#shaescafe

MARIE & TYSON 4EVER - AN ENGAGEMENT DINNER   Marie is vegetarian and likes “healthy food and chocolate” while Tyson specifically asked for “diner food but NOT beef bourguignon.” Though, they both named FRIES as a major interest.

-Twice fried french fries fried in peanut oil   I made one bowl of salt&pepper fries and another of ‘COOTER RUB’ which is an incredible name, #1 and actually the reason I originally bought it because I wanted to see that every time I opened my cabinet. I found it at a flea market in Florida next to the crocodile jerky so I knew it was a good thing. I was right. Like a creole old bay mixed with straight up sugar. 

-The fast food Cheeseburger I am proud of this cheeseburger. I have been working on it for a while and I feel like it’s really hit its fat, fat, fat stride.  It’s all the things you love about a shit little diner burger, a fat fuckin’ fast food burger, and your home grill burger. Worchestire, yellow mustard, caper juice. Grilled. Topped with a slice of rubbery nasty wonderful Velveeta. Martin Rolls (I lightly grill these too). Mandolin sliced red onions. Shrettuce. And a burger sauce that’s a ketchup/mayo/mustard/caper situation. And I mean a lot of that - it keeps everybody in their special, important place. 

-The VEGGIE fast food Cheeseburger  Weirdly not so bad and actually kind of good. I’ve never made a veggie burger so, I read like 5 recipes and made a Frankenstein because I am impatient and can’t follow directions. I toasted pecans. Grilled yellow onion. Black beans. Then I put them in the food processor to make a paste. Then I made a red quinoa/oatmeal mix, added the paste and an egg. Then I seasoned it like I did for my little fast food burger so, Marie wouldn’t feel left out. All dressed up like it’s superior beefy pal. 

-Fennel Grapefruit Salad  This thing needed some work. I like the idea of it, but I was super disappointed the way it turned out. I took a general idea from Alison’s Roman Dining In but from the time I read the recipe to the time I assembled....this, I clearly had some ‘ideas.’ Underneath everything was an herbed yogurt but I bought the wrong fucking kind so it was like a soupy disaster. Then the fennel should have been mandolin thin but, I didn’t do that. The acid all needed more fat to cut it  and I needed the pistachios I forgot to buy.  This doesn’t deserve a recipe share - until next time.