Buffalo Wing Burgers

                                 Buffalo Wing Burgers

Blog friends-
I'm not sure if you are a fan of the Bravo TV series, Top Chef, but Tom and I absolutely love that show!  We are always very impressed with the level of talent from the chef contestants.  We also really enjoy the judges and always like to hear their opinion on the food that's made.  Because we're such big fans of the show, Tom's mom got us a cookbook a while back from a contestant we were particularly fond of, Carla Hall.  She got pretty far in the competition a few seasons back and was even on Top Chef All Stars.  Her cookbook that we now own, Cooking with Love: Comfort Food that Hugs You, has a lot of great comfort foods with a modern twist.  She really knows how to get your mouth salivating for the food she makes in her cookbook!  We haven't tried too many  of them (mostly because of time) but we really want to make more of her food in the future.   One recipe we tried a few weeks ago was her Buffalo Wing Burgers.  If the title itself doesn't entice you, let me then tell you how delicious they were!  The burgers had a great kick and also had great crunch because it was prepared with a celery and blue cheese slaw. I'm not a huge fan of blue cheese, but this slaw was to die for!  It was light, crunchy, and very flavorful.  In addition to the slaw on the burgers, we also made the mayo that she also recommended putting on the burgers.  Really easy to prepare, and it had a great kick because of the hot sauce that went into it.  She mentions in her cookbook that she first prepared these while living in Paris.  She craved "good ol" American food so she enjoyed eating her friend's sweet and spicy wings.  What ended up as wings are now delicious burgers.  :) What's also great about these burgers is that they're made with chicken or turkey so it's on the healthier side of things.  Just an FYI- Tom and I ended up making sweet potato fries as a side to go along with the burgers and those were quite tasty as well.  All we did was sliced two sweet potatoes, spread a little bit of olive oil on them, sprinkled salt and pepper, and put them in the oven for about a half hour at about 425 degrees.  A great little side to go with your burgers.   Enjoy!

Spicy Mayo
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon hot sauce (preferably Frank's)
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Burgers
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon olive oil, plus more for frying
1/3 cup minced yellow onion
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chile flakes
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 pounds coarsely ground turkey or chicken (we used turkey)
4 brioche potato buns, toasted if desired (Tom and I used whole wheat buns to cut down on calories)
Celery and Blue Cheese Slaw (Recipe below)

1. To make the mayo: In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, hot sauce, honey, and cayenne until smooth.  Refrigerate until needed.

2. To make the burgers: In a small skillet, heat the butter and oil over medium-high heat.  When the butter is almost melted, add the onion and salt.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes, then stir in the garlic.  When the onion is golden and tender, stir in the hot sauce, thyme, chile flakes, and pepper.  Transfer to a large bowl and cool and room temperature.

3. Combine the chicken with the cooled onions using slightly damp hands.  You want it well mixed, but you don't want to squeeze i and make it tough.  Form the mixture into four burgers 1/2 inch larger in diameter than the buns.  Use your thumb to dimple the center of each patty.

4. Coat a large nonstick skillet with oil and heat over medium-high heat.  Add the burgers and cook until browned, about 3 minutes, then carefully flip them.  cook until the other side is browned and the meat cooked through, about 3 minutes longer.  The burger will feel firm and the juices will run clear.

5. Slather the spicy mayo on the buns.  Divide the burgers among the bun bottoms and top with the slaw. Sandwich with the bun tops and serve immediately.


Celery and Blue Cheese Slaw
4 celery ribs, thinly sliced at an angle
1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

In a large bowl, combine the celery, onion, and parsley.  Add the vinegar, oil, lemon zest, salt, and pepper and toss well.  Gently toss in the blue cheese.