Friday Night Hamburger Night

Friday night at our house is family night and Lee grills hamburgers for as many of the family as can be there.  It has taken some effort to get hamburger night right for us but we keep working at it.  The first night we ended up at Whataburgers after grilling meat so bad road kill might have smelled better.  The rank smell sent us all running from the kitchen.  The dogs even turned up their noses to them.

We have dealt with flaming grills , incredible shrinking meat patties, stale hamburger buns and wilted vegetables.  Hopefully, not all on the same night! 

Tonight we got it right!
Friday nights will never be the same again!

After some discussion we decided to take a chance and make our own buns.  I was so confident it was going to be good I didn't even buy back-up buns.  I figured it couldn't be any worse than  those dry purchased things they call hamburger buns!  I dove into the task knowing full well that if this experiment was successful it would mean I would be making the buns every Friday night .  It had better be simple. 

Tonight the raves were all about the buns!
Nothing smells better than buns in the oven baking. 


Homemade Hamburger Buns

2 cups lukewarm water
2 T yeast
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsps. salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
6 1/2-7 cups flour

Mix all ingredients to make a soft, smooth dough mixing by hand, or mixer.
Cover the dough and leave it a warm place. Let rise until double in size.  (about an hour or two)
Punch the dough down and turn out on a floured board.
Divide the dough in half, continuing dividing balls in half until 16 balls have been created.  Flatten the balls to about 3".  Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet allowing space between them to grow.

*Light golden crust: brush the dough with a little melted butter.
*Sesame Seed Buns: Mix the white of one egg with a 1/4 cup of water.  Moisten the top of each roll with the egg white wash  before sprinkling sesame seeds on top.  The egg white wash will make the sesame adhere.  

Allow rolls to double in size.

Bake at 375 degrees for 12 - 15 minutes. Gently brush with melted butter.  Let cool slightly before slicing.

Makes 16 hamburger bun.
(To make 8 buns ingredients may be cut in half.  Rising time will remain the same.)

(Adapted from www.kingarthurflour.com)

The buns in the oven.

Tomorrow night...hot dog buns!

And the Winner Is

And the winner to our October Challenge is....

Joel!

With his answers to the posted questions and his submission of the delicious Milky Way Bars.

You may collect your $5 Sonic card.

Thanks, for playing along!

Watch for our November challenge!

Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Onions

Sweet Potatoes are extremely nutritious, but often they are served in a concoction of sugars and fats topped with marshmallows. While that is delicious, it more than negates the nutritious qualities. At a recent dinner party I had a delicious, savory sweet potato dish that I wanted to share. It is amazingly simple, and the flavor is incredible. Plus- compared to the Thanksgiving table variety of sweet potato, this seems fairly healthy.


Ingredients

• 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-inch chunks
• 2 medium Vidalia or other sweet onions, cut in 1-inch chunks
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup amaretto liqueur
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Toss ingredients in a 13 X 9 casserole
3. Cover with foil; bake 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 30 minutes more. (approximate times- roast until the potatoes are fork tender.)
   
   
   

Adapted from a recipe by Jean Carper on allrecipes.com