Deepfrieddiamonds

 It’s officially burger season until the leaves start changes colors, and that crisp, chilly feeling starts to develop in the air, and especially this weekend now more than ever! 

Happy 4th of July Diamonds! We all know that burgers are going to be all the rage at every kind of party, and cookout this holiday weekend, but why not level your burger game up a bit? Sometimes we consider doing that, but imagine that it’s going to take up an immense amount of time, and effort in the kitchen; taking ourselves away from the action to be tending to food creating, instead of having a blast like everyone else while socializing is happening! Fortunately, that’s exactly why I created this smoked beauty! I wanted to be able to influence you Diamonds to serve something totally flavorful and different, while having it remain super simplistic, so that you can spend just as much time enjoying the day as all of your loved ones are.

This cheeseburger is inanely delicious. It’s going to leave all of your guests feeling satisfied, and wanting to know exactly how you concocted each and every step in the entire burger making process. All everyone has to know is that the steps are minimum, but very important in themselves. The dijon horseradish sauce is the secret to making these babies so beyond addictive that everyone will want more to dip along the side, or possibly even to dip their veggies in from the crudités that you put out for everyone to pick on while you tended to the grill. Speaking of the grill.. I didn’t cook these burgers on the grill. The reason I decided not to do so was because I felt that there was such a perfect amount of smokiness already, that if I would have grilled them they would have gotten such an intensified flavor of smoke! If you feel as though grilling them is less messy, easier, and leaves you able to be part of the gathering while still being a hostess, than that will still be perfectly fine!

You can buy frozen burgers already made, but I love the way I make my burgers! They’re excellent, and it constantly leaves the meat juicy, and tender after being cooked no matter which way you cook them. They are filled with savory onion flavors as well which is exactly what I love, and what you definitely won’t be able to get if you buy them already made.

•      Depending on how many people you’ll be having over to entertain, you’ll want to use that many pounds of meat. I only used 1 pound being that that’s all I needed!
• You get 6-8 patties out of 1 pound of meat depending on how big you make/form them.

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HOW TO MAKE THE MEAT MIXTURE:

• 1 pound of 80/20 ground beef.
• 1/4 cup of ketchup.
• 8 dashes of Worcestershire sauce.
• 1 teaspoon of steak sauce.
• 1 tablespoon of dried onion flakes.
• Granulated garlic to taste
• Salt and pepper to tase.

The combination of all these flavors makes for a mouthwatering burger! Now, I know there are people out there who just “love to taste the meat”, and only add salt and pepper, but I promise if you give these a go you will make them for the rest of the summer. The great thing I love about making your own burgers is that you can form as many patties as you want fresh, and layer between parchment paper, so you can put in a big storage bag to freeze.

If you’re not making the burgers right away, but you’re not freezing them for another day.. after you’ve layered them with parchment to keep them separated from each other, place the pile on a plate, and put in the fridge for a few hours. You want to do this most times anyway when making protein because you want to be able to handle them well, and the coldness of the meat will make it easier for you to do that.

While you are letting the burgers set, you can go ahead and cut one small red onion, or multiple depending on how much you need, or want. You’ll want to also slice your smoked gouda cheese. Even if you don’t love this cheese with a cracker, you will adore it melted over top of this scrumptious, caramelized burger.

The caramelized onions need to cook low, and slow. That’s the key, so what you want to do is let them sauté in a small sauce pan on medium low heat. You always need to start the process with real, salted butter. That makes all the difference! Since butter burns quick, combine two tablespoons of it with one tablespoon of olive oil to insure that your onions will caramelize perfectly.

     Once the fat is all sizzled up, throw in your sliced red onion!

This is after 15 minutes of getting translucent. After 15 minutes I like to turn my heat down to low, and let them go for another 30 minutes. You don’t have to cook them as long, but onions in this form takes time. Low and slow is the trick, and you want the end result to kind of resemble a “jam” in some way.

I don’t always love a toasted bun, but for this type of burger, with so much gooey ingredients on it, I think it’s very necessary! It also gives it another type of texture, being that there will be many soft textures happening in your mouth, so the crunch of a good toasted bun is a nice touch!

• Butter both the top and bottom!

You can surely put these buns out on the grill to get really wonderful charred marks on the inside of them, but I put mine on a flattop on medium low heat; checking them every few minutes to reduce the risk of getting too dark.

As I said before, if you’re taking the adorable things out to the grill, go right ahead! I turned a huge sauté pan up to medium-high heat, sprinkled with olive oil, and placed four patties inside. Cook the burgers on each side for 3-5 until they are browned, and slightly charred in certain areas. That’s when you know they are going to be incredible when you get that hit of crispiness in your burger bite!

Don’t hate me Diamonds.. but I almost love burgers a little more when they’re done stove top, and not on the grill because I just love that crisp diner taste when enjoying a burger. The oil gets absorbed into the burgers leaving the outside to get nice and buttery tasting from the meat soaking in all the flavors of what’s in the pan.

When you have about two minutes left of cooking on the last side, place the gouda cheese over each individual patty so that the gouda burgers can bring themselves to life!

If the cheese is not pretty much translucent, and almost see-through, DO NOT take these burgers off the heat! No one wants a burger with unmelted cheese on it, I promise you that.

You can serve these smoked gouda cheese and caramelized onions burgers with anything you’d like, but seasoned steak fries are ultimately where it’s at with these puppies! This fry and seasoning combination compliments the smoky flavors so insanely well, so you’ll definitely be missing out if you don’t give this a shot! Aside from the fries, the most important missing puzzle is the creamy, dreamy, tangy dijon, and horseradish aioli. It is decadent, and literally makes your taste buds wanting more, so it ends up being iconic for dipping those fluffy fries into!

• Seasoning for the steak fries- Salt, pepper, granulated garlic, onion powder, sugar, cayenne pepper, paprika, and chili powder.
• Dijon horseradish aioli-  1/2 cup of mayo, 2 tablespoons of dijon mustard, a drizzle of honey, a few dashes of tabasco, 3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce, and a tablespoon of fresh horseradish. I never skip on seasonings because seasonings really do bring so much flavor, to something along with bringing out the actual flavor of the food itself, so don’t forget to add salt, pepper, and garlic powder into all that creaminess!

If you’re not having your guests build there own burger, make sure to put a good layer of the aioli on the top, and bottom parts of the bun because you’ll really regret it if you don’t considering it’s deliciousness! This sauce completes the burger for sure!! 

I hope every single one of you Diamonds have a safe, and yummy 4th of July! Enjoy the weather, your loved ones, your back yard, and most importantly.. these outstanding cheeseburgers! The food at a party is everything. It is the star of course, and center of attention. Without food.. there is no party, let’s be real! Enjoy all the food as much as you can, and have as much fun as you can, while still being safe. 🙂

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HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY WEEKEND DIAMONDS!

 

XOXO

     Barbecue chicken and macaroni & cheese Naan flatbread, drizzled with ranch for that extra ZIP! 

     Who doesn’t love carbs on carbs?! I mean seriously, there’s no possible way you can go wrong. Most people say their favorite food is pizza.. and everyone and their mother loves macaroni and cheese! It is the worlds best comfort food. Imagine the amazing explosion in your mouth of the two best foods in the world combined with barbecue chicken, and some other little goodies, fired on the grill!! It’s really one of the greatest things in the world that you will ever eat! It’s fun to create, and even more fun to enjoy! You Diamonds will love making this for “dinner for two”, or you can make multiple of them, then cut them up into bite sized pieces to serve as appetizers when you’re throwing a really great get together. It all depends what the occasion is since that will determine how many you need to make. If you are making these for a special reason, there is no doubt in my mind that they will be devoured within minutes. Your guests will be begging for more!

• Since so many kids have just recently graduated from high school, or college.. this would be an amazing thing to make for your own house party, or possibly even to bring to a graduation party that you’ve been invited to. You will definitely be the light of the night walking in with this delicious looking barbecue chicken, and macaroni & cheese grilled pizzas!

This pizza looks super succulent, fancy, and really intense to put together.. it might even make the average home cook intimidated, but Diamonds, do not sweat this because I promise you that this is the fastest pizza recipe you will ever follow in your life.

• Always remember: Even if something doesn’t take a long time, and the difficulty level isn’t shooting through the roof, that doesn’t mean something isn’t going to look and taste like you’re sitting down at the most ultimate, high class restaurant of your life!
• You can use regular pizza dough, or make your own if you want to get crafty with it, but I love love love the taste, and texture of naan! 
• On top the naan, drizzle with really good olive oil, salt, pepper, and dried parsley to begin the pizza making process!

You are welcome to use any kind of left over chicken, or even any meat you would like, but rotisserie chicken works wonderfully for this insane grilled pizza. Don’t use too much, or too little, and heat up with your favorite barbecue sauce. Then, spread it out all over the naan flatbread.

Besides the barbecue chicken, and macaroni & cheese.. there’s very few other ingredients, but extremely important ones. You want to chop up a hearty hand full of spinach for mild tenderness, and two whole scallions for a crisp onion bite!

      Sprinkle the chopped spinach all over the chicken!

If you don’t have Mac and cheese prepared, and you are planning on making this, then of course you would have to go ahead and chef some up! Fortunately, I had a bit left over from having it as a side dish the night before.

• You are more than welcome to put less, or more on, but I do believe if you’d put more on.. it would be too over powering of the other flavors. It would feel like too many carbs are happening in your mouth, and while you may think that that’s an amazing thing, I’d rather taste ALL the fantastic flavors, than mostly just one.

Now! Even though there is obviously gooey cheese in the macaroni and cheese, you want to add different textures and flavors of other cheeses.

• Shredded cheddar cheese– too add another layer of cheese, along with some stringiness that all pizza connoisseurs crave!
• Parmesan cheese– I love parmesan and ranch together, so since we’re drizzling some on here I had to sprinkle a good amount all around! I think the saltiness of it goes really well on top of any kind of pizza as well.

If you are a lover of ranch, drizzle as much of it all over the top of everything that we put on the flatbread! Lastly, sprinkle the scallions for some onion flavor that was chopped up from earlier.

Move the pizza (carefully) out to the grill! Fire the grill up to medium low.. we don’t want to burn the bottom, but we want to leave it on long enough so that everything gets extremely crispy, and the cheese is of course, ooey-gooey!

• Depending on what type of grill you have you might want to shut the lid on it for five minutes in the beginning to get everything covered with some powerful heat contact. Then, only leave it on as long as it takes to get the crust to the color that you want.
• I left my flatbread on the grill for ten minutes!
• Also, if you feel like your crust is done to your liking, but everything else isn’t.. turn the heat off, and close the lid for a few more minutes! It will for sure come out perfectly.

I mean…. come on Diamonds.. this looks like a dream!! I am drooling! 😉 That’s usually what happens when you mash two amazing dishes together. Sometimes it might even get a little more crazy, and we’ll do three, or four dishes mixed into one! Remember what I said I earlier as well.. just because something looks insanely inventive, and it intimidates you to make it doesn’t mean that you won’t be capable on doing so. Some of the most luxurious cuisine is the simplest, and thats the crazy truth! Most of the time it’s not about thinking into something that is trying.. it’s about thinking creatively. There are many times you could come up with something someone never even heard of, and it only contains two simple ingredients. I think the summer season is perfect for testing your culinary skills because if you like what you are creating, then you instantly have a new party platter to either take with you somewhere, or use at your own celebration! I think it’s easy to come up with new things in the summer as well since there is so much amazing produce in season! That could give you the chance to introduce people to fresh farm foods that they never even thought they knew how to use!

If you grill this flatbread pizza up this summer, or you Diamonds decide to grill any kind of pizza .. tag me on Instagram at “therealdeepfrieddiamonds”, so I could see all the deliciousness that you’s are enjoying!

XOXO

 One of my favorite summer mixers is hands down a sangria! It is the perfect drink to whip together for any summer bash, pool party, or accompaniment to sunset patio pickings! The one thing I adore most about creating a sangria is that you can mix literally any wine in the world with endless possibilities of fruit options together, along with a splash of a fizz. You cannot go wrong with having a pitcher of this displayed at your next big get together! This sour berry and lime sangria is just the right touch for your fourth of July festivities this year. I know, know.. it’s a bit early, but it’s never too early when it comes to planning parties. Early planning and preparing makes for a stress free, easy day to let yourself enjoy everything that you worked your buns off for!

If you have never made a sangria before, don’t fret.. it is the simplest thing in the world, and honestly pretty fun! 

Now .. you do not have to fill up the pitcher with the fruit as much as I did, but I always enjoy filling it half way, or so with the goodies! Then, I fill the rest up with the alcohol. 

• Squeeze the juice of one whole lime into a fancy pitcher!
• On top of the lime juice add blueberries, strawberries, and halved slices of one whole lime.

White wine for this is key, but if you are a red wine drinker that will absolutely be just as good!

It’s not just any white wine.. either.. it’s champagne, which is bubbly, delicious, and takes sangrias to a whole other level! Some people prefer sangrias a little more flat, and light tasting, but I definitely obsess over the carbonation. 

• I used my favorite prosecco, but you could moscato for this as well. I would go for more on the sweet side when deciding your choice of alcohol though, opposed to something dry since we want to contrast the sourness of the lime juice.

Once everything has been added (besides some more yummy fizziness that we will add right before pouring into glasses) muddle the fruit into the liquid, so that all the flavors immerse out from one another.

Right before guests arrive at your party, top the sangria with lemon lime soda! You could use ginger ale as well if you’re a fan of that too! Either or works super amazingly!!

 Make sure when serving to add some of the fruit and citrus in each glass. If you have everything arranged to have guests help themselves to their own glass, make sure to add a wooden spoon inside to let them scoop out some of the fruit to enjoy!

• Of course the drink itself is infused with all the fantastic fruit, but when the glass is finally empty (unfortunately) it’s nice to have a little treat of some boozy fruit snacks to munch on!

These fun filled glasses are sour, sweet, and thirst quenching. Most of all.. maybe it’s a bad thing, but you can figure that out between yourselves.. you can not even taste the alcohol! That may be a dangerous thing, but who doesn’t love a drink that tastes like a refreshing glass of infused juice?!

Sangria season is calling your name Diamonds! Let this be your first of the season, and maybe, just maybe.. you’ll love it so much that it will be your go-to all season long!

Have a ball blasting your sangria with ultimate flavors Diamonds!! If you recreate this for your next upcoming event, or The Fourth of July I would love nothing more than for you to share all your pictures with me, so make sure to take me in them on instagram at “therealdeepfrieddiamonds”! 

 

XOXO