Recipes for St. Patrick's Weekend

Tomorrow and Sunday will be one of my favorite 48 Hour gaps of the Year, as we kick off Saint Patrick's Day Weekend. Here in Saint Paul, our parade is going down on Saturday, despite the Sunday date for the actual holiday. I am hosting an annual pre-parade party at my place and these are the items I am serving:

Cutter Burgers:

This is a recipe that came about from several different burger cooking methods. I love burger joints like  SmashBurger and Steak & Shake, and could never really figure out their "Smash" Techniques exactly. I also loved White Castle growing up and the concept of the "Slider" burgers. So combining the two ideas, I came up with the "Cutter" burgers (a double entendre/play on words, if you will, because in Baseball, the opposite pitch of a Slider is a Cutter, and because a cookie cutter is used as well.)

Utensils:

Large Cookie Sheet (13 x 18 is what I have)

Rolling Pin (Wooden is fine, Granite if you're a bad-ass)

Skillet Pan (Griddle is okay, Grill pan not so much for this one)

Wax Paper

Spatula WITHOUT SLOTS! (Metal is best, but Vinyl will do)

Cookie Cutter (OR A Double Shot Glass)

(Side Story: Baking isn't my deal. So when I read about using a cookie cutter, I thought "Oh, I can go to a store and buy one of those." I went to several stores (Wal-Mart, Target, Rainbow Grocery, Walgreens) and NONE of them had a fuckin cookie cutter. Wal-Mart had a box of 101 Cookie Cutters, with "Fun Shapes". Needless to say I didn't buy 101 cookie cutters. So if you aren't fortunate enough to make real cookies in kid-friendly shapes, use a double shot glass. I assume that you own a set since you read this blog.)

Ingredients

1 Large Package Ground Beef (80/20 works fine)

1/2 Stick of Unsalted Butter

1/2 Cup Burger Seasoning (I use Black Pepper, Cayenne Pepper, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Cumin, Oregano, and a dash of Sea Salt. Mixed into a shaker. You can buy Weber Grill seasoning too and it will be equally bad-ass)

1: Place a piece of Wax Paper onto Cookie Sheet and season all over with Burger seasoning.

2. Place 1/2 package of Ground Beef onto sheet, Top with another piece of wax paper.

3. Take rolling pin and flatten Beef out until streched and covering majority of the sheet

4. Remove top piece of paper and season top side of Beef with burger seasoning.

5. Re-Cover beef and Place in refrigerator for 10 minutes

6. Heat Skillet pan over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes and melt 1/4 piece of butter (the pan needs to be really fucking hot)

7. Once skillet is hot, remove Beef from fridge, Discard top layer of wax paper.

8. Take Cookie Cutter/Double Shot glass and press out circles. Lift with spatula and place in skillet

9. After 90 Seconds, Flip Burger and PRESS HARD down into the skillet. Be careful of splashback from the butter and meat juices. Press for about 20-30 Seconds then leave on for another 90 Seconds, before Flipping and Pressing again. It should take between 2 to 3 minutes to cook well done

10. After batch is done, Repeat steps 1-5 with Second 1/2 of Beef.

11. Serve with toppings and Enjoy. 

St. Patrick's Punch

I just tried this out today, People love when I make my Super Punch for Super Bowl, so I decided to come up with a Punch for St. Pat's:

3 Bottles of 100-Proof Vodka (1 Liter)

2 Bottles of UV Blue Vodka (1 Liter)

2 Bottles of Minute Maid Lemonade (2 Liters)

2 Bottles of Sprite (2-Liters)

1 Bottle of Malibu Melon Liquor (750 ML)

1 Large Can/6 Small Cans of Pineapple Juice

Green Food Coloring

Combine in a Cooler IN THIS EXACT ORDER!!!

1. 100 Proof Vodka
2. Malibu Melon
3. Sprite 
4. Lemonade & UV Blue AT THE SAME TIME
5. Dash of Food Coloring
6. 100 Proof Vodka #2
7. Pineapple Juice
8. Sprire #2 (Half-Bottle)
9. UV Blue #2
10. Lemonade #2
11. 100 Proof Vodka #3
12. Rest of Sprite #2
13. Another Dash of Food Coloring (if desired)

When Finished, It should be as Green as the Chicago River!