The BbQ Fajita Burger

The wife and I are always coming up with new ideas to try out in the kitchen, and this was definitely one of them. We named some things that we really liked and then took three of those elements and combined them into something that we loved. Obviously, if you know me, I'm always down for a good burger. So there is the primary vessel to which Flavortown shall be constructed. Now we tossed you'd up many times in doing a Philly Cheesesteak burger, but that's been done. What is the cheesesteak's counterpart in Tex-Mex? The Fajita!!! And who doesn't like Bbq? Add some bbq sauce on that for the 3rd element, Why? Cause it's smoky, delicious and yummy, all in its own right. Now, how does one arrive in combing all these flavors together? Experimentation! I made one small burger and seasoned it like I would season fajitas. A test subject of you will. I combined a lot of the flavors in that burger by just seasoning alone. When I say small, I mean like mashing a small meatball. You start with lime juice. You can't have fajitas without a little smoke flavor so Worcestershire sauce can give you that. You need some onion, onion flakes. Use these as a binder. You can't have fajitas without the use of some Mexican flavors. Enter chilli powder, garlic powder, cumin, mustard powder, salt, pepper, and for some heat, add some hot sauce, or you could use some crushed red pepper flake if you want. Now, we have to find what would normally top the burgers with. Fajitas have grilled veggies, so grill some peppers and onions, season them the same way as you would season the burgers so the flavors become more pronounced. Top the burgers with the veggies during end stage, add some cheese and let that get all melty. Put that stuff on a fresh cut kaiser roll and you have the basic core of the burger. Pour some Bbq sauce, whether homemade or from a bottle. I hardly ever use commercial bbq sauces, but this was one of those circumstances. Just found one for the occasion because I do test products out. Especially when I get them for next to nothing. Awesome flavors with the smokiness from the seasoning, combined with the yummy burst and bite from the grilled onion and pepper s, topped with the sweet, spicy bite of bbq sauce and you tastebuds are sure to start having a fiesta. Awesome flavors kick back and forth and dance around your mouth like it's a party. Good stuff. So thus ends another entry into Nice Vices and Spices. Remember to have fun with this stuff. It's good to experiment in the kitchen. Just stay combining flavors, build the profile, keep it consistent. And don't be afraid to make mistakes...believe me, they occur. See you again soon.

Brown Sugar and Maple BBQ Sauce

Here is a recipe for a glaze sauce that I love to use on ribs. It's sweet, spicy, and absolutely delicious.it's very simple to do and is a quick sauce to make. Here are the things you're going to need:

1 cup of all natural ketchup (I used Simply Heinz. Just make sure that it doesn't have corn syrup in it. It causes a really nasty taste with the other sweet stuff in it)

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup real maple syrup

1/4 cup Bourbon or Tennessee   Whiskey (yes there is a difference)

1/4 cup vinegar

1 Tbsp Molasses

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Cayenne pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chilli powder

Place ingredients from the top down in a saucepot and start heating on  low heat. Mix together well with a fork or a whisk. Cover and turn up heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes. After you're done simmering, it should coat a spoon and there should be very little Bourbon or whiskey taste. Good luck and enjoy.

Mexican Egg Rolls

I just wanted to list the recipe for the Mexican egg rolls that I conjured up last night. There are few things that I like more than an egg roll and I noticed with the addition of the egg roll dog that everything is possible with the love of egg roll wrappers. I love the idea and everything that a normal Chinese egg roll has in it, but everyone that truly knows me, knows that I like a little something different every now and then and I reinvent the wheel. I was thinking to myself the other day and Laura and I said in unison, Mexican egg roll. The joy of experimenting with flavors for these things is great. I pick what I usually like in a burrito and then I put that into an egg roll wrapper. Beef, corn, rice, beans, and cheese...yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes please. I made a chllli taco ketchup for a dipping sauce for these but you could use guacamole or sour cream or anything else that you might like. Here are the things that you are going to use.

Mexican beef recipe:
1 lb ground beef
1 small can of diced green chillies
1 diced onion
2 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 can of sweet corn kernels
1 can refried beans
Monterrey Jack shredded cheese
1 pouch of Old El Paso instant Mexican rice
1 pack egg roll wrappers

Start by browning the ground beef in a pot and adding in the ingredients for the Mexican beef mix above in order listed. Once the onion is transparent in the mix, add in the can of corn and the refried beans into the mix and mix until its like a pasty, beef mix. Take an average spoon and add 2 spoonfulls of beef mixture per egg roll a fork 1 spoonful of rice and a good solid pinch of cheese and put it into the center of the egg roll wrapper. Fold over once, fold in the sides and roll over. Spread room temperature water with a brush over the triagular flap and that will seal the egg roll. One pack of egg rolls has 15 wrappers in it so you will make plenty. Prep all of them and you will simply deep fry them in veggie oil for about 2 minutes each until all sides are golden brown. Place onto a paper towel lined plate and let them rest because they will be really hot. These things are nothing short of amazing and have a ridiculous flavor. The cheese melts into the beef while cooking and it just oozes out and is all yummy. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Shepherd's Pie Burger

I love taking concepts and ideas from other cooks/chefs and testing them out. We saw the Sheppard's Pie Burger on Rachel Ray the other day and couldn't resist, considering Laura and I both love shepherd's pie. Beef, carrots, onions, mushrooms, mashed potatoes, gravy...so good that it make you want to smack your momma. Anyway this may sound complicated but it really isn't too bad.Here are the things you'll need.

1 lb Ground Beef
1 onion
10 Baby Carrots
1/2 package of Baby Portabella Mushrooms
2/3 cup Bread Crumbs

4 Medium Size Red Potatoes
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp pepper
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp raw horseradish
1 egg yolk

Sliced Texas Toast
1/2 stick room temperature butter
Garlic Powder

Shredded cheddar cheese

All Purpose Flour
Black pepper
Worcestershire Sauce

In a small skillet, sautee all the onion, carrots, sliced mushrooms from the first list in a Tbsp olive oil. Once done, put into food processor and pulse for 4 seconds. Add fine chopped sautee mix into raw beef with bread crumbs and mix by hand.add burgers to skillet and cook on medium high heat for about 10 minutes. 6 mins first side, 4 on second.

Boil the potatoes whole for about 12 minutes until tender all the way through. Put them in a mixing bowl and put in the other ingredients from the second list. Smash in and set aside.

Add 2 Tbsp of flour into the burger drippings and mix into a roux. Mix until the roux turns medium brown and pour in water slowly until the mix is thick liquid, add pepper and 4 dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Mix and turn heat on low.

Butter 4 slices of Texas Toast and sprinkle garlic powder on each.. Place in 375º F preheated oven for 5 minutes. Remove, flip, bake for additional 2 minutes. Remove and top each piece of toast with a burger and top each with mashed potatoes. Sprinkle the potatoes with cheese and place in broiler until cheese is melted. Top each with gravy and you are done. Bon Apetit!!!.

Teriyaki Egg Roll Dogs

So, I was thinking the other night how I would make an egg roll differently and eureka...put a hot dog in it. I had the wrappers, I had the Asian broccoli slaw, and I had the hot dogs. All I needed was a sauce to marinate the slaw in when I precooked it. I used a premade hot teriyaki sauce that I will more than likely not use again because they were overly spicy. I would suggest another teriyaki though next time I make these, or make your own. Here are the items that you'll need:

1 package of all beef kosher bun length hot dogs
1 package egg roll wrappers
1 package of broccoli slaw (or 1 head of broccoli (shredded) 2 carrots (shredded))
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
1 egg
1 Tbsp water

Cut the hot dogs in half and set aside
In a skillet, drizzle some sesame oil and begin quick sauteing the broccoli slaw. Mix in the teriyaki sauce once the slaw melds in sautee process and make sure the slaw gets coated. Set the broccoli slaw aside and cook the hot dog halves in the leftover teriyaki. Assemble the egg rolls by the directions on the package and fry in vegetable or canola oil until all sides are golden brown. Dip in some sweet and sour sauce or bbq sauce and you are good to go. Try weird things sometimes and don't be afraid to step outside of the box of normality. I always pack that you should love what you eat and enjoy flavor in life. More to come soon.

Honey BBQ Sauce

Something I've always enjoyed since I was a little boy was the sweet, tangy, and utterly delectable flavor of rich honey BBQ sauce. You can put it on chicken, wings, burgers, ribs, pulled pork sandwiches, French fries...it is utterly amazing on just about anything. Since then I've always come back to this recipe for my "can't go wrong with it" BBQ sauce. Best thing about making this yourself is that you can make it with no High Fructose Corn Syrup. Here are the things you'll need for this recipe.

1 cup ketchup (high fructose free ketchup that is)
1/2 cup yellow mustard
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp molasses

2 Tbsp chilli powder
2 Tbsp black pepper
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp Cayenne pepper

3 Tbsp honey (I prefer orange blossom or honeysuckle)

Combine the top ingredients into a small sauce pot and stir until mustard is completely mixed. Next add the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly again and simmer on medium low heat for 5 minutes. Add the honey and stir again, cover the pot and let simmer for another 20 minutes. Let it stand for about 10 minutes to cool down. What comes out is a thick, tangy, and rich sauce that his the front of your palette with the sweetness of the molasses and honey and it finished with the spicy kick off the Cayenne and black pepper. An absolutely amazing sauce for anyone wanting a really great BBQ sauce for just about anything. It's sticky, thick, sweet, and delightful. Use this one as you wish. It's easy and yields about a pint of sauce. Just remember that cooking is really not that hard to do. Have fun in the kitchen everyone.

Buffalo Honey Mustard Sauce.

I like to experiment with making dipping sauces that go with finger foods. One of the best ones I made recently was a spicy and cool concoction that is a combo of buffalo wing sauce and honey mustard. I just mixed up my buffalo sauce which is nothing more than melted butter, hot sauce, Worcestershire, and garlic powder. You mix that with good old honey mustard. Here it is in pure form and your ingredients in order.

3/4 stick of butter (melted)
5 oz hot Sauce
1 oz Worcestershire
1 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup yellow mustard
2 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt

Melt the butter in the microwave in a glass bowl. Mix two sauces separately and allow the buffalo sauce to cool to room temperature so you don't curdle the mayonnaise in the honey mustard. Mix the two together and you're done. This takes about 10 minutes to make and there really isn't that much to it. Works great on fries, pretzels, shrimp, chicken fingers, and even try it on wings. Don't worry about thinking it's spicy. It really isn't. Tangy for sure, but on the spice scale being 1 for not at all to 10 being rock your face off hot, it's about a 2 or 3. Always try combining different sauces that you like. You come up with things that'll make your tongue do some backflips.