It’s Potato Day!

What are French Fries, but potatoes? And what goes best with French Fries? Why burgers of course.

Do you have a fickle bunch that you need to keep satisfied every day? My guys complain if I keep our dinners simple, because rarely are there leftovers from Burgers, Pizza and Dogs. That means they need to fend for themselves at lunch – have something delivered (Kiddo’s solutions) or eat a frozen TV Dinner (that would be Hubby.) When I make elaborate suppers with leftovers for days, they complain that I am cooking too much. The only time they do not complain is on Mexican Night. Maybe it’s the free-flowing Margaritas that keep them happy.

It does seem we’ve been eating a lot of burgers of late. There are reasons for this – mainly due to the availability of top quality, locally raised beef at the Farmer’s Markets. Every Saturday morning we begin our shopping in Oakdale – the Cowboy Capital of the West. Sometimes we’ll leave with just an avocado or a sweet onion. Other times there’s Hamburger Patties, locally made sausages, short ribs and more. What can I say – life is good when you spend as much time as possible wandering the small, simple communities. I get the feeling when we make the big move to Tennessee, those small towns will be like going home – but to a new home, with new friends and new adventures.

Enough of that. I realized with all these burgers; it had been a while since we’ve made any Patty Melts. There for a while Patty Melts were a once-a-month or more supper. Dad got us hooked on his Patty Melts a while back when we had spent the day working around the farm. Since moving an hour south, and now that the farm is on the market, we haven’t had that satisfaction of a really good patty melt. That is until now. Of course, I had to experiment with a new Western Sauce. Typically I’ll slather our patty melts in mayonnaise or straight barbecue sauce. So I got to thinking, what about both? It was sweet and creamy all at the same time. Yeah, it was good. And since we’re sharing these Patty Melts on Potato Day, naturally they came with a big order of fries. Enjoy!

Western Burger Patty Melts with Grilled Onions
Grilled Onions
1 large Yellow Onion
1 tablespoon Olive Oil or Margarine

Place oil or margarine in a skillet over medium-low heat to warm.

Peel and slice onions in to rings. Break rings apart, scatter into the warm skillet to sauté until tender and browned. This should take about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep grilled onions warm until ready to serve.

Western Patty Melts
1 lb lean Ground Beef
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
6 slices Sourdough Bread
1-1/2 tablespoons Butter
3 slices White Cheddar Cheese

Divide ground beef into 3 equal portions. Form each portion into an oblong patty just slightly larger than the sourdough bread. Season with salt and pepper, set aside.

Lightly butter the bread, set aside to make the Western Barbecue Sauce.

Western Barbecue Sauce
3 tablespoons Mayonnaise
3 tablespoons Hickory Barbecue Sauce

In a bowl combine the mayonnaise with the barbecue sauce. Refrigerated until ready to use.

To Cook The Patties and Assemble: Heat a griddle to medium-high heat. Sear the patties, flip and sear the other side, maybe 3 minutes per side. Reduce heat to medium and continue to grill the patties until just done, about 6 minutes or so longer.

Place cheese on top of each patty. Top the cheese will grilled onions.

Place 3 slices of bread, butter-side down on the griddle. Spread half of the Barbecue Mayo mixture over the sourdough slices. Top with a patty melt on each. Spread remaining sauce on the remaining bread, close patty melts. Let grill for a few minutes until the bread is lightly toasted. Flip, continue to grill another few minutes until golden.

Serve with French Fries and your favorite brew. Mine is a good Root Beer.

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I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD–for he proclaims peace
To his people, and to his faithful ones,
and to those who put in him their hope.
The Lord speaks of peace to his people.