If you’re looking to change things up over the Labor Day weekend or the UK Bank Holiday, why not try homemade caramelized onions and blue cheese burgers? It’s a lot easier than it sounds I promise! I was inspired by watching Sandra Lee on the Food Network. While she isn’t exactly a gourmet chef and doesn’t always use fresh ingredients, she does come up with some great quick recipes. Check out her Ale House Burgers with Red Onion Compote.
The onions are really easy to make and can be done ahead of time and reheated when ready. Sandra put the cheese inside the burger patties which results in a gooey burger, but I like to see my melted cheese. You can see I went with pepper jack in the picture below, but the red onion compote would go really well with some crumbled blue cheese. You could even go a step further and mix some blue cheese with mayonnaise for a spread. OR! in a small food processor combine some Gorgonzola, mayonnaise, splash buttermilk and freshly cracked black pepper. Then you’d have a nice spread that could also be a dip. You could even use leftovers to make a white pizza. If you’re going the blue cheese route, I’d suggest some arugula/rocket as the greens. Either way, this burger is sure to be a big hit!
PS. I apologize for the dirty plate. I was in charge of grilling and by the time I got to sit down I was starving.. barely managed to get a photo in before I inhaled this burger!
To go with that burger, I highly recommend my Corn Casserole. I won’t take all the credit on this one as I’ve simply added to Paula Deen’s recipe. But this is a classic and goes with any barbecue or roast dinner. You can either make it Paula’s way or add a bit of kick with two chopped (de-seeded) jalapeños and topping it with shredded pepper jack cheese. The most difficult thing about this recipe is being patient enough to wait for it to finish cooking! It’s slightly sweet but savory. If you can’t get your hands on ready made corn muffin mix, here’s a recipe to make it from scratch (US recipe or UK recipe). Simply use all the dry ingredients in these recipes and add to the corn casserole.
To finish it off, how can you go wrong with some fresh guacamole?? The key to really good guacamole is ripe avocados and good seasoning. You have to take into account that people will be dipping salty tortilla chips in too!
- The Avocados – slice in half lengthways, twist apart, squish the seed out or spoon it out, using sharp knife, gently cut slices lengthways and then across (to make squares), then scoop it all out into a mixing bowl, this makes it easier to mix.
- The Limes – it makes the biggest difference to have fresh lime juice. I usually use a whole lime for about two avocados, but add a half at a time until it’s flavored to your liking. Also if you have slightly firm avocados squeeze the lime juice over it immediately and smash together a bit. Then go onto other ingredients and let the juice soften the avocado.
- The Other Good Stuff – for me, guacamole must have these ingredients but some may disagree. I like very finely chopped red onion, de-seeded jalapeño, cherry tomatoes (must be cherry or grape) and cilantro/coriander.
- The Seasoning – if you can use kosher or good quality sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper. This can easily elevate the quality of any guacamole.
Hope you enjoy your Labor Day weekend or Bank Holiday for you Brits out there!
a VU on Food 