle and (at the event) samples of a really delicious Adirondack Creamery ice cream that DuckyBoy wants instead of cake at his birthday party. (why do I open my big mouth and suggest things like that? What are the odds that the 2 stores in Queens that carry the brand will have the mint chocolate chip?) Anyway I've also really been enjoying the Brooklyn-made Early Bird Granola ("Farmhand's Choice" has lots of seeds, yum!) and I've stashed away our Wusthof paring knife for someday...)

We called our entry "The Last Dogbender" because it has the 4 universal elements:

• Bacon from what we called “an earthy creature,”plus onions
• Fiery jalapenos
• The liquid of life … cheese sauce
• Honey from the bees of the air.

The Last Dogbender
Here are the ingredients per dog:

• 1 hot dog bun
• 1 hot dog, cooked (preferably grilled)
• 1 oz honey
• 2 slices bacon, cooked
• French’s French Fried Onions
• About a tablespoon of Cheese Sauce (see below)
  

Cheese Sauce ingredients:

• Cubes of Velveeta cheese
• Chopped jalapenos as desired (we used a lot more than we expected -- the Velveeta really cuts the heat.)
• Whole milk (or whatever kind of milk you'd like. Husband used whole.)
  
• Small amount of corn starch or flour

Instructions:


Cook the bacon till crispy. Set aside to drain.

Make the cheese sauce: Melt the Velveeta in a saucepan. Add milk and stir until smooth. Add flour a little at a time to thicken. Remove from heat and add jalapenos. Set side.

Open the bun and drizzle the honey inside.
Add bacon. Sandwich the hot dog in between the 2 slices.

Top with about a tablespoon of cheese sauce.

Sprinkle a handful of French's onions on top.

Enjoy!

Classy Coffee Station

This photo is from BlogHer '10 at the Hilton NY.

Mom and Dad and DuckyBoy have been making iced coffee
for Journey Queens every Sunday this summer,
and what to do with the half-and-half and milk
is always something to ponder.

This would be a cool solution!!