Pin It

(Serves 2)

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 6 thin slices of Gruyère cheese
• 8 thin slices of Black Forest Ham
• 1 cup of grated Gruyère cheese
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 4 slices of thick cut French sandwich loaf
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

Begin by making the béchamel sauce. Get two saucepans, and heat one on a medium low heat, and the other on medium heat. To the pan on medium, low heat, add the milk, and let it get warm. To the other pan, add the two tablespoons of butter, and let it melt down and begin to bubble a bit. Add the flour to the butter, and mix it very well to incorporate the two. Continue whisking for about two minutes, being careful not to let the flour mixture brown. Slowly add in the warm milk, and continue whisking until you everything is nice and smooth. You will whisk this for about 8-10 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Add in the salt, nutmeg, and the parmesan cheese. Give a good mix, then remove it from the heat until it is ready to be used.

Next, get a large skillet going on the stove, and bring that to a medium heat. Butter four slices of the bread, and lay them into the skillet, butter side down. The goal here is to get them nice and golden brown, without burning them. As they begin to cook, add a tablespoon of butter to two pieces of the bread. Lay down three slices of Gruyère cheese on top of the mustard, then top each with four slices of the black forest ham. Let them continue cooking on the skillet, lifting to peak every couple of minutes, until the have reached that golden brown color, and have a crunchy exterior.

Now for the assembly.

Get your broiler going on 475 degrees.

Add the slices of toasted bread to a baking sheet. Place the toasted bread on top of the bread with the mustard, cheese, and ham. Now take the bechamel sauce and generously spread it all of the top of each sandwich. Take half a cup of the Gruyère cheese and add that to the top of the bechamel sauce.

Place this under the broiler until the cheese is nice and bubbly and everything is warmed through, roughly 4-6 minutes.

Remove the sandwiches from the broiler, and place on a serving plate. Dig in!

This one is super delicious and has not left my mind since I last made it. It has that sort of impact. Trust me.

Pin It

It has been awhile since I last made soft pretzels, and I thought I would entertain my kids with the thought of fresh, homemade soft pretzels, not only that, but to create a beer and cheddar cheese sauce that my wife and I love.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 package of active dry yeast
• 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• Cooking Spray
• 12 cups water
• 2/3 cups baking soda
• 1 egg, beaten
• Kosher salt

Begin by adding 1 1/2 cups of the water to a mixing bowl. If you have a KitchenAid mixing bowl, use that. Add in the sugar, salt, and package of yeast. Gently stir, and walk away from it for about 5-10 minutes, or until the yeast foams.

Once the mixture has foamed, add in the flour and melted butter. Use your dough hook attachment, and begin mixing on medium speed for about four minutes. Your dough should be smooth and begin coming off of the sides of the bowl.  Remove the dough from the mixer and add it to another bowl. Drizzle the vegetable oil on top of the dough, and toss it to the other side, making sure the exterior is oiled. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot for about two hours.

The goal is to have the dough rise, about twice the size of which you placed it in the bowl.

Once the dough has risen, uncover, and give a good smell. I love the smell of fresh dough. Nothing beats that wonderful yeast smell. Well, bacon probably beats that, but still, it is a great smell.

For the next few steps you will want to have everything prepared as things go pretty quickly.

To a large baking sheet, spray the cooking spray on it. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Beat the egg in a small bowl. Add the salt to a small bowl.

In a roasting pan, if you have one, add the water and the baking soda, and bring it to a boil. If you do not have a roasting pan, use a  deep skillet or another vessel that can hold that water to a boil.

OK, back to the dough. Take the dough and divide it into about 8-10 balls. The dough will be a bit sticky, so use a bit more vegetable oil to lightly coat your hands.

Take each ball and begin to roll it into a rope like shape. Once you begin to get the rope, grab both ends and swing it a bit. Your goal here is to get the rope to be about 7 inches long, or so.

Lay the rope down, and cut about 2 inch pieces. Add these pieces to the boiling water. Let these cook in the water for 20-30 seconds. What happens here is that the dough begins to soften, par cook, and enlarge a bit. Remove with a slotted spoon, trying to remove as much water as possible, and add the cooked dough to the oiled baking sheet.

Brush the egg wash onto the top of each pretzel bite, then sprinkle each one with kosher salt.

Repeat this process for the remaining dough balls.

Once the baking sheet is filled with some pretzel bites, add them to the preheated oven and cook for about 15 minutes. They should come out golden brown. The smell is amazing. Take it in. Remove them from the baking sheet and place on a wired rack to cool.

Repeat this process until all of the pretzel bites have cooked.

As the pretzels cook, make the cheddar cheese beer sauce.

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces of light beer
• 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• pinch of salt
• pinch of cracked black pepper

Add the beer to a sauce pan. Bring it to a boil. Toss the flour with the cheese. Once the beer is boiling, add the cheese and flour mixture, dial down the heat, and stir constantly. Toss in some salt and pepper. Stir, and add to a serving bowl.

When you are ready to plate, add the pretzel bites to a plate with a small bowl of the beer sauce, and dig in.

The flavor of these pretzels are just phenomenal to say the least. Packed with this yeasty smell and flavor, every bite is nicely salted, and that beer and cheese sauce, well, I will let you judge. A perfect snack any time of the day, and better yet, a great game day appetizer that will get all of your friends and family dipping everything into that beer and cheddar cheese sauce! Enjoy.

Pin It

See, these are poppers on steroids. Well, not really, but they are wrapped in delicious pork. These game time appetizers will get your family and friends talking. When they are fully cooked, and plated, the questions will pour out. There is some mystery behind these, and not only that, but a lot of great flavor.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 8 whole jalapeno peppers, seeds and stems removed
• 6 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup of colby jack cheese, shredded
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper
• 2 chipotle peppers, seeds removed, chopped
• 1 tbsp chipotle adobo sauce
• 1/4 tsp granulated garlic
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 egg, beaten (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups of panko bread crumbs
• Cooking Spray

Start by getting all of your ingredients ready. To a small bowl, add the cream cheese, colby jack cheese, salt, pepper, chopped chipotle peppers, and the adobo sauce. Give this a really good mix to incorporate all of the flavors. Set this aside.

As you can see by the photo, I have this really cool jalapeno pepper corer. This corer came with a purchase I had made in the past, and really proves useful for seeding jalapeno peppers. So once you have the seeds removed, cut them in half as noted in the photo below.

Take the cream cheese mixture and stuff it inside of the jalapeno peppers. Repeat until the peppers are filled.

Add the beaten egg to one small bowl, and the panko breadcrumbs to another bowl.

Take the ground pork, enough to flatten in the palm of your hand, and enough that you think would lightly cover the jalapeno pepper. Using your hands, wrap the pork around the pepper, shaping into an egg shape, until it is fully covered. Repeat until all peppers are covered.

Add the pork egg to the egg wash, then over to the panko breadcrumbs.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Spray your baking sheet with the cooking spray, or lightly coat with some oil. Add the coated armadillo eggs to the baking sheet and place in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes or until the breadcrumbs turn a very light golden brown.

When the are fully cooked, remove them from the oven and let them cool for about five minutes before plating.

Now you can eat these two ways. Once with your hands, or the other with fork and knife. Biting into them yields the wall of pork, then you are hit with the great texture of the pepper. A nice heat level to them is quickly balanced by the smoky cream cheese. Something new for your to try in 2012. You could also deep fry these until a darker golden brown, but regardless of how you do it, you do get a nice crunch from the panko breadcrumbs.

Hope you enjoy!

Shortly after the kids ran madly from the school bus, returning home from school, they rushed into the house with excitement knowing that they were going to Rocky Rococo. Rocky Rococo, I think, is a midwestern pizza joint, where in the past, they served up some fairly descent pizza. It was not thin crust, or deep dish, but it was a pizza unlike no other. It was, in my opinion a Sicilian style pizza. I remember it being good.

When we arrived, three people were in the very large restaurant (not a good sign on a Thursday night at 6pm), and we ordered from the somewhat, hectic manager. My eyes looked upward at their menu, and as my kids rattled off what they wanted (cheese, cheese and pepperoni x2), I decided I would go with the classic cheese and sausage. That cheese and sausage is what I remembered the last time I had Rocky Rococo’s.

The fierce intensity of making these pizzas was beginning to annoy me. I like to watch people in the kitchen cooking my food, so don’t get me wrong. What was so stressful about making four pizzas that arrive in rectangular boxes, a box design that was totally out of style? These are not enormous, single serving slices. No clue, but about twenty minutes later, our pizzas arrived. By the way, no one else had arrived to order since that time.

My first bite. Gnarly, and not in a good way. 20 minutes? Stress upon taking my order, and panic on knowing how to cook a classic? Not impressed. But as I talked about the day with my kids (the best part of the meal), they were not phased about how unpleasant I was, and furthermore, my oldest asked if he could have another ‘square’. My time is precious with my kids, so as the good father that I am, I went back to the stressed out manager and asked for another slice of cheese and pepperoni slice, or rectangle,or whatever shape, only hoping that I was not going to have to wait another 20 minutes for a slice of pizza!

With that experience, I decided that I will never go back to that Rocky Rococo. I’m sorry to say that, as after all it is an establishment that I would like to support in my neighborhood.  A classic joint with some history, but I’m sorry, your pizza did not cut it. Hence why I decided to make my own, and I will not call it Rocky Rococo style pizza, but instead a Sicilian style pizza.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• My pizza dough, or  about 2 lbs of pre-made pizza dough
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp dried oregano, pinched with your fingers
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 15 oz can of tomato sauce
• 3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
• Pepperoni slices to cover, leaving 1 inch gaps
• Fresh Italian sausage, pinched, casings removed (optional)
• Sardines, flaked (optional)
• 1/2 cup red onion (diced), optional
• Black olives, sliced, optional
• Grated parmesan cheese, optional
• Your favorite pizza ingredients, optional

My kids are still, believe it or not, in the basic pizza eating style. They like either cheese, cheese and sausage, or cheese and pepperoni. I will focus on a 50/50 cheese and sausage/cheese and pepperoni, but as the man that I am, I recommend the red onion, sardines, and olives. You know what you like, so go for it. Just stick with the dough and process, and you should be good to go.

Begin by making the dough. Let it rise. It takes a few hours, so take that into consideration, or make the dough the night before, let it get to a good warmth and let the yeast do its thing.  Take in the smells. Nothing better than a kitchen that smells like yeasty dough!

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees, fahrenheit.

So you have the dough. Lightly flour it, very lightly. Take a large sheet tray, or at least 18×13, if not larger. Add the olive oil to the the sheet tray, and make sure the base is coated. Take your risen dough and place into the center of the tray. Begin massaging the dough, attempting to stretch the dough, without tearing it, to the edges of the sheet tray. Do your best.

Once you think you’ve done your best without tearing, shower it with the salt, pepper, and oregano. Cover the sheet tray and let it rise another hour, or so.

Once the dough rises a bit more, add the sauce, and gently spread all over the dough, lightly, not too heavy.

Add the mozzarella cheese, coating the sauce, then add your favorite ingredients. I was down for simple pepperoni, and sausage.

Place in a preheated oven for  about 35 minutes. What you are looking for is golden, crispy edges, a nice melted and golden cheese  crust in the center, and well, something better than Rocky Rococo’s.

Once cooked, take the sheet pan out of the oven and let it rest for about ten minutes for slicing into it.

Cut into long rectangular shapes and enjoy.

I’ve made this about four different times, and every time it delivers a crunch exterior with a fluffy interior, only to be enjoyed with your favorite toppings. Not only that, but you make a whole sheet of pizza for dirt cheap! I think I walked out of Rocky Rococo’s paying something like thirty dollars. Mine, about eleven dollars, and a much better experience. Enjoy.

By the way, my kids are just excited when they see the sheet pan of pizza, I think, more than they saw the stressed out manager, and the solo boxes of pizza.

Pin It

A croque madame is essentially a French ham and cheese sandwich, but not only a ham and cheese sandwich. See, this sandwich has a coating of bechamel sauce, and topped with an egg. Now how’s that for a nice pick me up brunch item!?

Let’s get started, as staring at the photo only makes me want another one.

(Serves 2)

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 6 thin slices of Gruyère cheese
• 8 thin slices of Black Forest Ham
• 1 cup of grated Gruyère cheese
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 4 slices of thick cut French sandwich loaf
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs, 1 tbsp butter

Begin by making the bechamel sauce. Get two saucepans, and heat one on a medium low heat, and the other on medium heat. To the pan on medium, low heat, add the milk, and let it get warm. To the other pan, add the two tablespoons of butter, and let it melt down and begin to bubble a bit. Add the flour to the butter, and mix it very well to incorporate the two. Continue whisking for about two minutes, being careful not to let the flour mixture brown. Slowly add in the warm milk, and continue whisking until you everything is nice and smooth. You will whisk this for about 8-10 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Add in the salt, nutmeg, and the parmesan cheese. Give a good mix, then remove it from the heat until it is ready to be used.

Next, get a large skillet going on the stove, and bring that to a medium heat. Butter four slices of the bread, and lay them into the skillet, butter side down. The goal here is to get them nice and golden brown, without burning them. As they begin to cook, add a tablespoon of butter to two pieces of the bread. Lay down three slices of Gruyère cheese on top of the mustard, then top each with four slices of the black forest ham. Let them continue cooking on the skillet, lifting to peak every couple of minutes, until the have reached that golden brown color, and have a crunchy exterior.

Now for the assembly.

Get your broiler going on 475 degrees.

Add the slices of toasted bread to a baking sheet. Place the toasted bread on top of the bread with the mustard, cheese, and ham. Now take the bechamel sauce and generously spread it all of the top of each sandwich. Take half a cup of the Gruyère cheese and add that to the top of the bechamel sauce.

Place this under the broiler until the cheese is nice and bubbly and everything is warmed through, roughly 4-6 minutes.

During this time, add a tablespoon of butter to the skillet, and let it melt on medium-high heat. Crack the eggs, leaving the yolks whole, and continue cooking in the skillet until the whites around the yolk are cooked through, sunny side up style.

Remove the sandwiches from the broiler, and place on a serving plate. Top each sandwich with the egg. Dig in!

What you get in a totally sexy sandwich. You get the perfect sharpness from the cheese and mustard, along with the creaminess of the egg and bechamel sauce, then on top of that, you get the tender ham. Wow. Words sometimes cannot explain, however I am extremely glad that I forgot to eat breakfast this morning! Hope you enjoy.

Pin It

This upgraded bacon cheese ball is something that is not only good for a holiday party, but something that is really good any day of the week and can hold its own as leftovers. I’m now curious if it would be great as a grilled cheese sandwich, and I am sure I will give that a shot the next time I make this bacon cheese ball.

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 8 oz package of cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeds removed, finely diced
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeds removed, finely diced
• 8 pieces of your favorite bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 3 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup of red onion, minced
• 1 tbsp worchestershire sauce
• 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1 tsp red chili flakes (optional)
• pinch of black pepper
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup of toasted walnuts, finely chopped
• Pita chips

Begin by adding everything but the walnuts and a few tablespoons of the jalapeno and red bell peppers to a mixing bowl. Add the remaining peppers and walnuts to a plate, and mix that up a bit. Now, to the cheese mixture.  Mix everything to incorporate all of the ingredients into the cheese. Shape into a ball.

Take the cheese ball and roll it around on the plate, coating it with the peppers and walnuts. Place this on a serving plate, cover with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving.

When you are ready to serve, place a knife into the bacon cheese ball, line the perimeter of the ball with pita chips, and dig in.

Every bite is just loaded with huge flavor. Sweet, smokey, spicy, and creamy, this cheese ball just trumped the boring old classic.

As a side note, this cheese ball ended up being something that my wife and family members love. Could it be the bacon, or could it the cheese? Whatever the case, it is pretty awesome. Hope you enjoy.

Let’s get started.

Serves 4

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 1 1/2 cup of masa harina
• 1 1/2 cup of warm water
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 cup of Deli ham, thinly sliced and chopped, per arepa
• 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, per arepa
• Your favorite hot sauce

Begin by adding the masa harina and salt to a small mixing bowl, and mix it around with your fingers. Next add the water, and begin mixing, and kneading until the dough comes together. Continue kneading the dough until it forms a smooth dough, and no longer is sticky. At this point in time you can add a bit more masa harina if it is too sticky, or a bit more water if it is too dry. You basically want to form a medium sized ball that you can flatten down a bit, about a 1/2 inch thick by the width of your palm, approximately 3 inches.

Continue this process until you have formed all of the arepas.

Next, heat a large cast iron skillet on medium heat. The goal is to use a heavy skillet that can retain really good heat. Add the oil and swirl it in the pan. Add the arepas to the heated oil and let them cook for 4 minutes on each side. You want a golden exterior on both sides.

During this time, preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

When the arepas as golden on each side, add them to a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, remove the baking sheet from the oven.

With a sharp knife, make an incision in the side of the arepa, cutting through the arepa, making an opening. The goal is to not slice this all of the way through, just a nice incision that will allow you to stuff them with the ham and cheese.

If you notice the knife is doughy, much like you would see when you pull a knife from cooking a cake or bread, place them back into the oven for another 5 minutes or so.

Next, stuff a bit of the cheese inside of the arepa, then some ham, then more cheese on the top of the ham. Place them back into the oven for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is nice and melted.

When you are ready to serve, plate them, and serve with a simple salad and a nice drizzle of hot sauce.

The end result is nothing but awesomeness. You have a crunchy exterior with a soft interior, the fresh aroma from the masa, and with the melted cheese and ham, well, you know where I’m going.  Give them a shot, and I hope you enjoy.

Note: I also served these with roasted chicken, cheese, and guacamole, but once again the creations are endless as to what you put inside of them.

Maybe some of you have once heard about a Mexican hot dog, and might have questioned it, much like I did. I recall seeing a show on television and they were talking about Mexican hot dogs, somewhere in the southwest portion of the United States. What it ended up being, and don’t get me wrong, it looked great, was a bacon wrapped hot dog, with tomatoes, onions, jalapeno peppers, and a cream sauce. Once again, it looked great, but I had a better idea, and something I thought would be a bit more authentic. I did not want to go with a bacon wrapped hot dog because I had already did this with my corn dog recipe, as well as simply wrapping the hot dogs in bacon and grilling them. Both amazing, but not what I was looking for in what I am calling the Mexican hot dog.

Let’s get started.

(Serves 1)

• 2 flour tortillas, warmed, per serving
• 3 tbsp refried beans, cooked
• 2 roasted jalapeño peppers, seeds and stem removed, sliced
• 1 hot dog, make it your favorite one, cooked
• 1/2 cup of shredded Colby jack cheese
• Sriracha sauce, optional

Begin by preparing all of your ingredients. To roast the peppers, I simply add them to a hot cast iron skillet, turning along the cooking process, until they are nice and blackened on all sides. Then, remove them, let them cool to the touch, and clean them.

Cook your hot dog any way you like. For this particular recipe, I like to steam them until fully cooked, then lightly sear them in the hot cast iron skillet, just for a little color.

To assemble the hot dog, warm the tortillas until they are nice and flexible. You can do this on a skillet, or in a microwave.

Remove one of the tortillas, spread the refried beans on the base of the tortilla, then top with about 3/4 of the cheese, then the sliced jalapeno peppers. Top with another warm tortilla, pushing down just a bit to melt some of the cheese, then top with the cooked hot dog and the remaining cheese.

You want your tortillas flexible at this point in time. If they are not warm and flexible, either add them back to a preheated skillet, covered, or in the microwave for about 15 seconds, until they are nice, soft, and flexible.

Roll the tortilla, until you have the seam side down. The refried beans and cheese will serve as a the glue, keeping everything in tact.

Slice it in half and serve with Sriracha sauce for additional heat.

This Mexican hot dog is creamy, has a nice snap from the hot dog, a bit of heat from the roasted jalapeños, and when taking a bite, just blends all of those flavors into one.  I hope you enjoy.

You see, I fell in love with the crab rangoon when I moved back to Wisconsin, and one of the first restaurants my wife and I ate at, after we pulled in with the big moving truck, was an American Chinese restaurant that served these deliciously hot bundles of joy.

So instead of making the classic crab rangoon, I thought I would replace the crab and make it a bit more accessible by making a wonderful tasting shrimp rangoon. Not only does it cost less to make, but it also tastes just a good, if not better, than a crab rangoon.

Let’s get started:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 cup of green onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 8 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese, room temperature
• Wonton wrappers
• Small bowl of water
• Canola Oil, approximately 3 cups
• Bowl of ice water

Begin by boiling some water, and once boiled, add a generous pinch of salt, and toss in the your shrimp. I realize you can buy precooked shrimp, but something about buying precooked shrimp has always bothered me. Not sure why, but if you want to take the precooked route, by all means go ahead.

Cook the shrimp just until they begin to float to the top. They do not take very long to cook. Once they float, remove them with a slotted spoon and toss them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.

Add the shrimp to a food processor and pulse until they are coarsely chopped. Add in the green onion, worcestershire sauce, black  pepper, and cream cheese. Pulse this mixture until everything is incorporated. Remove and clean the blade from the cheese and shrimp mixture.

The next step is to make the rangoons. Take about one tablespoon of the mixture and add them to the middle of a wonton. Brush the edges of the wonton with water, then fold into a triangle, try to remove as much air from the triangle so that only the mixture is well formed, then gently press the edges to seal.  Repeat.

Heat your oil in a pot small pot until it reach 375 degrees. Slowly add in the formed wontons, being careful not to bunch them up, an cook until they are a nice, golden brown. These do not take very long to fry. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a plate lined with paper towel.

Repeat until all of the shrimp rangoons are cooked, but remember to try a couple along the way.

This will be a nice surprise to your guests, and possibly a familiar surprise as well. The real treat is that when biting into them, they will be left with some very nice, and succulent shrimp. Hope you enjoy.

Don’t get me wrong, a chip sandwich on its own is pretty darn awesome, but as I am always trying to get my kids to try new things, I thought I would take his idea of a chip sandwich and convert that into one of his favorite burgers. Yes, his favorite burger is a plain burger, stacked with bacon. No cheese. No condiments. No nothing.

So this led me to make this really awesome burger creation, and sure, I loaded mine up differently than I did my oldest child, and my middle son, but what did shine besides the delicious burger was the crisp, yet tender, homemade garlic chips.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

• 3 large russet potatoes, cleaned, skin on
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, lightly smashed
• Ground chuck, made into your preferred size burger patty
• Generous amount of salt
• Generous amount of cracked black pepper
• Thick cut bacon, cooked, bacon grease reserved
• Thick style burger buns, proportionate to your patty, and thick enough to trap any juices
• Carmelized onions, optional
• 2 slices of American cheese, per burger

If you have a mandoline (highly recommend if you do not have one), use it, and set it to about a 1/4 inch thick. If you do not have one, don’t worry. This will give you an opportunity to work with your knife skills. The point is slice the potato lengthwise, so use a very long knife, a knife longer than your potato, cutting into about 1/4 inch thick. Keep the skin on. I’m a big believer in skin on. Add all of your slices to a large bowl, and cover with cold water as you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

As the potato slices soak, cook your bacon in a large cast iron skillet. Add the garlic to a skillet and add in the oil. Cook on medium to low heat, being gentle to not burn the garlic. Your goal is to extract the great garlic flavor into the oil. After about 10 minutes, remove the garlic cloves and discard, and turn off the heat. Your bacon should be finishing up now, so once it is cooked, remove to a paper lined plate to drain any oil. Turn the heat off of the bacon skillet as well, but reserve the bacon fat. Yes, we are going to cook the burgers in the fat.

Caramelize your onions if you are using them.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Drain the water from the potatoes and lay them on a large towel. Cover with another towel and gently pat them to dry. Next, add a wire rack onto a large cookie sheet. If you do not have a wire wrack, don’t worry. Use parchment paper instead. Brush the garlic oil on both sides of the potato slices, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place in the oven to cook for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, and maybe even 10 minutes into the cooking, take a peak on them. The last thing you want are burnt chips. Flip over, then raise the heat to 400 degrees, cooking for another 10 minutes of so, and once again, keeping your eye on them. If some are cooking faster than others, remove them from the oven and place on a plate. Continue until all of the chips are done.

Next, make your patties. I like to mix a small bowl of salt and pepper together, then generously sprinkle a plate with the mixture. Once my patty is made, I can set it onto the plate, absorbing the salt and pepper, then season the top. I’m always generous when it comes to seasoning the top and bottom as it helps build a nice crust, which I really love.

Bring the bacon fat up to a medium to high heat. Add in your burger patty(s) and cover with a splatter screen if you have one. Cook to your desired doneness, flipping on both sides. I prefer a medium on my burgers. Before you reach your doneness, add bacon slices, caramelized onions, then top with the cheese. The cheese will begin to melt down, covering the onions and bacon for another added surprise.

Before serving, slice your buns, and add into the warm oven. To plate, add the cheeseburger to the bottom bun, and stack with a handful of the homemade garlic chips, then top with the top bun.

This burger will grab your attention, and those around you. It is stacked with perfection. With both hands, grab that burger, give a light squeeze, and wrap your mouth around it. Crunchy and garlicky from the chips, then the really juicy burger along with the smokey sweetness from the bacon and onions, really complete the burger. Super great, and now I am glad my kid opened my eyes to a chip sandwich. Who knew? The big question is, which is better the pretzel burger, the cheese crisp burger, or this bad boy? Hope you enjoy.