Chipotle Ranch Sliders

It was a great honour to be chosen this year as one of Canada's top online influencers to participate in the Hidden Valley Ranch^TM Ranchify Recipe Challenge.  This was the perfect excuse to get into the kitchen to do a bit of experimenting with the goal of creating a recipe to enter in the contest.  This year's contest will be judged by Chef Ned Bell, of the Four Seasons YEW Restaurant in Vancouver, British Columbia.

I honestly had a lot of fun experimenting with the Hidden Valley Ranch^TM dressings included in my contest kit.  It was really difficult to choose a favourite between the Original, Spicy and Cheese-flavored ranch dressings.  Quite frankly they are all delicious!

Pictured are the Bacon Ranch Sliders submitted for my contest recipe.  These little gems are delicious, packed full of flavour with just the right amount of heat.  They are kicked up a notch from my contest creation stage recipe for bacon ranch sliders.  These mini burgers were a lot of fun to create.  They were declared a winner by my husband.  The Bacon Ranch Sliders are easy to make so I hope your family enjoys them as much as I enjoyed creating them!

Chipotle Ranch Sliders
recipe by:  Garden Gnome, June 2013

For this recipe you will need the following: mini burger buns with sesame seed tops, grilled mini patties, chipotle ranch sauce, fresh salsa, and leaf lettuce.

burger patties
1 lb lean ground beef
3 tbsp cooked crumbled bacon pieces
¼ c Hidden Valley Ranch^TM spicy dressing
 ½ tsp garlic pepper
8 small squares Asiago cheese

Cook the bacon pieces and drain.  Mix all of the ingredients together.  Divide into 8 equal sized portions.  Form into large meatballs then flatten to form patties.  Place the patties into mini burger grilling rack.  Grill on medium high cooked through, turning once.  Remove top of mini burger grilling rack.  Place a slice of cheese on each burger patty.  Continue grill just until cheese melts.

chipotle ranch sauce
½ c Hidden Valley Ranch^TM spicy dressing
½ chipolte pepper in adobo sauce
1 tsp chopped red onions
½ tsp chopped garlic
¼ tsp cumin
½ tsp fresh lime juice
½ tsp dried oregano leaves

Place all ingredients except oregano leavesinto blender.  Blend until well mixed.  Transfer the sauce to a small container with lid.  Stir in oregano leaves.

fresh tomato salsa
3 tbsp tomato, seeded and chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped red onions
2 tbsp chopped yellow pepper
1 tsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 tsp fresh lime juice

Mix together.

Assembly of Chipotle Ranch Sliders
Toast the buns until golden brown.  Place a circle of leaf lettuce on the bottom half of the bun.  Place a cheese topped mini burger patty on top.  Spoon about a teaspoon of Chipotle ranch dressing over the patty then top with fresh tomato salsa.  Place the top half of the bun on the burger. 

Bacon Ranch Sliders - Creation Stage Recipe

Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to say I was selected as one of Canada's top online influencers to participate in this years Hidden Valley Ranch^TM Ranchify Recipe Challenge.  This is the second year running for me.  Last year's entry for the Hidden Valley Ranch^TM Recipe Challenge was Grilled Zucchini Boats.  Although it was not a winning entry, it is still a very good recipe perfect for summer time grilling.  This year only one recipe can be submitted so I've been busy working on a few to narrow down my choice.  The deadline is July 1^st at 12 AM.  The recipes will be judged by Chef Ned Bell.

Note:  This is a recipe in the creation stages with the goal of a possible entry into a contest.  No creation stage recipe will be posted here however, the final recipe may appear here after the entry deadline closes so please check back. 

Mini burgers aka sliders have become rather popular so I decided to create slider recipe, more specifically a bacon ranch slider recipe.  I started with hormone free, grass fed lean ground beef to ensure a high quality burger pattie.  While I won't disclose all the ingredients that went into the patties, I will tell you that I used no fillers (eg. bread crumbs) so they are all beef patties and I used Hidden Valley Ranch^TM Spicy Creamy Dressing & Dip as an ingredient.  Additional ingredients and a spin on the patties remain a secret for now but don't worry as I will tell you what I did in the final version after the contest closes.

I shaped the prepared meat mixture into large meatballs then flattened to fit into the mini burger grilling rack.  This helped me keep the burger patties uniform shaped while making it easier to grill.  The grill rack is made by Cuisinart but other brands are available.  These can be found in the grilling section wherever outdoor grills are sold.

Sensations is a Sobey's brand.  We no longer have a Sobey's close by but during one of my recent travels I found one.  Sobey's tends to have a few extras that No Frills doesn't.  Anyway, I spotted these cute mini burger buns with sesame seed tops. I thought they would be perfect for my contest creation stage recipe. 

Buns plan an important role in any burger.  I chose this bun because it was cute and perfectly shaped so each slider would look the same for presentation.  Each bun measures about 2½ - inches in diameter and about 1½ - inches combined thickness.  A package of 12 cost $2.79 so they are a bit pricer than regular burger buns.  I was after a particular look for this contest creation stage recipe with the full intentions of substituting a homemade bun for the final recipe.

Homemade burger patties should not look like those used in fast food restaurants.  There are burger presses on the market that will allow you to make your own burger patties, uniformly shaped and perfect for freezing but honestly, hand shaped gives a nicer homemade touch.  A grilling rack simply keeps the smaller burgers in one piece while grilling, making them easier to turn.

I sprayed the inside of the rings with cooking oil in a health mister help prevent the patties from sticking.  I grilled the patties on medium high direct heat turning once.  I liked the hash marks the grill rack gave the patties!

I tested the patties on lightly toasted and toasted buns.  I topped each slider with Asiago cheese and a dollop of ketchup - simple and easy.  The end result was quite delicious!  The patties were nicely flavoured, tender and juicy.  I immediately knew I was heading in the right direction with this recipe!

Regardless of the initial success that my husband declared a winner, I knew I would have to get a bit more creative if I wanted a winning recipe.  So it was back to the drawing board, armed with a few tweaks to test.  Ketchup was ok but common.  I had something else in mind!  The buns were good and while I liked the texture from toasting, I had plans to kick them up a notch.  I was off on a culinary adventure.  Stay tuned...

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

[Note: This is not a paid post.  The opinions expressed in this review are based on our personal experience dining there.]

Prior to traveling to and staying at our vacation home in Florida as well as the many road trips we make while there, we do a bit of research looking for new restaurants to try.  We follow Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (host: Guy Fieri) and You Gotta Eat Here! (host: John Catucci) on Food Network Canada.  We also look for reviews and forum comments of restaurants in the various areas we will be traveling through or stay in.  Somewhere along the line, my husband heard about a restaurant chain called Five Guys that has quite a following of devoted fans.  It went on our list of restaurants to try.  We had the opportunity to finally try Five Guys during our fall vacation in October.

Five Guys is a privately owned restaurant chain specializing in hand-formed burgers cooked on a grill and fresh -cut fries cooked in pure peanut oil.  The combination is a sure fire winner!  The first Five Guys location opened in Arlingon, Virginia by Jerry and Janie Murrell  and their four sons, Matt, Jim, Chad and Ben as the original "Five Guys".  Jerry and Janie had a fifth son, Tyler, two years later.  Today, the five brothers are the current "Five Guys".  There are more than 1,000 locations across 40 US states and 6 Canadian provinces.   We visited one of the locations in Lakeland, Florida.

The colour scheme for Five Guys restaurants is black and crisp white with lots of cheery red accents for both the interior and exterior. A red checkerboard patter appears not only as part of the interior decor but also on their signage and packaging.   Five Guys restaurants do not have drive-through service but you can order online then wait for delivery or pick the order up yourself.  This is easy on your mobile device using their app (iPhone, Android) or through their website.  Signing up is required.  After signing up you can place your order and pre-pay via credit card online at any of their participating locations.

We stopped at Five Guys for a late lunch so it wasn't busy. Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted with a bright, cheery atmosphere.  Boxes of help-yourself complimentary peanuts and 50 lb bags of  fresh potatoes were neatly lined up across from the open style kitchen and order counter forming a friendly, unique barrier between the counter and sit down dining area.  There is no limit on the complimentary peanuts but you can't take them out of the restaurant.

The interior of the Five Guys restaurant was quite spacious, bright and airy.  Clean line tables and chairs in a blond wood expanded bright and airy and yet the restaurant had some of the charm of a 50's diner.  There was ample indoor lighting combined with large expanses of windows.  The were wall-mounted cork boards on either side of the entrance with a stack of note cards and crayons for customers.  There is a self-serve drink bar and condiment counter.

The menu was neatly done on a board above the counter.  Five Guys is well known for their  simple menu consisting of burgers (hamburger, cheeseburger, bacon burger and bacon cheeseburger) in regular (2 patties) or little size (1 pattie) , hot dogs (Kosher style, cheese, bacon and bacon cheese), sandwiches (veggie, cheese veggie and grilled cheese), cold drinks (soda, bottle water) large or regular size, and fresh-cut fries (Five Guys style or Cajun style).  There is no tea, coffee, milkshakes or juice.  All toppings are free.  Those written in black on the menu board are included if order your burger with everything or all the way.  Those topping written in red are still free but you have to ask for them to be included.  Drink refills are free.  The drink cups are a hard plastic so they can be reused at home.  You can watch them make your burgers while you wait on the pick-up side of the counter.

The fresh-cut fries is just one thing that sets Five Guys apart from other fast food style restaurants and burger joints.  Fresh-cut fries taste so much better than the anemic ones some fast food restaurants have.  They are the selling feature for the restaurant chain and the only side offered so they have to impress customers and they certain do.

We ordered the large size salted Five Guys style fresh-cut fries to share ($4.99).  We measured out ketchup in the provided dipping bowls at the condiment station.  I would have liked malt or apple cider vinegar for my fries but there wasn't any.  From our personal experience, serving vinegar with fries is not all that popular in the US unless the restaurant serves English style fish and chips.  Vinegar with fries is more of a British and Canadian thing.

We also shared a large unsweetened ice tea ($2.29) and a tray of peanuts.  Now, we fell in love with unsweetened ice tea several years ago so I make it at home as well.  Unsweetened ice tea is very much a southern US states delight but we've been able to find it states further north as well.  This beverage is refreshing without adding any calories, just perfect for hot weather and ideal when enjoying heavier meals.

The portion size for the fries was very generous!  They were hot, steamy and crispy just perfect.  These fries are a must even if you don't eat the entire portion and they are perfect sharing size.  You just have to taste them to know they are about as close to homemade as you can get, with all the deliciousness of homemade, fresh-cut fries.

The peanuts are part of the Five Guys identity.  Those with peanut allergies or sensitivities should not go there.  There is signage on the doors to indicate that peanuts are served in bulk on the premises.  The peanuts were delightfully roasted, not too salty

Be warned, while most fast food is not the best food for you, Men's Health Magazine (2008) listed Five Guys fries in their 20 New Worst Foods in America Eat This, Not That!  A large Five Guys fries contains 1,474 calories, 71 g fat (14g saturated) and 213 mg sodium.  Overall, Men's Health gave Five Guys a grade of C in terms of healthy choice offerings.  However, you can reduce the calories by sharing as we did and simply asking for no salt on your fries would greatly reduce the sodium.

We each ordered a regular cheeseburger ($5.79).  I ordered my with the everything and added jalapeño peppers.  My husband ordered his with lettuce, tomato and grilled onions.  All of the regular size burgers come with two patties while the little size comes with one.  The patties are made with 100% fresh beef with no fillers or preservatives.  The beef is neither organic or free range but it is purchased from producers that treat the cattle humanely following all the procedures set by the USDA.

These were really tasty,  juicy, homemade style burgers.  We certainly enjoyed them!  Fully loaded, they were a bit drippy to eat but that really is part of the enjoyment.  These burgers seriously are some of the best.  To borrow a term from several reviewers, Five Guys' burgers are Burgericious, well worth the culinary experience.

Men's Health Magazine in the same rated the regular burger sans cheese or toppings as an unhealthy choice at 700 calories and 20 grams of fat.  The Center for Science in the Public Interest listed Five Guys' bacon cheeseburger (920 calories) in their 2010 list of the most unhealthy meals available at US chain restaurants.  The burgers are quite large especially with the two patties so you could cut calories by sharing a burger and simply omitting toppings like cheese, grilled onions and bacon you can certainly reduce the fat content but that's not the point.  I mentioned the unhealthy ratings for the Five Guys' food for a reason.

Five Guys is basically a meat and potatoes restaurant that has never claimed to be health food.  Of course it is not the healthiest food you can enjoy but it is down right good food!  If we are going to a burger joint it is to indulge a bit, and because we eat healthy the majority of the time, a bit of occasional indulgence is fine.  They use fresh, never frozen 100% ground beef and potatoes unlike many fast food restaurants that use frozen burger patties that may have preservatives and fillers and frozen French fries.  All of their products are trans-fat free.  Most fast food restaurants horribly over salt the food but we asked for just a little salt on our fries so ours weren't too salty at all.  I'm sure if we had said no salt that would have been fine as well.  However, I would not consider Five Guys a fast food restaurant.  It is a burger joint, and a mighty good one at that.  Unlike burger joints that have turned into fast food restaurants with drive-through windows and pre-made patties, fries and other menu items, as well as gimmicky characters combined with toys for the kids, Five Guys has stuck to its roots in offering fresh, handmade, homemade style menu items without complicating the menu by adding a lot of extras.  Instead they have focused on perfecting what they do best.  They also don't offer coupons or discounts but rather offer high quality products at reasonable prices.  All around, Five Guys gets a two thumbs up from us!

Harvey's Revisited

During our recent move we ate out and had take-out a bit more because it was practical when living for fifteen days between two houses and during the settling in period.  Once we were back from our fall vacation the first week of October, we quickly got into the routine of cooking at home again.  We generally go for wings at Crabby Joes on Tuesday nights and to our favourite English fish & chip restaurant on Friday nights leaving five nights a week most weeks for home cooked meals.  The weather has been getting gradually nastier so we even skipped going out the last couple of Fridays in lieu of have a nice home cooked fish dinner.  My husband surprised me last week by bringing home Harvey's burger and fries.  He seldom does this because he knows I usually have dinner on but that particular night he had a couple of meetings so was running late for dinner.  It's a good thing I didn't have dinner on!

I wrote about the Canadian restaurant chain, Harvey's before.  By far, Harvey's is one of the very few fast food restaurants I will eat at.  Their charbroiled on a flame grill burgers are very much like the burgers we make at home on the outdoor grill.  The burgers are deliciously unpretentious with custom toppings of your choice.  What is really nice is you can order a topping like pickles on the side.  They are quite generous if ordered this way. 

Pictured is the old fashioned cheese burger with fries and dill pickle slices on the side that my husband brought home for me.  He had a double original bacon burger and we shared the fries.  It was a delightful taste of summer on a cold, dreary, rainy evening.

We grill year round but during the months of November and March, the weather tends to be the nastiest.  Quite often it is raining or drizzling or sleeting or whatever else Mother Nature wants to toss at us making it not the nicest grilling weather.  It doesn't help that its dark by 5 PM in November either.  It's nice to have an alternative like Harvey's where the burgers are very close to homemade to enjoy should the craving for a grilled burger arise during those months.  Now the biggest difference between our homemade grilled burgers and Harvey's is the actual burger patty.  Our homemade burger patties are handmade, never flattened or frozen into a pattie so if you want to make one Harvey's style you need to flatten the patty using a burger press then freeze and grill from frozen without thawing.

The Large Marg at Big Chief Drive-in Restaurant in Wallaceburg, Ontario)

Have you ever watched Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with host Guy Fieri on Foodnetwork?  He shares the neatest little eateries he had discovered on his travels.  These are the types of eateries we love discovering when we travel as well.  Often the outside of the restaurant is non-discript and you might even be tempted to pass it by except the filled parking lot gives a beckoning come-on in a sit a spell because we serve great food.  While some have table service others have a counter were food is ordered then picked up at the counter when your number is called.  Some offer outdoor seating of some type, usually wooden picnic tables.   Some even have drive-in dining!

Big Chief Drive-in-Restaurant is located at 5001 Dufferin Ave (Old 40 Highway) just outside of Wallaceburg, Ontario.  It is a unique little restaurant offering drive-in and limited eat-in dining.  At one time they had a waitress who took your order from the comforts of your car but now you go in and order at the counter then pick up your food when your number is called.  You can sit in the drive-in stalls to eat bringing back a bit of dining nostalgia.  They are famous for their Large Marg burger consisting of a full pound beef patty, cheese, bacon and onion rings on a giant bun.  Rumour has it that the burger was named after the owner's ex-girlfriend who was large (and in charge) and while most things are best left unsaid about her she left one positive memory...the recipe for her favourate burger.  . If you eat the whole burger, you get your picture taken to be added to their hall of fame along with other brave souls who conquered the Large Marge! 

Burger with Onion Rings

Pub grub is about as down to earth eating as you can get.  True it might not always be the healthiest for you but it really is the precursor of fast food.  It is the ultimate in comfort food though because it is finger food.  Think burgers, fries, onion rings, and that type of thing.  Some pubs have added things like endless bowls of popcorn or peanuts or nachos but for the most part pub grub is about the same.  The offerings are local fare varying region to region but still it's pub grub.

Steis's Village Inn in  Lexington, Michigan is very much pub grub but with a twist that brings family dining into the mix.  While pub grub is the main choice of fare during the dinner hour there is a larger menu to choose from.

My husband ordered the bacon cheeseburger with onion rings.  The burger came piled high with deep fried onion rings, very much pub grub style.  It was served with barbeque sauce for dipping.  The burger was according to my husband quite delicious!  It would be an easy burger to duplicate at home with deep fried onion rings and a homemade burger pattie.

Wimpy's Place in Lexington, Michigan

We spent the weekend in Lexington, Michigan arriving by boat Friday afternoon.  We were planning returning home Sunday but high winds caused  8 - 9 foot waves on Lake Huron, way to big for our boat to handle so we stayed until Monday.  Lexington is a small village, very much tourist based with most activity weekends and very quiet on weekdays.  There is a range of restaurants including two fast food restaurants catering to the tourists who mainly arrive by boat. 

Wimpy's Place is located on Huron Avenue, the only road directly up the hill from the harbor.  It is about mid-way up on the second block.  We've been there several times in the past for breakfast special that is always quite good.   This trip my husband's breakfast was good but my sunny side up eggs were undercooked with a good portion of the white still raw.  It was easily remedied but this is something to be sure to mention when ordering if you like your eggs sunny side up.

We went to Wimpy's for dinner.  Wimpy's is named after Wimpy on the PopThey have a reputation of having the best burgers in town.  We ordered Wimpy's burgers and onion rings.  The onion rings were quite good!

Wimpy burgers are homemade patties fried on a grill.  The burgers are about mid-way between a Happy Meal burger and a White Castle Burger,, and closer to White Castle style slyder.  They are flattened down while frying so the patties are not perfectly round.  You can order them with fried onions and/or cheese.  They are served with a couple of dill pickle slices.  Ketchup and mustard are on the table. 

My husband liked the burgers.  They are quite similar to White Castle burgers but a bit more on the greasier side.  I wan't impressed with the burgers but in fairness I was dealing with a severe allergic reaction to the medication I was taking for an infection so that affected my stomach.  I'll try them again next trip just to see if not feeling well clouded my judgement. 

These burgers would be extremely easy to duplicate at home on a griddle or even fry pan.  I watched her making the patties.  She rolled the ground beef into about 2 - inch balls then placed the ball on the grill (flat restaurant style) and flatten it with a flipper.  The result is a oddly shaped, thin pattie.  Onions if desired,  fry along with the pattie adding extra flavour.  The pattie is placed on a smallish bun then simply served with the minimum of condiments.

Moose Burgers

Friends of ours do not eat any domestic meat.  He is a avid hunter of both small and large game so that is what they eat with respect to meat.  Neither of us hunt although my husband goes to hunt camp each year basically as the comic relief, chief cook and bottle washer.  So our friend brings us in very generous offerings of his catch. 

Moose meat can be used in many dishes that you would use beef in.  My husband made moose burgers with ground moose meat.  As with most meat based burger patties the focus is on enhancing the flavour of the meat.  The reason being is there is no point eating a burger with no flavour.   My husband is the master of tasty burger patties, know for his homemade 100% all beef for his famous burger with attitude. 

Moose meat is considerably leaner than beef.  It needs needs a bit of a binder to make burger patties.  My husband uses egg, a very light sprinkling of bread crumbs and seasoning.  The burgers were topped with lettuce, tomato and caramelized onions.  I served them with a very simple salad with a homemade vinaigrette dressing.  They were scrumptious!  We are officially out of moose meat but our friend goes moose hunting shortly so here's hoping they have a successful hunt!

Just the Burger

Hamburgers are one of the most popular sandwiches there is.  My husband has burger making down to a fine science with his famous homemade burger patties, aka burger with attitude.  They are some of the best burgers I've ever tasted.    They are made with hormone, anti-biotic free lean ground beef that is part of our bulk beef purchase each year from a famer/friend.

Burgers do not always need to be served on a bun.  What is nice though is burgers patties tend to be portion controlled.  We grilled burgers a few nights ago then the following night used the leftovers for a easy to put together dinner.  I served the burger patties sans buns topped with Sweet Baby Ray's barbeque sauce and sautéed mushrooms along with steamed spinach, steamed corn on the cob and baked potatoes. 

Steaming the vegetables keeps the nutrients where they should be so it is one of my favourite ways to prepare vegetables.  This was the first run of local sweet corn.  It was tender and juicy.  Steaming the corn results in more flavour as well.

Sweet Baby Ray's Onion Burger

We love to go to ribfests.  Not only is there great food to be had combined with the wonderful social element, they are one of the best places to meet award winning ribbers.  Where there are award winning ribbers there is award winning barbeque sauce.  Quite often the sauce is available only at the ribber's booth but every once in awhile the sauce will make it into commercial production.  Even then the sauce may be only regional.    Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce was a family recipe that entered into one of the largest ribfests (rib cookoff) in 1985 by Chef Larry Raymond.  The sauce was named after the Chef's brother David who's nickname playing basketball on Chicago's West Side was Sweet Baby Ray.  Larry, David and a friend Mike took the sauce commercial the following year. 

My husband's signature dish is his famous homemade grilled burgers.  They are specatular!  I'm usually in charge of the toppings so they end up being burgers with attitude.  They are the absolute when it comes to burgers.

A couple of nights a go he made his famous grilled burgers then mopped with Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce.  The thick, juicy burgers were topped with grated cheddar cheese and caramelized onions served with dill pickle spears.  They were delicious, mouthwatering, packed full of flavour burgers!

Canadian Made - Harvey's

There are very, very few fast food burgers that I like.  Most are too high in fat, carbs and salt but sadly lacking in flavour.  How the fast food restaurants could manage to ruin something as simple as a good hamburger is beyond me.  Well, thinking about it the all mighty dollar does have a factor in the equation with the fast food restaurants constantly trying to cut costs to meet the ever rising demands of consumers for cheaper priced burgers.

Years ago while still dating, one of our favourite burger joints was Harvey's.  It continues to be one of our favourites for fast food restaurants.  Harvey's a Canadian owned and operated fast food restaurant chain with locations concentrated in southern Ontario, southern Quebec, the Maritimes, Manitoba, British Columbia, and Alberta.  Harvey's was founded in Richmon Hill, Ontario in early 1959 by George B. Sukornyk and Rick Mauran .  The first Harvey's opened on April 1, 1959.  Headquarters are located in Vaughan, Ontario.  It is the second-largest Canadian-established restaurant chain next to Tim Hortons, and is the fourth-largest burger chain in Canada.  The restaurant's popularity stems from having your burger your way.  The burger patties are char-gilled, placed on the wrapping paper then transferred to the loading station that is a choose your own topping counter with an employee ready to top your burger with your choices from a selection of eleven items.  It's quite similar to a Subway set-up with the employee on one side of the counter, customer on the other and delectable toppings in between. 

A&W

Come with me down a trip of memory lane.  Eons ago much to my Mom's dismay I got a job one town over for the summer.  Now Mom saw things as being my responsibility was to get straight A's and I did but I begged for this jog.  I'm not kidding, I seriously begged to work at A & W.  My first night there I met the most amazing guy with the most gorgeous smile I had ever seen,  It was love at first sight.  Neither of us were 18 (age of consent) but we were so in love!   I still love that guy I first saw with the big toothy smile that lights up his face after all these years!  Oh my gosh, what a ride it has been in over 30 years of marital bliss :)

The A &W we met at wasn't quite as modern as this one but this is the one we go to about twice a year when going to the movies.  Back in our day we had the autowaiter so folks pulled up and gave their oder then us waitresses would take the order out to their car.  My Mom hated the whole idea but I loved it. 

At that time my two best friends for ever were guys.  It's funny but I have always been able to relate better to guys than gals.  Anyway onto the scene came the guy I really became smitten with.  Much to the dismay of his parents and my Mom we wed less than a year after meeting.

We are not fast food people but A&W holds a special place in our hearts.  Our best friends worked at A&W with us.  He was a manager and oh my gosh the trouble we put him through!  I can still remember the look on his face when my now husband had 28 patties on the grill with not a car in the lot.  True to form too my husband ate all 28 patties.  It is still a well talked about time of our lives.  Our best friends are still our best friends and you know what, sometimes somethings just don't change!

Gone are the days of ordering in your car via the autowaiter and food delivered to your car on a tray that clipped onto the window.  That's a pity because it is another sign of our childhood gone.  And let me tell you it was a fun time! 

If you are going to A&W the very first thing you need is their root beer served in frosty mugs.  Back in the day nicking a mug was the norm but we've grown up since then.  You can buy the glass mugs just by asking.  The current attraction A&W is offering is the oldies cruise usually on Friday nights.  This really is the place to go if you waant to see the older cars mainly from the 50's and 60's while enjoying good food.

My husband's burger of choice has tamed a bit from his 28 pattie we don't know what to call it burger.  He always orders a Grandpa burger and a mocha milkshake.  Eighteen patties is is not but you know what that isn't such a bad thing given our ages.  It is still a nice looking burger with 3 patties, cheese and bacon.  Toppings include a choice of mayo, ketchup, mustard and relish. 

We really miss the old A&W with the autowaiters.  Perhaps that was part of the charm that just can't be captured sitting in the restaurant.  The food is still good with pretty much the same menu from yesteryear.  Speaking of which it has been years since I've had their fried chicken.  It was always tastier than KFC.  I'll have to remember to get the chicken the next time we visit.

A Pit Stop At Checkers

If you have been following this blog you will know my husband and I are not huge fast food fans by any stretch of the imagination.  From time to time we hear about a fast food restaurant that we are familiar with.  Depending on the recommendation we may make it a point to try out the food when we are on a road trip.  So it was with Checkers.

Checkers is a drive-in restaurant only.  There are no on site seating arrangements.  This keeps their overhead low and that definitely is reflected in their food prices.  The Checkers restaurants are rather sleek with a lot of chrome combined with a red, black and white theme.

We stopped at the Checkers on US 98 North.  The chrome sparkled with the bright sunlight creating a nice contrast to the deep blue sky.  The drive-in itself is quite small.  We drove in on the right hand side, placed our order then picked it up on the left hand side.  There was a slight wait for our order.  I don't know if this is the norm or not but we really didn't mind.  Our total meal cost came to $11.21 for two people.

We ordered a small onion rings with our meal rather than fries.  The onion ring portion was more than enough for two people.  The coating was crunchy but on the spicy side something we were not quite expecting.  They would have been nice with a bit of ranch dipping sauce but that wasn't offered.

Without a dipping sauce the spicy coating on the onion rings was a bit over powering.  I'm glad we didn't order a larger portion or a portion each as they would have gone to waste.  The onion rings were simply over seasoned to the point they were just too much by themselves.

My husband ordered the road house special - 2 road house burgers for $4.  The road house burger comes sandwiched between two slices of Texas style bread. The beef patties were topped with onion rings, American sliced cheese and barbeque sauce.  These were good sized burgers with the bun making them a bit on the unique side both in appearance and taste.

My husband really enjoyed these burgers.  He had one for dinner and saved the other for lunch the following day.  It reheated well which is a nice bonus for a left over fast food burger.  He said the burgers were quite good.

I ordered the buford burger at $3.49 which in hind sight with my appetite I should not order anything called a buford!  The burger came with 2 beef patties, American sliced cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, onions and pickles.  Condiments included ketchup, mustard, relish and mayonnaise.  It was huge, way more than I could eat.  The burger was nice and juicy though.  What was interesting is the burger came packaged in the standard cardboard burger box but it was inside a paper cone for easy holding while eating.  I thought this was a rather interesting concept, one a bit more developed than the standard wrap-around-the-serviette method.  At any rate the buford burger is quite tasty, well worth ordering!

Large Marge

I have to say we love our burgers but not the burgers most people thing of when you say burger.  The burger we go for are anything but fast food burgers.  The ones we enjoy tend to have a bit of a history and story behind them.  They are always hand made from scratch as well.

A favourite southwestern Ontario drive-in restaurant that has been in business longer than we've been married [our kids are grown and we have grandkids] makes a specialty burger called the Large Marge.  They have a whole story behind the Large Marge and pictures of everyone who has ever eaten a Large Marge on their wall except for my husband who can eat a Large Marge but we always get take-out so they have never taken his picture.  The Large Marge is a good 6 - inch diameter burger with 2 handmade beef patties (1 lb), lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard and onion rings on a sesame seed bun.  Yes, onion rings!  It is an amazing burger to say the least.  This is a burger that you could duplicate at home but you would have to make the buns as well.  The heart of this burger is the handmade beef patties but the crowning glory is the onion rings.

White Castle Burgers - Clone Copycat Recipe

Earlier this year I blogged about White Castle® cheeseburgers affectionately known as Slyders™.  Searching through online sources I found a lot of clone recipes that actually came nowhere close to Slyders™.  Some even have the audacity to bake the burger to form patties!  Obviously they missed one of the fundamental rules of cloning a recipe and that it to clone the method as well.

White Castle® burgers start out with thin frozen burger patties with a characteristic 5 hole pattern to help them cook quickly without flipping.  I started with lean ground beef (1) then rolled it with a rolling pin (2) between two pieces of wax paper.  I kept rolling until the ground beef was thin and squishing out the sides of the wax paper sheets.  The next step was trimming the ground beef into a rectangle (3) which actually sounds a lot easier than it is because raw ground beef simply does not cut easily.  I used a combination of a chef's knife and pizza cutter.  After the the rectangle was formed I used the pizza cutter to score the actual patties and a clean marker top to mark where the holes would go (4).

One of the characteristics of White Castle® burgers is each frozen patty has 5 holes.  The holes serve the specific function of ensuring the patty cooks all the way through without flipping.  At the same time they let the steam from the onions waft through the cooking burger to permeate the bun.

Pictured are the burger patties after I removed the holes.  Each patty was about 4 - inch square.  Removing the holes involved a toothpick and a slight swirly motion that wasn't quite as bad as it sounds.  It was a bit tedious though.  The finished patties were then covered with wax paper and placed in the freeze to freeze solid before cooking. 

I used the griddle similar to the cooking surface used at White Castle®.  The frozen patties are  placed on a bed of onion (traditionally reconstituted dehydrated onions) then topped with the bottom of the bun.  When the burger is cooked it is removed, a slice of American cheese is added with optional but traditional pickle slice and the top bun is added at White Castle® so that's what we aimed to duplicate.

The patties look huge compared to the bottom of the buns but as you can seen with the middle burger at the top the patty shrinks considerably.   I made a fundamental error during the cooking process by using the onion flakes as is rather than reconstituting so that will be something to consider for the next attempt.  The result was still good just not exactly right so a bit of tweaking there and they will be about as close to the perfect clone for White Castle® burgers as you can get.

I used store purchased dinner rolls for this clone recipe.  Each mini burger was topped with a half slice of American processed cheese. I omitted the traditional pickle slice because my husband does not like dill pickles so we never get them even when getting Slyders™ at White Castle®.

Overall I am extremely pleased with this first attempt at cloning Slyders™.  The only real tweaking that needs to be done is the onions and I already figured out what I did wrong.  Watch for the second attempt later this year with the onion problem corrected. 

My Husband Brought Home Take-out Burgers

Take-out Burgers

April 16, 2010

Since becoming empty nesters Friday night has gone from family night to date night unless one or more of the kids are home.  So most Friday nights we eat out.  Last week was one given the week we had, my husband surprised me with bringing take-out home with him.  He stopped at a burger place we haven't been to in ages!

This burger place has a small eat in area but their popularity is the drive-in so you can eat right in the comforts of your car.  It is family owned and operated.  They hand make their burger patties from scratch using 100% Canadian beef when the burger is ordered.  Their burgers are referred to as culinary burgers.  The buns are not regular, run of the mill buns either.  Their coleslaw is freshly made on site and the fries are fresh cut.  This is about as close to home cooking as you can get without cooking it yourself.  Pictured on the left is the deluxe burger with 2 burger patties and cheese.  To the right is the Large Marge with a full 1 lb pattie and a rather humorous story as to how the burger came to be. 

PS. My husband also brought home a kitchen surprise but that will be tomorrow's post.

White Castle

If you have been following this blog you will know that we are not huge consumers of fast food. In fact we seldom have fast food which is fine with me. We were out on Boxing Day to finish up a bit of shopping for our Christmas celebration on the 28^th. Boxing Day is a statutory Canadian holiday with some stores holding huge sales. We decided to avoid any shopping crowds so headed to the US. On the way home we picked up a bit of take-out food.

Crave Case™

White Castle® is a take-out burger chain that specializes in the cutest little burgers you have ever seen. I'm not sure what it is about these burgers that are affectionately called Slyders™ but you either love them or hate them. There's no in between. Those who love them are called cravers and their purchase of choice is the Crave Case™. This is a case of 30 burgers with or without cheese or pickle. A sack of 10 burgers is available or you can buy less but this is one time to buy more!

The exterior of the White Castle® buildings is designed to look like a miniature white castle with blue trim. Food can be ordered through their indoor take-out counter or their drive-through. The burgers themselves are unique for two reasons. First they are miniature burgers and second the burger patties are steamed on a bed of onions yet they are never flipped in a process called steam-grilling. White Castle® first opened in Wichita, KS in 1921 as the first American burger chain. They did not use frozen patties until 1931. The all beef patties are square with a signature 5 holes similar to the 5 face on a die. The chopped onions are placed on a hot griddle then the patties placed on top of the onions followed by the bottom buns. When cooked the burger and onion is slid onto the top bun. A signature pickle slice is added for those wanting pickles and cheese is an option. The miniature burgers. Each burger is about 2½ x 2½ - inch square and about 1½ - inch high. They are the perfect size for toddlers but count on a lot more for adults.

White Castle® Cheeseburgers

These burgers are so well loved by Cravers that cases of them are taken home then frozen and reheated as the crave hits. White Castle® restaurants are located in Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. They are so popular some of the grocery stores in these states sell frozen White Castle® burgers in the frozen food section with or without cheese but no pickle. Pictured are two Slyders™ from the Crave Case™reheated and ready to enjoy.

Cravers living where they don't sell Slyders™ have been known to even fly in a case or two of Slyders™. Recently there have been copycat recipes online to make these little beauties at home. I checked out a couple that use fresh onions but White Castle® uses rehydrated onions. At any rate that shows how far Cravers will go to fulfill their craving. I may even try making Slyders™ at home just to see how close I can come to the original. These would be great for Superbowl Sunday entertaining!

Eating Out on a Road Trip in Southwestern Ontario

Have you ever had one of those weeks where things just kind of piled up then the unexpected happened? Now it might start innocently enough with deciding to splurge for pizza delivery because the weekend was a planned work at home weekend. Such was the case on Thursday evening when my husband and one of the kids decided to hook a new audio system and didn't feel like a traditional dinner so we ordered out. Ordering out is quite rare for use because we pay premium delivery charges since we are rural. From there things snowballed to unexpected but welcomed travel. The problem with this kind of week is cooking quickly becomes the last thing on your mind. Well it was on my mind but life got in the way and sometimes that becomes the priority :)

Pizza & Wings

Thursday night we ordered pizza and wings from our favourite pizza parlour. The intentions was this would be our night out (but in) because we had a work weekend planned that included two smaller home renovations projects.

This was a lovely pizza topped with ham, mushroom, pepperoni and extra cheese. The sauce is quite tasty on a somewhat thinner crust. It was as always an excellent pizza! We always order the wings with the sauce on the side. I like the extra hot sauce while others like either medium or honey garlic sauce. Ordering the sauce on the side allows everyone to have their choice of sauce.

Quarter Pound Cheeseburger

Thursday saw a bit of an unexpected phone call that would see us on a weekend road trip. We had to pick up a few items for this trip so did the necessary shopping on Friday then stopped at our favourite burger joint. Now this definitely is not fast food but it is well worth the extra wait. The quarter pound burger comes topped with cheese served with sliced onions and pickles. Ketchup, mustard, salt and pepper is available on the tables. This burger is so large that it is takes a lot of effort for me to finish half of it!

It is nothing fancy but the restaurant has an excellent, cosy atmosphere. The food never fails to please either. It is not fast food but it is good food. We always bring doggy bags home.

Wendy's

When we are on the road we prefer to stop at trucker's restaurants that offer small sit down restaurants usually with a buffet. This allows us to take a much needed break while enjoying a nice meal. Saturday morning found us on the road fairly early so instead of stopping at a truck stop we ended up stopping at a Wendy's on the highway. Wendy's is one of the very few fast food restaurants I like because they offer so much more than just burgers and fries.

The food was good but unfortunately the service was not! I kid you not, my husband stood in line 36 minutes to get the food. Had it been me I would have walked away. Apparently they only had one register opened with a huge line so then they opened another where those just arriving got service before those who had been standing in line. The service here gets 2 thumbs down and something we will remember in the very unlikely event we are ever tempted to stop there again.

Wiener Schnitzel

Saturday afternoon was extremely busy especially for the guys. We (the girls) stayed home to entertain the grandbabies. Later we did a bit of sightseeing with the kids then took them to a quaint little restaurant called The Old Country Restaurant for dinner. The restaurant is located at 105 Peel Street in the picturesque town of New Hamburg, Ontario. The feature home cooked food in a nice family style restaurant. When they say home cooked they mean home cooked! The service was excellent and the food even better. The restaurant has gone onto our list of to visit again.

Their house specialty is Bavarian Style Wiener Schnitzel. Wiener Schnitzel is a thin piece of veal coated with bread crumbs then fried. My husband and I both ordered the Wiener Schnitzel. It came with a choice of potatoes, vegetable, homemade soup of the day or garden green salad for $9.95. We both chose baked potatoes but he ordered the soup of the day (beef noodle) while I ordered the salad. This would be a very easy and inexpensive meal to duplicate at home!

He Said (3) - Burgers with Mushroom-Vermouth Topper

If you recall my husband and I are having a bit of a contest with each of us using a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens® New Grilling Book to create a meal. In total there will be 12 recipes, 6 of his choosing and 6 of mine. The contest ends August 31 so the first week of September I will post a poll where you can vote for the meal you liked best. The rules are all the ingredients must be used but the amounts can be altered.

Great Ingredients

My husband loves burgers! He makes one of the best homemade burgers you will ever taste so it was not a surprise when he chose a burger recipe from Better Homes and Gardens® New Grilling Book as one of his contest recipes. Good food always starts with fresh, quality ingredients! My husband stopped at the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario store) to pick up dry Vermouth. Vermouth is a fortified wine flavoured with aromatic herbs and spices. He bought Martini Dry-Sec a, 18% alc/vol vermouth product of Italy. He also stopped at the grocery store for fresh mushrooms and Vidallia onions. While there he spotted mozzarella cheese so picked up 5 packages. This mozzarella cheese has a nicer flavour and texture than the store or name brand (eg. Kraft®) cheese. It actually is less expensive per gram than the store or name brand mozzarella. We have found this to be true for most cheeses. I made a small platter for the salad toppings as a side for the burgers.

The Burger

Pictured is one of the burgers with mushroom-vermouth topper. The burger itself was not highly seasoned so there was a lovely, full bodied beef flavour that really offset the mushroom-vermouth sauce. Unlike other burgers that you would add toppings like tomatoes, pickles and onions the only topping on this burger was the mushroom-vermouth topping. The sauce was rich and creamy. This resulted in a unique and very tasty burger! The burgers were served with a simple side salad topped with balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

My husband added a couple of pieces of the mozzarella cheese on his second burger. He declared it even better than the first burger! So the next time we make these burgers and we will definitely be making them again we'll add mozzarella on top of the burger before adding the mushroom-vermouth topper. Kudos to my husband for trying this keeper recipe!

Burgers with Mushroom-Vermouth Topper
source: Meredith Corporation, Better Homes and Garden New Grilling Book, 2005. Pp. 148

½ c finely chopped sweet onion
¼ c fine dry bread crumbs
1 beaten egg
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
2 lb lean ground beef
6 hamburger buns, splite and toasted
1 recipe Mushroom-Vermouth Topper

Combine onion, bread crumbs, egg, salt and pepper in large bowl. Add ground beef and mix well. Shape into six ¾-inch thick patties. Grill on medium until centre reaches 160ºF. Remove from grill and place on toasted buns. Top with Mushroom-Vermouth Topper.
Yield: 6 burgers

Mushroom-Vermouth Topper
source: Meredith Corporation, Better Homes and Garden New Grilling Book, 2005. Pp. 148

¼ c melted butter
3 c quartered small mushrooms
½ c thinly sliced shallots
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
⅔ c dry vermouth

Combine butter, mushrooms, shallots, salt and pepper in skillet. Cook over medium heat until cooked. Stir in flour. Cook and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat and carefull add the vermouth. Return to heat. Continue cooking and stirring until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Serve immediately.

A Burger With Attitude for Canada Day 2008

Happy Canada Day

Many people celebrate Canada Day by having get-togethers that include grilling hamburgers and hot dogs. In our neck of the woods we are hoping that the latest trend of raining almost daily will end. Today we woke to more rain and winds out of the north so the temperature had dropped quite a few degrees. We are planning to do a little boating tomorrow depending on the weather. Grilling will likely be part of our celebrations if we don't stop at one of our favourite haunts while boating. Later in the evening weather permitting we will sit on the dock to enjoy the fireworks. We don't set them off ourselves but don't mind enjoying seeing various displays. I do hope the rain holds off and it warms a bit!

Burger With Attitude

I've mentioned before that my husband makes the most fantastic homemade burger patties using fresh ground beef. However, there is no reason that a burger always has to be made using ground beef. Saturday he decided to make burgers but with a twist. Instead of using just ground beef he added ground pork and turkey to the beef. Then end result was a flavourful, juicy burger with a noticeable but pleasant difference in taste.

The following recipe is for a large batch of patties with about a third used to make meatballs. We were entertaining that evening so the meatballs were cooked then went into the slow cooker with sauce for later. The burger patties freeze nicely either raw or cooked as does the cooked meatballs. This is something we regularly do when cooking for stocking the freezer with homemade convenience foods. It is a frugal use of time and the energy source used to cook the food.

Toppings: iceburg lettuce, aged sharp cheddar cheese, tomatoes, dill pickles, onions, jalapeno peppers
Condiments: Miracle Whip®, ketchup, mustard, relish

Combination Burger Patties

5 lb lean ground beef
2 lb ground pork
2 lb ground turkey
2 ½ dry bread crumbs
6 eggs, slightly beaten
1½ tbsp garlic pepper
¼ c Heinz 57 steak sauce

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl using your hands. Form into large patties* about 5 - inch diameter and ¾ - inch thick or form into 2 - inch meatballs**.

Grilling: The most important thing when grilling burgers besides having your grill set to the correct temperature (medium) is to never press the patty to flatten. Flattening forces all those lovely juices out of the burger and increases flare-ups. The second most import thing when grilling is to only flip the burger once. Use a large barbeque flipper to flip the burger to prevent the patty breaking. Flip when the patty is nicely browned with defined grill marks. Grill on the other side until the burger is nicely browned with well defined grill marks and the interior registers at least 71ºC/160ºF*** on an instant read thermometer***.

Frying (meatballs): Heat 2 to 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil on medium in a fry pan. Place meatballs in a single layer on the bottom of the fry pan. Fry until browned. Turn and continue cooking until browned through. Remove from fry pan using a slotted spoon. Repeat until all meatballs are cooked. If freezing allow to cool then flash freeze in a single layer and package into freezer bags. If using the same day, place in slow cooker, add sauce then set on low until ready to use.

* The patties will shrink in diameter and thicken while grilling. Alternately you can use a burger patty press if desired.
** A meatballer can be used for this.
*** The old advice to cook until no longer pink is no longer recommended. The inside can still look pink depending on whether the ground beef was fresh or frozen and how it was thawed when cooked to the proper temperature however, depending on where the ground meat was purchased can look brown before it is safely cooked. Therefore it is best to use an instant read thermometer to ensure your burgers have been cooked to the proper temperature.