I hope that you don’t mind me saying this . . . but this particular burger is the miggety-miggety-mac-burger of all burgers – which is to say – it is real real good. It is also the last burger recipe that I have on tap . . . so doff your cap – take a moment to think about all of the other burger recipes – and get ready – because – this is the good.
– hmmmmm – before I go on – I feel like I first need to apologize for using the term “miggety-miggety-mac-burger” – as I feel that it may soil your appreciation for the burger magic that will soon unfold before your very eyes. Also – it has been drawn to my attention that I unwittingly used the phrase “so doff your hats” in the last recipe . . . only to throw “so doff your cap” around in this recipe . . . in my burger excitement – I have become a man of few words.
On to the ingredients.

  • Hamburger
  • Poblano Peppers
  • Jalapeno Peppers
  • Sweet Onion
  • Mushrooms
  • Garlic
  • Chipotle Peppers in an Adobo Sauce (ooh the heat!)
  • Queso Blanco (it’s the cheese)
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Core and de-seed all of your peppers, throw some olive oil on them and then char them on the grill (if you don’t have a grill – use your broiler). Let the peppers cool down. Once cool – cut them into little bits and set aside.
Chop your onion and garlic into little bits and then saute them in some olive oil (until they are nice and caramalized). Put the onions to the side. [A quick aside – garlic is awesome for giving different flavors depending on how you prepare it . . . if you smash it and then chop it – the flavor kind of explodes. If you just chop it up and throw it in – it is more subdued . . . And if you roast it – then it turns into the most buttery good flavor – maybe ever . . . for this recipe – I just chopped it.]
Cut your mushrooms up (not too tiny – they will shrink a bunch when you cook then) and throw them into the same pan that you cooked those onions in – you will need to add a bit more olive oil – and maybe a little butter pat to give the mushrooms some seriously good flavor.
[Now – why not just butter? Why must I also use olive oil here? Well – that is because the olive oil raises the burning temperature of the butter – so you don’t get a smoky mess – and the butter – well – the butter makes the world taste better. Butter makes it better!]
Alright – take a breath – that was a lot of chopping, sauteing, charring, and whatnot . . . but you are really close – so keep on going.

Chop up your Chipotle Peppers.

Mix your onions, garlic, peppers (poblano and jalapeno), and mushrooms together and then slowly start adding your Chipotle Peppers and the Adobo sauce that they came in. I must reiterate – slowly . . . because this stuff is ridiculously hot . . . with that being said – I don’t want to scare you from using it – it has this great smoky taste that adds a lot to the burger mixture – just be careful . . . that is all that I’m saying. Also bear in mind that the hamburger is going to absorb a bunch of the flavor – so if it seems too overwhelmingly scary . . . relax – it will tone down in the burgers.
Mix everything together – you kind of have to eyeball this to taste – don’t forget to add that cheese (it cools down the hot – some) – and then throw a teeny tiny patty into a frying pan – so that you can get an idea as to what you have just made. Adjust the mixture accordingly, patty them puppies up and then throw them on the grill.

Now – go and eat the best burger that you have ever eaten (from my recipes – that is) . . .

y soy arrepentido – pero mi espanol es muy muy mal . . . pero – mi hamburguesa es el campion!

So – last weekend I made approximately 2 (two) tons of food for somewhere in the area of 40 people. For those of you that are counting – that is roughly 100 (one-hundred) pounds of food per person. Surprisingly – there were some leftovers. I made 2 (two) kinds of salsa, cupcakes (from scratch!) with butter-cream, 3 (three) kinds of burgers and 10 (ten) pounds of brats boiled in Guinness (with some onions).

Today is burger #1 day . . . it is the day of the “Buffalo Blue Cheese burger.”

Okay smarty – here is what you will need.

  • Hamburger
  • Buffalo Wing sauce (make sure to get a good one – mine was questionable – and not hot enough)
  • Blue Cheese Crumbles
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Seriously . . . that is all that was in there.

Okay – all that was supposed to be in there – I ended up having to doctor my batch up a bit due to the Hot Wing sauce being crummy. I wish I could remember what kind it was so that I could steer you away from it – oh well.

Mix everything together – you kind of have to eyeball this to taste – and then throw a teeny tiny patty into a frying pan – so that you can get an idea as to what you have just made. Adjust the mixture accordingly, patty them puppies up and then throw them on the grill.

This was the simplest of the 3 (three) burger mixes that I ended up making – and oddly the one that got eaten the most. I have my personal favorite – but I’m holding that one for last – because that is how I roll.

Oh – and speaking of rolls – I have gotta tell you that the bun is such an important part of the burger . . . so get get some good good bread (rolls/buns), then put a little bit of butter on them and the toast them on the grill. Your burgers will thank you very kindly.

Yes – Your burgers will thank you very very kindly.

Here is a tiny history of “Buffalo Sauce” : The sauce is composed of only five ingredients: cayenne pepper sauce, white vinegar, butter, salt, and garlic [or just a simple mixture of hot sauce and melted butter]. Buffalo wings were first prepared by Teressa Bellissimo at the Anchor Bar in, Buffalo, New York on October 3, 1964. Two other Buffalo bars Duff’s and Rootie’s Pump Room, also both claim to be the originator of the Buffalo Wing. Oh – and – July 29 as “Chicken Wing Day,” in Buffalo. So you just missed that . . . but now you can make your plans for next year. Until then – make some “Buffalo Blue Cheese Burgers” – and eat them.

See that guy on the left there? His name is “Fire-Roasted Red Peppers & Tomato.” The kid on the right – the anti-southpaw – coming at your taste buds straight-rough-rugged-and raw . . . yeah – his name is pretty simple – it is “Mister Tomatillo!”

Today – is salsa day.
[Before I forget – again – these recipes seem to hinge pretty heavily on grilling the ingredients . . . but what – oh what are you to do if you don’t happen to have a grill?! Throw it all in your oven’s broiler – yum!]

Fire-Roasted Red Peppers & Tomato (Now with Roasted Corn!)

This is the stuff that you will be needing (in no particular order):

  • Red Pepper (1)
  • Orange Pepper (1)
  • Green Pepper (1)
  • Poblano Pepper (1)
  • Jalapeño Peppers (2)
  • Chipotle Peppers (in Adobo Sauce) (2 of the peppers – but watch out – this stuff is serious)
  • tomatoes (4)
  • Ears of Corn (3)
  • onion (red) (1/2 cup or so)
  • garlic (fresh minced) (4 cloves)
  • cilantro (yes)
  • olive oil (enough)
  • lime (of course)
  • salt (not too much)
  • pepper (is there ever enough?!)

Alright. Here is the drill – as I run it.

  1. Cut everything into manageable strips and toss them into some olive oil.
  2. While you are cutting everything – husk, de-silk and boil the ears of corn (for about 15 minutes – or so).
  3. Seed and scoop the tomatoes – you aren’t going to need all of that junk where we are going.
  4. Lovingly place everything – seriously – everything on a hot hot hot grill – over hot hot heat. Bring some tongs and a spatula – because those tomatoes hate to sit on a fiery grill – they would swear to you that they weren’t raised to be in such atrociously searing conditions.
  5. Keep an eye on stuff – and revel in it getting charred – but no too charred – we aren’t making briquette salsa.
  6. Take everything off of the grill – and while you are gathering your olive oil, salt, pepper, cilantro and lime – let all of that junk cool down for a bit.
  7. Scrape the corn off of the ears [look at this great tool made just for this job].
  8. Dump it all into a Cuisinart and pulse pulse pulse until properly mixed – stopping every so often to taste for perfectness.

Mister Tomatillo!

This is the stuff that you will be needing (in no particular order):

  • Tomatillos (10)
  • Poblano Pepper (1)
  • Jalapeño Peppers (2)
  • Chipotle Peppers (in Adobo Sauce) (just a smidge – for the heat that hits the back of your throat)
  • onion (red) (3/4 cup or so)
  • garlic (fresh minced) (4 cloves)
  • cilantro
  • olive oil (enough to get stuff moving)
  • lemon
  • lime
  • salt
  • pepper

Alright. Here is the drill – as I run it.

  1. Cut everything into manageable strips and toss them into some olive oil – including the tomatillos.
  2. Lovingly place everything – seriously – everything on a hot hot hot grill – over hot hot heat. (hooray for roasted vegetables!)
  3. Keep an eye on stuff – and revel in it getting charred – but no too charred – we aren’t making briquette salsa.
  4. Gingerly get everything off of the grill – bring some tongs and a spatula – because those tomatillos are going to do their best to slip down into the fiery pit of the grill . . . and while you are gathering your olive oil, salt, pepper, cilantro, lemon and lime – let everything max and relax before they meet your pal – the Cuisinart.
  5. Dump it all into a Cuisinart and pulse pulse pulse until properly mixed – stopping every so often to taste for perfectness.

So – there you have it – 2 (two) pretty darn good (and distinctive from each other) salsas to make and eat – and eat – and eat. Both recipes make about as much as you can see in the photo (maybe 2 1/2 – 3 cups or so) – and should be eaten.