Mother’s Day Burgers, Courtesy of My Guys

By Mindy Obenhaus

Well, after a whirlwind Saturday that included our oldest son’s college graduation,

I came home from church Sunday, contemplating what I might do with such a quiet day. Our younger son was gone for the weekend, there was nothing pressing so, hey, maybe I’d take a nap or at least attempt to be a vegetable and become one with my couch. The possibilities were endless.

Then the younger boy texted that he’d decided to come home early. Next thing I know, our college grad is walking through the door, wishing me a happy Mother’s Day. So much for a quiet day, but who cares. This mama is happiest when her chicks are in the nest.

And since everyone was tired of traveling, we decided to stay in for dinner. Talk about a Mother’s Day present. They cooked for me!

Grad boy has spent his college years working on the perfect hamburger, so he decided to show off for Mom. And I have to say, I was very impressed.

He started with 2 pounds of ground chuck and 1 pound of ground venison, then chopped up some onion, mushrooms and jalapeno. (all seeds and ribs were removed so there was no heat).

Wait. There are veggies in this burger? Who are you and what have you done with my non-veggie-eating son?

Mix everything together in a large bowl, including some Montreal Steak Seasoning to taste.

Then form your patties.

He prefers half-pound patties, but then he’s a growing boy. You’re welcome to go smaller.

From here, you can grill the burgers

Or pan fry them.

He decided to try both methods to see which he liked best. Not sure I ever heard the verdict, though.

The outcome, however, was one juicy, delicious burger.

Mama was impressed. Throw in some bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers and my favorite Mesquite Barbecue potato chips and I was in heaven.

After dinner, we went for a drive around the property. Hard to believe that after all the flooding from Hurricane Harvey last fall, we now find ourselves heading into a drought. The lakes are already getting low.

Most of the pastures are still green, though. And the calves continue to arrive.

Some still find it difficult not to stray from their mamas.

Note that this one’s mama is on the other side of the fence. Baby decided to hop the cattle guard and do a little exploring. Unfortunately, they never seem to remember how they got in and, inevitably, have to be coaxed back out.

Oh, and remember this guy/gal from a few weeks ago.

He/she is still keeping watch over their family in that mulberry tree and always on the lookout for anyone or anything that might seek to disrupt them.

So how was your Mother’s Day? Did you do anything special? Is Mother’s Day celebrated in Canada?

Three-time Carol Award nominee, Mindy Obenhaus, lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com

More NYC Eats - The Counter

RWA 2015 was outstanding in so many ways. One of them being that we were in one of the largest cities in the world, with some of the greatest restaurants in the world. Like this one.

Welcome to The Counter, a great little burger joint in the heart of Times Square.

At The Counter, you can order one of their specialty burgers or build your own. At first I was tempted to build my own. But I could do that anywhere. Time to live dangerously and order the house specialty. In this case, it was called a Counter Burger.

I had already dug in before I remembered to take a picture.

Sharp provolone cheese, mushrooms, lettuce, tomato and onion strings piled on top of a 1/3 lb. burger and served on a brioche bun with sun dried tomato sauce. 

The only thing that could make it better was a side of sweet potato fries served with chipotle mayo.

When I ordered the fries, I was planning to share. However, it seems that everyone else at the table has ordered their own. 

And you notice how my burger was cut in half? I thought there was no was I'd be able to eat the whole thing.

Boy, was I wrong.

And those fries? I ate every single one of them, too.

Good thing this was the day of the Harlequin party so I could boogie off all those calories.

Yes, this was one of those unforgettable meals. One I'm not sure I even want to try to recreate at home. Because if I did, I'd eat nothing but. And let's face it, a girl can't boogie for three hours straight every night of the week.

What's your most unforgettable meal? 

Best Hamburgers!

The Best Hamburgers!

Missy Tippens

I'm sharing a quick, easy recipe that I've seen lately on a commercial for mayonnaise. I believe it was for Duke's Mayonnaise, which is what I use, so it caught my eye.

They show a person adding mayonnaise to ground beef to make moist burgers. Made sense to me! So I decided to give it a try.

First, I pulled out my go-to spices for burgers. Well, actually, the Steak 'N Chop is new (thanks, Ruthy!). The other two I've used several times.

Next, the main ingredient (well, besides the beef). :) We really like to use the mayo made with olive oil. And I've always used light mayonnaise. So this one is perfect for us.

I added the spices and a big blog of mayo--probably about 3 TBS (maybe more) in one pound of lean ground beef (I buy the 93% lean). Mix well, pat out burgers with a dip in the center, and place in a hot skillet or on the hot grill (my grill died, so I'm grill-less right now). I like ground beef well done, so mine are sometimes dry. But these weren't!

Serve on a nice soft bun with your desired toppings. I was already eating when I remembered to take a photo! They were really moist just like the commercial said. I loved it! I plan to add mayo from now on.

Building a Better Burger

Tex here, and, you know, my husband and I watch a lot of Food Network. Chopped and Diners, Drive-ins and Dives are two of our favorites. In DDD, Guy Fieri travels the country, introducing viewers to, well, diners, drive-ins and dives and the fare that they offer. Not an episode goes by that I'm not drooling over something or thinking, "I should make that."

So when we decided to do hamburgers this past weekend, I wasn't content with just the same ol', same ol'. No. I wanted to shake it up a bit.

Then I remembered my friend who processes her own deer meat and how she mixed ground uncured bacon (at least that's what she called it, but I think it was probably just pork belly, which is where bacon starts) with venison. Now that was some good eatin'. 

Well, I had bacon and I had lean ground beef. Why not give it a go.

So I pulled out the grinder attachment for my mixer and ground up a 12 oz package of bacon. Actually, I thought I had a pound, which I was going to add to three pounds of ground beef. Since I didn't, though, I cut the ground beef back to about 2 1/2 pounds. Basically, I wanted a 3 to 1 ratio.

Then I added the ground bacon to the ground beef (93/7),

And mixed it all together with my hands. Yes, they were clean. 

Then I balled the meat into 6-8 oz portions.

Once my skillet was nice and hot, I'd throw on a ball or two, immediately flattening them with a metal spatula, sprinkle just a tiny bit of Montreal Steak Seasoning (don't need salt since its in the bacon) and let them cook 3-4 minutes before flipping them.

Then I toasted some sesame seed buns for those who wouldn't know a carb if it hit them in the face.

Me, I simply topped mine with thin-sliced Monterrey Jack cheese, onion, mayo, mustard, ketchup and, finally, a bit of lettuce.

 

The result?

Oh. My. Word. 

This could possibly be one of the best burgers I have ever eaten. The amount of bacon was just right. Its flavor didn't take over, simply married with the ground beef , creating a flavor profile that should not be missed.

Will I be doing this again?

You betcha. I can hardly wait until next time. And I can't wait to do it with venison. Sorry, Kav. ;)

What are some your favorite experiments in the kitchen?

Pumpkin Sugar Cookies and the Best Burger Joint in the Black Hills

How is everyone doing on their deadlines?

For you non-writers, a deadline is the date you promised your editor, or your agent, or yourself, that you'd be at a certain point in your book.

Fall colors on Mt. Moriah - originally known as
"Boot Hill" - above Deadwood

In my case, revisions on my Deadwood story are due on Friday. Major revisions. Due Friday.

Uff da!*

*"Uff da" is a Norwegian expression meaning roughly the same thing as "Oy vey!" or "Oh Mylanta!" It's a multi-purpose expression, used extensively in the upper mid-west, mostly in Minnesota and the Dakotas.

So it's an entire week of "uff da" as I hit the last three chapters of the story, and then go back for a quick polish before sending it off to New York City.

Meanwhile, like I said last week, the family is suffering. They remember the "good old days" when I used to make fresh bread everyday (I never did), and we had a homemade dessert for every meal (never happened), and a soup pot simmered on the back of the stove from October to March (again, this only happened in their imaginations).

Uff da!

But once in a while, I do have to do something cookingly creative to keep them happy. A church get-together is always a good excuse, too.

So Sunday afternoon I ventured into cookie baking.

Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

This recipe makes a soft sugar cookie with pumpkin spice overtones. BeeTeeDubs*: These received rave reviews at the church fellowship time!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks), softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin, or homemade pumpkin puree
4 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
4 1/2 cups flour

Super simple directions: Preheat your oven to 375°. Cream the butter until fluffy (30 seconds or so). Add the sugars, pumpkin and vanilla and beat well. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, baking powder and flour and mix well. (Be sure to start your mixer on low so the flour doesn't fly all over the place!)

Make the dough into balls about the size of a small walnut, then roll in sugar.

Flatten each ball with the back of a spoon, and decorate with sprinkles or a candy corn if you wish. Of course, after I did this I realized the candy corn would melt in the oven. They were good - but next time I'll put the candy corn on as the cookies come out of the oven.

Bake for about 10 minutes at 375°, or until lightly browned on the edges. Since this dough doesn't have any eggs, you can make them as soft and gooey in the center as you want without worrying about undercooked dough.

When they're done, pack them up and take them somewhere to share. Believe me, you won't want a batch of these babies hanging around the house with nothing to do! Uff da!


Meanwhile, my husband and I have been on a quest for the perfect burger. We love burgers in our family (as you can tell in this post from a few weeks ago), and there's just something about finding the perfect burger joint.

We have a Five Guys restaurant that recently opened, and we do enjoy their burgers. And then there's this place up in the Hills called the Sugar Shack. An excellent burger, too.

But then we tried this place. Uff da!!!

The sign says it all. Not only the best burgers we've had (well, maybe except for homemade), but also the best bun. Absolutely delicious.

Sorry - I had to try this great burger before I remembered
to take a picture!

My burger was called "The Fat Smitty" (don't laugh - I don't care what it's called when it tastes this good!). The 1/3 pound beef patty was topped with American cheese, lettuce, bacon, a fried egg and garlic aioli. That garlic aioli made this burger.

By the way, I could have gotten a nice tomato slice on it, too. But fresh tomatoes are one of the few things I've never learned to like.

I could also have gotten it as a buffalo burger. But I love buffalo - if I'm going to eat it, I'm not going to put a lot of toppings on it.

Oh, and the side of sweet potato fries was heavenly, too.

You can read more about the restaurant and the menu here: http://blackhillsburgerandbun.com/home

The mural on the side of the Black Hills Burger and Bun
building.

One of the great things about this burger place is the location. Uff da :)

The only place you'll find a burger like this is in Custer, South Dakota. A little town smack dab in the middle of the Black Hills - and the very place where Custer's expedition first discovered gold in French Creek in 1875.

Definitely a Wild West town. 

After dinner we drove into Custer State Park to do some star gazing (the Milky Way was beautiful that night), and we were serenaded by a coyote not more than fifty yards from us.

This video from YouTube was taken in the daylight, but our coyote sounded just like this. And the sound echoed off the Hills around us. Eerie and beautiful. And a memorable end to our evening. Uff da!


So make yourself a batch of Pumpkin Sugar Cookies, dream about your favorite local restaurant, and get to work on that book! Either writing or reading, you must be working on a book :)


*BeeTeeDubs = a short hand way of saying "by the way." As in B T W's. BeeTeeDubs. Get it?

August in the Black Hills is Burger Time!

Wait! Listen! Do you hear that?

Can it be...silence?

For the last ten days there's been a low drone in the air...constant...ominous.... I've been trying to figure out how to describe it, and the closest I can come is to have you imagine a jet taking off - for ten days straight. Always in the background, like the roar of a waterfall when you're canoeing down a river, or standing at the edge of Niagara Falls.

The 74th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was in town.

Let's start with a few stats:

 - Between 450,000 and 500,000 bikers attend the Rally each year. That's just an estimate. Since there is no registration, officials use hotel and campground reservations to estimate the numbers. This year's numbers won't be out for a couple weeks. Last year's estimate was around 483,000.

- The population of the Black Hills (including all cities and rural population) is around 150,000. That means that every year, at the beginning of August, our population quadruples for ten days.

- This year, about 40% of the attendees were women. Biker girls come with their boyfriends, husbands, sisters, or friends. At home they're moms, teachers, nurses, waitresses, doctors, accountants....

 - Our local hospital and emergency personnel don't have planned disaster drills. The Rally is a planned disaster every year. Think of it as knowing a hurricane is going to strike a year in advance.

 - One big draw to the Rally is the variety of concerts. Every night. This year we had Skillet, Josh Rogan, The Cult, Montgomery Gentry, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Zac Brown Band, Bret Michaels, Motley Crue, ZZ Top, Ted Nugent, Randy Houser, Cheap Trick... and those are only the names I recognized :)

 - Not everyone rides their bike across country for the Rally. You can rent a bike for around $400-$500 a day. Or you can hire a specialized transport company who will pick up your bike, deliver it to the Rally, and return it to your home afterwards for around $900. Of course, you still have to get here somehow.

- There are events for every taste. Everything from a ride to commemorate fallen law officers to the Roller Derby, to the Budweiser Clydesdales, to stunt-cycle demonstrations, to the hill climb, to the Weber Grill Burger Cook-Off, and more.

- Waitresses at the bars (and there are many!) average about $300 a day in tips. Of course, you can earn more. I've heard if you take advantage of the "skimpy clothing" option during the Rally, you can increase your tips. A lot.

 - Next year's Rally will be the 75th. Hotels and campgrounds are already maxing out on reservations. One official estimates a million bikers will head to Sturgis next August.

BUT! When the Rally comes, we know tourist season is beginning to wind down. Schools are starting up again, families are staying home, and the bikers go back to their real lives of being teachers and accountants.

And we get our Hills back. I can't tell you how sweet that is!

Of course, we enjoy the tourists! It's an exciting time when Memorial Day comes. It's almost like someone flips a switch and the area is filled with excitement and anticipation. I love meeting our visitors, chatting with them, helping them find their way around.

But in August, after the end of the Rally, it's kind of like the feeling you get when visitors leave. It was fun while they were here...but it's nice to have the place to ourselves :)

Another thing August brings is the beginning of the end of cookouts. If you remember, our winter started on the first weekend of October last year (With a bang! You can read about that storm here.) And since our spring was cool, wet and long, and our summer has also been cool and wet (and short), I'm expecting an early winter this year, too.

But it isn't winter yet! It's time to grill some burgers :)

Jan's Favorite Burgers

My family never gets tired of these....

Easy ingredients - ground beef and seasoning. I like to use the "Worcestershire Pub Burger" spice mix from McCormick, and a little Worcestershire Sauce.

Mix ground beef - a pound makes four burgers - and the seasonings (about 1 teaspoon of the spice mix and about 1 teaspoon of the Worcestershire Sauce) in a bowl. Using my hands to mix the beef is the only way I've found to make sure it's all mixed in evenly.

I use a 1/2 cup measuring cup to make 1/4 pound burgers. Measure the meat mixture, and if there's any left, divide it evenly between the lumps.

With your hands, form the lumps into patties a little bit bigger around than your buns (they'll shrink during cooking.) Make a little depression in each patty to ensure even cooking.

Cook on the grill until they're done. You can tell they're done when you pierce a burger and the juices are clear.

I like to sear the burgers on high heat, and then turn the gas to low to let the meat cook low and slow.

When the burgers are done, add any cheese of your choice - I like Tillamook Sharp Cheddar - and let it melt.

I've been eating my burgers Trim Healthy Mama style - either bare or in a low-carb wrap - with a big salad.

My dear husband eats his the traditional way - and with a nice bit of Gruyere cheese and a big slice of onion.

So, let's chat. How are things in your part of the world? Is summer winding down yet?

Book Launch Party!

Tex here! This weekend was my very first book launch party/signing. What a day. Of course, nothing ever goes according to plan, so why should this have been any different. While I had plans of making beautiful cupcakes the night before, in reality I ended up in the emergency room with our middle daughter and I got home about 1 am Saturday. (yes, she's doing much better and, hopefully, on her way to a full recovery from the vertigo-type illness)

My youngest son called about 11 pm and said he'd make the chocolate cupcakes. Great! Of course, I knew the real reason he offered to make them. So he could lick the bowl. Nonetheless, half of the cupcakes were made and I was up at 7 am (yes, I allowed myself to sleep that late) making the second batch along with homemade buttercream frosting (recipe here).

Finally, things were clicking. Our oldest daughter showed up from Oklahoma with her friend. I even had time to shower. Probably a good thing since it's been so stinkin' hot. And we arrived at Mardel in plenty of time.

What a fun day. I'm pretty sure I was running on pure adrenaline, but I'm not complaining. The whole event was beyond my expectations.

 

 

Team Pink was in the house. (You have to read the book to understand the t-shirts)

 

 

 Writing with shaky hands is a challenge.

I had to keep reminding myself to take a deep breath and calm down.

 

 

A friend of mine gave me the greatest gift ever.

Writer's Block Busters! How cool is that?

Pens, notebook, chocolate...all of my favorite things.

 

And when all was said and done...

 

I still had to fix dinner. (hamburger recipe here)

(No dresses were harmed in the making of said burgers)

 

Thanks for reliving my special day with me. It's one I won't forget any time soon.