Sometimes I like to play with my food… well in the prep at least.
I usually take the simple approach to burgers with just some ground chuck or round, simple bun, American Cheese, ketchup and/or mustard.
Yesterday evening though I was in the grocery and they brought out some fresh baked brioche rolls and I couldn’t resist. I walked past the butcher counter and they had some grass fed ground beef. They also had some thick sliced locally sourced apple wood smoked bacon. Some mild cheddar and hardwood smoked Gouda was added to the list.
Fried the bacon to a nice crispy level, grilled the burgers to just below medium. Melted a slice of each cheese on top. Lightly toasted the buns on the grill. Added a bit of Sriracha sauce (basically a Sriracha Mayo) and a very thin slice of garden tomato, and it was wonderful. I will likely make these again from time to time. The blend of the flavors melded together so no one thing stood out too much but it was just all one excellent flavor.
I once made macaroni and cheese, with bacon in place of the butter, added basil and oregano, a half-handful of shredded mozzerella in addition to the cheese stuff that comes with it, and a diced tomato. It came out quite good.
I also discovered (after the previous experiment, or I would have used it there too) that a can of crushed olives adds a nice zing to a surprisingly wide variety of dishes.
I’ve mentioned before about grilled (or fried) hot dogs topped with crunchy peanut butter and sriracha. Excellent.
We came up with a dish on our own, but it probably has roots somewhere. It was what we had left in the RV refrigerator at the end of a trip. We called it “cassoulet” for want of a better word:
Chicken breast, cut up in bites, browned
Hot Italian sausage, broken up, browned
Can of white beans
Rosemary
Salt & Pepper
Can of tomatoes
Basically mix it all together and simmer for about 30 minutes.