Big Mac at Home

Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles onions on a sesame seed bun! My favorite fast food burger is the Big Mac, but I can't remember the last time I ate one. I only eat fast food out of necessity when I need to eat in my car, and a Big Mac can not be eaten while one is driving. It's way too messy! But, hallelujah, I found the special sauce recipe. You may think that it's just French or Russian dressing, but it is not. The special sauce has a base of mayo and mustard, but also includes onion and garlic powder. When you put it all together this burger is quite tall, so be sure to make your patties very thin. To make it double- decker like the real thing use two bun bottoms. I promise you if you like Big Macs, you will love this messy burger in the privacy of your own home!




Ingredients for 2 Burgers
2/3 lb ground chuck
salt and pepper
4 slices American cheese
1/2 cup chopped onions
6 hamburger dill pickles
Shredded lettuce
2 soft hamburger buns plus 2 more bun bottoms
Special Sauce

Special Sauce
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1 TB white wine vinegar
1 TB onion powder
1 TB garlic powder
1 TB paprika
2 TB sweet pickle relish

Directions
Combine all Special Sauce ingredients in a small bowl. (Can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.) Make 4 thin burgers with ground chuck. Cook on the flat side of a grill pan or in a frying pan on medium high for 2-3 minutes. Flip burgers and top each with a slice of cheese. Remove after another 2 - 3 minutes.

To build burgers put Special Sauce on a bun bottom. Top with a burger and onions. Add another bun bottom topped with Special Sauce. Add lettuce, another burger, onions, pickles and bun top.

Homemade Burger Buns

It is truly amazing that I am posting a bread recipe. When I was a kid I hated bread. No, really, HATED bread. I especially hated the texture, so much in fact, that for a while I wouldn't eat cake because it reminded me of bread. Brother Don loved bread and, like all brothers, loved annoying the heck out of me. The things he would do with bread cannot be written in a food blog because I'm trying to encourage to cook and eat.



I have learned to love some bread. Not only are these buns pretty easy to make, they are totally delicious and your house will smell amazing while they are baking. Seriously, what's better than the smell of baking bread? Puppy Daddy kept going outside so he could walk back in the house and get a fresh whiff. You really should try these soon!

I found this recipe on several other blogs. They attribute the recipe to King Arthur Flour. The first step is to make your dough. Just dump all the ingredients except one the white of one egg and the sesame seeds into your mixer. Mix until the ingredients come together to form a dough.

Using the dough hook, knead the dough for about 7 minutes. If you don't have a mixer with a dough hook you can knead the dough by hand.

Let the dough rise for 1 and 1/2 hours. It should double in size.


Punch the dough down and turn it onto your counter top. I didn't even need any extra flour to keep the dough from sticking. To make eight good size buns cut the dough in half 4 times.





Shape each piece into a ball. The smoother you make the ball, the prettier your buns will be. You can see what happens if you don't make a smooth ball by checking out my Bacony Bacon Burger picture. The buns still taste great!
 

Put the buns on a greased baking sheet or a baking sheet with parchment paper. Smash the balls down gently with the palm of your hand. Let the buns rise again for 45 minutes.




You can just brush the tops of the buns with melted butter, which is my favorite, but you can also top them with sesame or poppy seeds. To top with seeds whip the egg white until frothy and brush it on top of the buns. Then sprinkle with seeds. You could also add some dried onion flakes and a little garlic salt for Everything buns.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 - 18 minutes until they are golden brown.

Ingredients
3/4 to 1 cup warm water (start with 3/4 cup and more in small amounts if dough is too dry)
2 tablespoons softened butter
1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs (1 divided)
3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon instant yeast
Sesame seeds or poppy seeds (optional)

Directions

1) Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a soft, smooth dough.

2) Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 1/2 hours, or until it's nearly doubled in bulk.

3) Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round ball; flatten to about 3" across. Place the buns on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about 45 minutes, until noticeably puffy.

4) Brush the buns with about half of the melted butter.

5) Bake the buns in a preheated 375°F oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden. Remove them from the oven, and brush with the remaining melted butter. This will give the buns a satiny, buttery crust. Alternately, brush buns with egg white and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds.

6) Cool the buns on a rack.

Parmesan Stuffed Burger with Balsamic Onions

My, oh my, oh my! This is definitely "Cheese  Burger in Paradise!" I love burgers and coming up with new recipes for them. Puppy Daddy definitely gave this one his "expert taste tester seal of approval". The Parmesan cheese melted inside gives it a salty, nutty flavor. The balsamic onions add a sweet, tangy flavor. Together with the beef they are honestly really delicious! I usually add lots of toppings to my burgers but this one doesn't need anything extra.

To make a stuffed burger, form two thin patties for each burger. Make the cheese filling by mixing together softened cream cheese and Parmesan cheese. Portion out the filling and roll each portion into a ball. Then flatten, place on one patty and top with the other. Then seal the sides. Season both sides of the burger with plenty of salt and pepper. Cook as you normally would.

The balsamic onions are super easy. Just cut the onions into thin slices. Cook over medium low heat with butter for about 15 minutes. Then add balsamic vinegar and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve the burgers on your favorite bun topped with plenty of onions. YUM!

Ingredients - for 2 burgers
2 TB butter
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1 TB balsamic vinegar1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated or shaved
1 lb ground chuck
salt and pepper
2 hamburger buns

Directions
Cook sliced onions in butter in a skillet over medium low heat for about 15 minutes until onions are very soft. Add balsamic vinegar and cook for another 5 minutes. Combine softened cream cheese and Parmesan cheese. Form ground chuck into 4 thin patties. Divide the cream cheese mixture in half and form two patties smalled in diameter than the ground beef patties. Place between two ground beef patties and pinch the sides to seal. Season both sides of the burgers generously with salt and pepper. Cook by your favorite method. Serve on your favorite bun topped with balsamic onions.

Greek Burgers with Feta, Olive Tzatziki

I have loved Greek food for as long as I can remember and I am blessed to have always lived in an area that has wonderful Greek food. When I was young (a long, long time ago) families only went out to dinner for special occasions, so when it was my birthday and I got to choose the restaraunt, I always chose Louise Pappas, a legendary Greek restaraunt in Tarpon Springs. Though I never had a burger there, but it was the start of my love for Greek food. Now I don't claim to be a great Greek chef like my Greek friends Marianna and Kiki, but I think you'll find this simple recipe will satisfy your Mediteranean cravings. And maybe if we all beg, they will share some their secret recipes with us!

To make the burgers combine ground chuck, Greek seasoning, red wine, red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.Sprinkle both sides of the burgers with salt and pepper. These are also delicious with ground lamb or a combination of lamb and beef. Cook the burgers in your favorite method. I love them cooked on a charcoal grill, but tonight I didn't have time for that so I used the gas grill instead.



While the burgers are cooking, make this yummy spread for them. First make the tzatziki sauce by combining Greek Yogurt (I used 2% fat yogurt), lemon juice, grated cucumber, garlic and salt. You will have more tzaziki than you need for the spread, so save it. It makes a fantastic dip for pita chips! To make the spread just add in chopped olives and feta cheese. I love to use a variety of olives that I get at my local grocery store olive bar.

OK, this is important, when making the tzatziki, be sure to remove the seeds from the cucumber. Otherwise it will be too watery. You can do this easily by cutting the cucumber into quarters like a dill pickle. Then just slice out the seed section.





To grate the cucumber I use a Micorplane hand grater, but you could use a box grater as well.

When the burgers are cooked, put them on the bun with the Feta, Olive Tzatziki spread and a couple of slices of cucumber. I served this with a scoop of potato salad and a Greek Peasant salad.

This recipe is for two burgers.

Ingredients
2/3 lb ground chuck
1 Tb red wine
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 Tb extra virgin olive oil
1 Tb Greek seasoning
7 oz plain Greek yogurt
1 Tb lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed, finely chopped or grated
1/4 cup grated, de-seeded cucumber
1/2 cup chopped olives, what ever type you like
1/2 cup chopped feta cheese
2 hamburger buns
4 thin slice of cucumber 
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Combine first 5 ingredients, being careful not to break down ground meat to much. Form into two patties. Sprinkle both sides generously with salt and pepper. Cook in personally desired method. Top burgers with Olive, Feta Tzatziki Spread and thinly sliced cucumber.

Feta, Olive Tzatziki Spread
Combine Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, salt, grated cucumber, olives and feta.

Try this recipe out and let me know what you think!