Sweet Summer Days

Sweet summer days...I hope you never end... Oh who am I kidding, I am so ready for school to start! I feel a little terrible saying it, or even thinking it, but it's true. I love my kids dearly but I am very ready to have less of them at home, all day - every day!

I may wish to get rid of them, but I can still appreciate some nice summer goodness. Aidan and I attended a fun birthday pool party, (twins left languishing at home with big sis). But it was Holy Hot Batman... thank God I put sun screen on little man, just too bad I forgot about myself, my nose is feeling the forgetfulness. Summers in Virginia are all about the nasty humidness (not a real word is it?), the older I get though, the nastier it feels!

I had a hell of a time getting Aidan to leave after 3 hours of pool play, he was so stinkin' tired though he was about to drop and ended up passing out in the car on the way home. It was nice to have a little mommy conversation time while he played with school friends...he's missed many of them so much. I want to send out a big thanks to Christie (party mom), for sending home two extra goody bags for the twins, otherwise one of them might have committed murder over a plastic compass!

Side note: No potty training accidents yesterday from either of the twins, YAY I'm so proud of my big boys, but just a little sad that they're this old already :( where does the time go.

Now, on to the food... Sunday my parents came over for dinner, and in honor of this Sweet Summer Day, I made a classic summer day dish of Chipotle Mayonnaise burgers, Onion Rings and the Ultimate Lady's Mac and Cheese... it doesn't get much better than this...


Cheeseburger topped with Chipotle Mayo and Onion Straws

Burger of choice
Swiss cheese
bacon
Chipotle mayonnaise
onion rings
bun

optional: carmalized onion, lettuce, tomato

Chipotle Mayonnaise

¾ cup mayonnaise
¾ sour cream
2-4 canned Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
juice of ½ lime
Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and process to a puree. Taste it about half way through and add more peppers if needed, I ended up using 2 medium and 2 large peppers. Refrigerate at least an hour, but I recommend over night to really meld the flavors.

Serve on burger and as a dip for your onion rings.

Buttermilk-Cornmeal Onion Rings, Ina Garten

2 large sweet onions
2 cups buttermilk
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup yellow cornmeal
1 quart vegetable oil

1. Peel the onions, slice them super thin, and separate them into rings. Combine the buttermilk, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Add the onion rings, toss well, and allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes. (The onion rings can sit in the buttermilk for a few hours.) In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

2. When you're ready to fry the onion rings, preheat the oven to 200° F. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.

3. Heat the oil to 350° F in a large pot or Dutch oven. (A candy thermometer attached to the side of the pot will help you maintain the proper temperature.) Working in batches, lift some onions out of the buttermilk and dredge them in the flour mixture. Drop into the hot oil and fry for 2 minutes, until golden brown, turning them once with tongs. Don't crowd them! Place the finished onion rings on the baking sheet, sprinkle liberally with salt, and keep them warm in the oven while you fry the next batch. Continue frying the onion rings and placing them in the warm oven until all the onions are fried. They will remain crisp in the oven for up to 30 minutes. Serve on top of your burgers!

Beer Battered Onion Rings

2 large sweet onions
2 cups buttermilk
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 Tbs cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic, granulated
12 ounces beer, medium body
1 quart vegetable oil

1. Slice onions ½ - ¾ inch thick, separate into rings and soak in buttermilk for 1 hour.

2. Combine 1 cup of flour, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper, and garlic mix thoroughly. In another bowl combine beer and 1 cup of flour, mix thoroughly.

3. Remove onion rings from buttermilk, shake off excess, dredge in flour, shake off excess, then dip in beer batter. Drop some onion rings in oil and continue process, being sure not to crowd rings as they will stick together. When golden, remove and let drain on paper towels.

Serve with Chipotle Mayonnaise as a dipping sauce.

Ultimate Lady’s Mac and Cheese, Paula Deen

4 cups cooked elbow macaroni (about 2 cups dried)
1/3 each of the following cheeses (grated):
Swiss
Jack
Colby
Muenster
Gouda
½ cup sour cream
4 Tbs butter, softened
4 eggs
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Boil macaroni until al dente, about 10 minutes. While pasta is cooking, shred your cheeses.

2. Drain pasta and place in a large bowl, while pasta is still hot, add cheese. In a separate bowl, whisk together sour cream, butter, eggs, milk, salt and pepper, add to macaroni mixture and combine. Spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray and pour in macaroni.

3. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown. Top with additional cheese if desired. Print this post