It’s summer, a time of year that conjures up memories of watermelon, slip-and-slides, and back-yard barbecues. Honestly there’s nothing better on a warm summer evening than a juicy burger straight off the grill and a glass of iced tea.

Serves: 2-4
Season: summer

Gorgonzola Burger

Ingredients

1/3 CUP MAYONAISE
4 TBSP LOUISIANA HOT SAUCE

1 LB GROUND BEEF
1 1/2 TSP GARLIC POWDER

1 TSP ONION POWDER

1/2 TSP SMOKED PAPRIKA

1/4 TSP GROUND CUMIN

1/4 TSP DARK CHILI POWDER

1/2 TSP FRESHLY GROUND BLACK POWDER

1 TSP BROWN SUGAR

1 TSP SEA SALT

Seasoned Burger Patties

2-4 HONEY HAMBURGER BUNS
1 SLICED RED ONION

CRUMBLED GORGONZOLA CHEESE

Directions

In a bowl, combine mayonaise and Louisiana hot sauce. Set aside.
In another bowl, add spices to ground beef and use your hands to combine.
Form 2-4 burger patties. Cook the patties on a grill.
Assemble the burger on the buns: tangy burger sauce, crumbled gorgonzola and then a few slices of red onion.

Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients

1/2 CUP SOUR CREAM
2 TBSP COURSE GROUND OR DIJON MUSTARD

2 TSP WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE

2 TSP HONEY

Dipping Sauce

3 TBSP BROWN SUGAR
1/2 TSP SMOKED PAPRIKA

1/2 TSP CINNAMON

1/4 TSP NUTMEG

1/2 TSP SALT

1 GRAPEFRUIT FOR PEEL (optional)

Zesty Fry Seasoning

1-2 SWEET POTATOES
80 OZ (10 CUPS) VEGETABLE OIL

Directions

Peel and sliced the sweet potatoes. 3-4 inches long seems to be a good length. Set aside.
In a bowl combine sour cream, mustard, worcestershire sauce and honey. Mix well and store in fridge until ready to serve.
In a bowl combine the sugar and spices for the fry seasoning. Zest a bit of grapefruit peel over the bowl and mix well.
Heat up vegetable oil in deep fryer at 360-380 degrees F.
Deep fry the sweet potato fries a handful at a time for 5-8 minutes, or until they turn a deep golden brown.
Shake the zesty fry seasoning over the fries right after you remove them from the deep fryer.
Serve immediately… as with most potatoes, these fries are less than stellar when cold!

Notes

When I made these I formed half pound patties, but you can easily make 1/3 lb or 1/4 lb patties.
If you don’t have gorgonzola, feel free to substitute any other kind of crumbled blue cheese.
We found ourselves reaching for the tangy burger sauce every few bites… it might be messy, but don’t spare the sauce!