RECIPE - Game Day Gourmet Burgers - Big Daddy's Buffalo Burgers & Smith Lake Smashed Potatoes

Big Daddy's Buffalo Burgers

So who's it gonna be for the 2018 SEC Championship - UA v UGA?! As for us, well we are definitely a house divided, and we enjoy the banter on game day. We are originally from South GA, born and raised, but we moved to Birmingham back in 1997 and once we discovered Lewis Smith Lake, we never looked back. We are definitely Alabamians now, almost 22 years on Smith Lake and at least one of us is a full blown Tide fan. But, we do have a heart for the Georgia Bulldogs too, so we are torn by birthright indeed.  Our son is a self-professed "Auburn Tiger" along with some other members of the family, so we've had 2 weekends in a row of game day division in the household.  So... are you cheering for the Crimson Tide or are you a Dawg fan? The SEC Championship is a fun game to watch no matter what.  Nothing we southerners love better than to good-spiritedly duke it out over football! And another thing we love to do on game day is EAT! It's always interesting to try a new recipe we can cook up quick, slap on the table, eat and get down to the more serious business of cheering on the team.  This one can be done on the grill, or in an iron skillet on a stove, making this a very versatile recipe regardless of whether you are comfortably at home, or lucky enough to be in the action tailgating. Try it out!  Recipe provided by our reader, Eric W. Bowman.  Thank you Eric!  

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INGREDIENTS:

• Hamburger meat (we got ours from Brickyard Meats - best fresh meat in our area)
• Sliced cheese (your choice - we used Baby Swiss, Muenster.  We also chose Blue Cheese for topping & you could add fresh bacon bits if you want to get crazy)
• Onion (we used 1)
• Sliced mushrooms (we used fresh sliced, 2.5 cups)
• Sliced jalapenos (we used 2 fresh ones - slice in half long ways, clean out seeds & membranes, cut halves in half, and then into thin strips)
• grape-seed oil (about 4 T)
• balsamic vinegar (to taste)
• Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning (to taste) (we also added a fav--Bully Sauce Sweet Slobba Rub for good measure!)
• Tabasco Sauce (to taste)
• Buffalo Sauce 
• Ranch Dressing (or Bleu Cheese Dressing)
• Mustard (mustard is optional—use your favorite kind—we like gourmet deli, grainy with a little horseradish in it.)

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INSTRUCTIONS:

• Using a cast iron skillet, saute sliced onions, mushrooms, and jalapenos in grape seed oil & balsamic vinegar (season slightly with salt, pepper & a pinch of garlic powder).  When ready, remove from heat and place in a bowl on paper towels to remove excess oil.
• Pat out large hamburger patties to desired thickness
• Season hamburgers with Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, and Tabasco sauce (remember we added a little dose of Bully Sauce Sweet Slobba Rub here, and we also added some Buffalo Sauce at this stage for seasoning too). Fry in same skillet until desired doneness.  {You can definitely grill these, but it was a rainy day when we first tried the recipe, so the iron skillet was the easy go-to.}
  
• When burgers are done, place sliced cheese of your choice on top while in the skillet and allow to melt.
• Once you've taken the burgers out, place them on a paper towel and allow the grease to drain off.
• Now you will be ready to plate the burgers to serve.  Place burgers on the plate, cover each patty with a portion of the sauteed onions, mushrooms & jalapenos.  
• Drizzle buffalo sauce, ranch dressing and mustard (mustard is optional).  Add fresh ground black pepper (optional).
• They can be put on buns or eaten without.  We ate without since we had lots of chips around for game day, and we had a carb loaded side too (see below).

Serve with your favorite roasted veggies.  We like to roast broccoli or fresh brussell sprouts with this kind of gourmet burger.  Another favorite side is our special Smith Lake Smashed Potatoes.  Finally, be sure to have either spicy pickled okra or our favorite Wickle's Pickles Dirty Dill Spears - just the right amount of heat to keep this dish as amped up as the game.  

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Smith Lake Smashed Potatoes

​INGREDIENTS:

• 2 lbs baby potatoes (mix or choose one style - Red, Yukon Gold, Purple, etc.) 
• 1 T kosher salt, plus additional for seasoning
• 2 T unsalted melted butter
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 T white vinegar
• 2 T chopped fresh chives or green onion tops
• Whole tiny grape tomatoes 
• Fresh ground black pepper

​INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or tin foil.  

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Add potatoes and 1 T kosher salt to a medium saucepan.  Cover with water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 mins.
 
Drain and place potatoes back into saucepan.  Add butter and toss to coat.  Transfer potatoes to prepared baking sheet, spreading them out in a single layer.  Use a glass or heavy mug with a wide base and smash each potato to about ½” thickness.
 
Bake for 15-20 mins, remove potatoes from oven, and turn each with a spatula.  Drizzle with olive oil and continue baking for 15-20 mins more.
 
Once baked, removed from oven, sprinkle with vinegar, chopped chives or onion tops, salt and pepper.  For garnish & fresh flavor bites between, sprinkle a few fresh tiny grape style tomatoes over the crispy potatoes.  Serve hot immediately!

Beverage recommendations

• Southern iced tea with lemon, of course, and we have a tasty recipe for that as well - just message us!
• Or try out a nice cold beer in a tall frosty mug from a favorite local lakeside shop like Cabin Fever Beverages or Cornerstone Beverages.  They always have some great cold beers on hand for you to choose from.   

ENJOY & get back to the game - there's a championship on the line!  GO DAWGS & ROLL TIDE!!!  And Super Bowl is coming up soon too.  A lot of good football left.  GO TEAM!