Spicy Chicken Nachos

We've been using the barbeque quite frequently this summer and recently came up with a killer meal: Spicy Chicken Nachos!

I took a few chicken breasts and put 'em on the grill. While one side was cooking I covered the other in Frank's Xtra Hot. When I flipped each one I doused the newly exposed side with hot sauce. I did this about five or six times, building up a wonderfully spicy, crunchy coating on the chicken.

Once the breasts were cooked, I took them inside and cubed them. We then topped chips with the chicken, red pepper and a whole lot of cheese and stuck it into the oven until the cheese was good and melted.

VERDICT: Favourite!

Guest Post: I Heart (Ham)burgers

This summer, my husband and I went on trip to Minneapolis, MN. While we were there, we hit up a quaint little Cuban place called Victor's 1959 Café. We went there because we had seen it featured on an episode of the Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. We were seated outside and given menus. After humming and hawing over what to get, I finally decided on the Black Bean Burger.

According to the menu, the Black Bean Burger is "a veggie burger with a Cuban twist!" On it were black beans, sliced tomato, cheddar cheese, sour cream and spring mix. I opted to add sliced avocado to the burger as well. It was served up on toasted Cuban-style bread with yuca frita on the side.

All I can say is that this burger changed my life. It was no average veggie burger - it was slightly crispy, and flavorful with a delightful texture. The avocado and sour cream were a divine combination to the crispy patty, and the bun...THE BUN! It was lightly toasted on the bottom and insanely soft and no other word but HEAVENLY on the inside.

As you can see, it was also HUGE. Which I didn't mind, as this delicious burger served as both lunch and supper that day (and tasted mighty fine cold to boot!).  And in case you were wondering, the yuca frita (root fries) were also sooo good. Like a potato with a slight hint of sweet potato, and maybe turnip? Hard to explain, but delicious.

In summary, this was probably the best burger I have ever eaten in my entire life. Looking at this is making me drool - can I eat this every day, please??

VERDICT: Favourite! Maybe even Last Meal worthy!

Breakfast Sandwich Win

Sausage patty, fried egg, ketchup, crispy bacon on a fresh biscuit and stacked nearly as tall as a coffee mug.

Gotta love Christmas Brunch!

Burger Bulletin

On my birthday this summer I was lucky enough to go Mum's at the Golf Course. It had a very different atmosphere from their other location, which has a diner feel. I had previously been told by a friend that there was a burger I needed to try here: the 40 Creek Double!

It comes with lettuce, tomato (I gave mine to Kristin), strips of bacon, two types of cheese, 40 Creek BBQ sauce, condiments and two patties of your choice, either 6 oz. handmade or 4 oz. sirloin (or angus, I can't remember which).
I chose the handmade patties and, man, did I chose right. Amazing beef! It was cooked through and seasoned well.
Put all together it is quite tall. I had difficulty biting from top to bottom, but the burger is so good that you don't really care. You just shove your face into it to get another amazing bite, regardless of the quickly accumulating mess.
This is the best burger I've had eating out in Brandon and suggest everyone try it, but make sure to bring a hearty appetite.

In a more recent burger development, A&W has expanded their burger offerings beyond the Burger Family to their close personal friends: Four Buddy Burgers are now on the menu.

The Little Buddy Burger

They are smaller, snack oriented burgers and are available as a single or double, with or without cheese. Starting at $1.75 with the Little Buddy Burger, A&W's value burgers are more expensive than the McDouble and some don't even have cheese.
I'm personally fine with cheeseless burgers, so the only issue to settle is whether or not the Buddy Burgers are worth the extra money.
I tried the Little Buddy Burger. It's composed of a fluffy, seedless bun, tantalizingly seasoned patty, Teen sauce (aka mayo, which I declined), ketchup, mustard and fried onions. They come in a pap--
FRIED ONIONS?! No fast food place offers fried onions on a value, snack burger. My mind has already been blown and I haven't even tried it yet.
It is a very good little burger. The onions complement A&W's secret seasoning very well. There is a generous squirting of both ketchup and mustard, plus the bun looks, feels and tastes like a real bun. I bought two buddies since we were driving through supper to visit family. I'd devoured one before I'd even finished filling up on gas. It's a burger I never want to stop eating.
Thinking of going back to a McDouble now feels like thinking about eating doll-house food. The extra 36¢ (plus more for upgraded Buddies) is worth it every time! Better quality + Fried onions = New snack of choice. If I subtract will power from that equation then the result would be: EAT EVERY DAY!!!

Buddy Burger picture courtesy of http://s3-media4.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/L_TgQpUfhjeRgpgWeZeCQw/l.jpg

Haloumi

Best cheese ever! Just tried it at a Greek festival in Brisbane. You can fry it and it just crisps up instead of getting all melty. Melted cheese isn't bad, but imagine cooked cheese that still has that distinct squeaky, cheesy quality so awesome in cheese. That's haloumi!
FAVOURITE!

Risotto

Mmm, Risotto

A while back Kristin and I were inspired to make risotto. It is a labour intensive process: Browning it beforehand, adding liquid at certain intervals, the continual stirring. If you are prepared for all that, though, it is wonderful.
We made a creamy, parmesan risotto from the recipe on the box. How cool is that? It was the first time I had tried risotto, but I had no fear to overcome. Knowing it was pasta and cheese and smelling it on my plate alleviated any anxiety.
It was excellent. Rich and flavourful. I never wanted to stop eating it. Risotto is what Mac & Cheese dreams it could be. A mouthful of risotto is delight.
 VERDICT: This doesn't often happen on a first tasting, but risotto is favourite!

photo borrowed from http://www.gustosecco.com/assets/risotto_m634544.jpg

Sugar Cookies!

I was never afraid of eating sugar cookies. I could eat sugar cookies morning, noon and night. They have always been one of my favourite cookies and in honour of Christmas approaching (and my flight home being less than a day away) I am featuring them here.
I like sugar cookies without icing. I like sugar cookies with icing. I like sugar cookies with too much icing.
I remember making sugar cookie candy canes growing up with the red and white dough you would twist up and than shape. They were so good and are one of the reasons I have sugar cookies on my Christmas post. The soft sweet cookie taste is so addicting. I wish I had one right now.
Another reason is a Fiel tradition I was introduced to through my wife, Kristin. Sometime before Christmas (its hard to tell what day it will be in post-secondary age) all of Baba's grandchildren come together at her house and sit down at her table and decorate cookies like there is no tomorrow. It's a very accurate description if you know how many cookies a Baba can bake ;) Everyone has a different decorating style, but rested assured if it is possible to use to decorate a cookie Baba has it ready to go on her table. There are gingerbread men cookies (the only non-sugar cookie of the bunch), circular, wreath, tree, holly, heart, bell, and star shaped cookies. Oh, and with breaking cookies or creative reimagining of what a shape represents the options are literaly endless.
I have made a plaid-heart cookie (using icing and a lot of sprinkles), a nativity cookie, an alligator (out of  the legs of a gingerbread man), and a pirhana plant just to name a few. I once made a gingerbread me as well. Some people peter out and just start slapping icing onto cookies distractedly, but I could decorate all day long. I love it. I love it all the more because I get to decorate fabulous tasting treats.
VERDICT: Favourite!

photos borrowed from http://kidscooking.about.com/od/christmascookies/ig/Christmas-Cookies/Sugar-Cookies-Recipe.htm