Wizop Marilyn L. Alm Bacon & Cheese Burgers & Refrigerator Dills

[Guest guest]

This dinner requires having your favorite condiments, such as mayo,

mustard, and catsup on hand, and, if you want pickles, to dill them in

advance. I found I tolerated the dilled cucumbers earlier than other raw

vegetables, although this may not be the case for everyone. This is our

standard Saturday night dinner. It's practically sacrilege to suggest

anything else except maybe steaks for Saturday night. "If it's Saturday,

dinner must be burgers!"Bacon & Cheese Burgers1 pound ground bison or ground round4 slices of Gene's crispy bacon*sliced or grated cheddarsalt, pepperhomemade mustard, mayo, and/or catsuphomemade dill picklesgreen leaf lettuceRoma tomatoescarrot shreds**Divide ground meat into two half-pound burgers and pat into a round

shape. Sprinkle lightly with black pepper. Set aside.Preheat electric grill or grill pan on the stove.While the grill is heating, remove stems from lettuce. If necessary,

peel and seed tomatoes, then slice or chunk onto the lettuce. Decorate

with carrot shreds. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Have dressing handy

for each person use the amount they like. (We used Hurricane Dressing)When the grill is hot, place burgers on the grill and cook, 3-6 minutes

on a side, or until it is done to your liking. Slide burgers onto serving

plates. Arrange bacon strips across burgers. Sprinkle with grated

cheese, or place thin slices on the hot burgers. If desired, place under

hot broiler for a moment to melt the cheese. Serve with condiments

and pickles, with salad on the side.*Gene's Crispy Bacon (an LSCDL Recipe) is bacon prepared the way

my mother-in-law, Genevieve Alm made it. Place cake cooking racks

over jelly roll pans (or larger pans). Lay strips of bacon out, about 6

slices to a rack, depending on the size of the slices. Do not over lap.

Preheat oven to 300F, and place the pans in. Cook bacon for about

one hour, or until as crispy as you like it. Fat drips down into the pan

and can be disposed of, or use for other recipes. This recipe originated

with bacon and eggs for a large family right after Mass on Sunday --

Gene would prepare the pans, put them into oven to bake just as they

were leaving for Church, and then when they came back, all she had

to do was prepare the eggs. This is a great way to cook lots of crispy

bacon for a large family without having to stand over a hot frying pan

for hours. I often prepare a whole pound this way, then lay the strips

on paper towels and slide them into a ziplock bag in the freezer. If I

need bacon crumbles for a salad or other topping, or strips, I just

reach in, pull out what i need, and rewarm it in the toaster oven at

about 300F.)**When peeling carrots for some other dish, run the peeler over each

carrot a couple of extra times. Place the shreds in a suitable container

and refrigerate. You can also do this to have just a few bits of broccoli

or cauliflower florets or any number of veggies to add color and

texture to a salad.***If you cannot tolerate raw vegetables for a salad, you can save bits

and pieces of different tolerated vegetables for a few days, then steam

them as a tasty medley. It's a great way to use up the half a carrot, half

cup of broccoli, third of a cup of cauliflower, or whatever else you may

have left from various other recipes.Refrigerator Dills (and LSCDL Recipe)10-14 whole pickling cucumbers, approximately two inches long, or one

large cucumber, cut in spears, if smaller pickling cucumbers are not

available 3 sprigs dill -or- 2 teaspoons dried dill weed2 cloves garlic, pressed½ cup fresh lemon juice or white vinegarCold waterIf using dried dill weed, blend it with the lemon juice in a blender.

Otherwise, pack a sterilized jar with the cucumbers, dill and garlic,

alternating layers, leaving ¼ inch head space. Pour lemon juice over cucumbers and fill jar with cold water. Seal

and refrigerate for about two weeks. These will keep at least six weeks after they are dilled.Variation: use thinly sliced cucumbers, and follow the directions for

the honey dills.Wizop Marilyn L. Alm LouisianaSCDLagniappe@...