Sunday, August 14, 2011

Artisan Hamburger buns

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And Once again, OH BOY!

I just LOVE THIS BREAD RECIPE!

You know, different breads for different reasons.  Yesterday's, Focaccia bread is the perfect seasoned bread to dip in infused oils.  But, it would be a terrible bread to make for sandwiches.  And especially sandwiches that were meant to hold a wet filling... Like a sloppy Joe (or tomorrow's post for a Chicken Salad Sandwich).

Which was exactly the bread I needed for a long road trip!


Not much fun this trip, my Mother in Law is having surgery on Monday.  It's an $800 airfare from god's country (Kansas City) to god's Country (South Dakota).  Or, it's a 10 hour drive.  So, I cranked up the Elvis CD's, packed a cooler with "road food" and off we went.

I did have a day for prep, so my road food was pretty good.

Starting with sandwiches.  I do my best to read over all the submissions to eRecipeCards.com.  Somedays I only have enough time to glance through them quickly (like for the next 4 days), MiL (Mother-in-Law) does not have an internet connection.  So I do my work at the Internet cafe in town, sipping coffee and staying just long enough to not get kicked out for staying too long.  So, if it looks like I am ignoring you all, it is just bad internet.  But I digress...

Somedays I get to read every word.  Like this WONDERFUL recipe from Heather, author of the GIRLICHEF blog.  Heather and I go way back as blogging buddies.  I first found Heather at least three years ago, when I only had a couple dozen posts under my belt.  Heather has been blogging herself for about 3 years.  She has over 650 posts under her belt and an amazing nearly 700 plus followers.  In fact, she is so close to 700, if you jump over to her blog and start following her, you could easily be her 700th milepost follower).

And, she is popular for a very good reason.  She has foodie chops coming out of her fingertips!  She did attend Culinary School.  But mostly the food she showcases on her blog is terrific family faire (Wife, mother, well known party host that she is).  But her family faire is just a bit ... well, more.  An occasional exotic foreign dish tossed in, but mostly dishes that you can imagine serving to a family any night of the week.  Just prepared a special way, made with an unexpected ingredient or just something to add variety.  Nothing pretentious or over the top show off cheffy food, but always approachable dishes that you would be proud to serve.  As a home cook, she is top notch indeed.

Photobucket
GRAB MY BUTTON


She also is my Queen of Badges.  On occasion, she will post a blog with information on how information that just makes you a better blogger.  Like her (to me) MUST READ post on how to create your own blog badge,  It is fast and easy (well, about the tenth time you do it, it gets fast and easy).  But Heather will "talk you through it", and if you spend 10-20 minutes, you too can have a professional looking blog badge.  Complete with a "grab my Button" header.  CLICK HERE to see heather's "How to make a Button/Badge HTML/Javascript" post.

It will also show you how to add badges (Like the eRecipeCards.com Badge to your blog.

Heather has a delicious appetite for making her own cheeses, an odd fixation on highlighting other bloggers "tortilla soup", Is working on an AMAZING series (along with several other talented bloggers) highlighting the contributions of 50 Women Game-Changers (in Food).

Heather, you were there for me when I had a crisis of confidence and questioned my blogging efforts.  You encouraged me to work through it by word and example.  I am and always will be chasing your progressively building skills and I am a better blogger because I read you.

But the day I made these buns, I was a better baker because i found the post you submitted to eRecipecards.com!


Don't you love the square look to these?  Don't you love the toppings (one of the few changes I made to Heather's recipe).

And if you were serving Sloppy Joe's (as Heather suggested), or a moist Chicken Salad Sandwich (that was going to sit in a cooler during a drive through  half of Kansas and a big part of Nebraska before it was going to be eaten), you would love the most unique part of this recipe...  The buns hold up!

The dough is FANTASTIC to work with, no forms or pans needed.  It forms out flat, allowing you to use a cutter to get round shapes (or if you carefully select a more solid shaped cookie cutters or hand formed, you could make fish shaped buns for tuna fish.... HMMMM... I am getting inspired again).  I just put mine out in a rectangular shape and sliced away with a large pizza cutter.

And, as I said, the bread was PERFECT for this.  No soggy buns, no difficult to handle sandwich.

JUST IDEAL.

Now, my time at the internet cafe is almost up.  I am going to direct you to Heather's original post, where she advises you to "CHECK OUT HER BUNS, Square, Gorgeous and Substantial".  Just click on the blue letters.  I followed her directions to the letter, except I changed the toppings just a bit.  I added a 4 equal part mix of
Coarse ground Sea Salt
Garlic Flakes
Black Sesame Seeds and White Sesame Seeds

Other than that simple change, Heathers' recipe and directions were flawless!

And Heather's photos are also ALWAYS top notch.  Lots to learn about food styling and photography from her.  That's her original photograph from her blog post of this recipe (also a link to her page... go ahead, click it!).


And everyone else, take a jump over to "GirliChef", take a look through her blog and tell her "Hi" from me.


And for a quick look at what she blogs, click on the logo link image to the right.  You will see all the eRecipeCards that Heather has submitted to eRecipeCards.com.  You can add her recipes to your eRecipeBox (once you have a free to set up account).

See how useful the site is and how easy it is to find new favorite bloggers!



These posts continue to highlight bloggers and recipes that I have found on  "eRecipeCards.com"...


11 comments:

  1. I LOVE Heather over at girlichef and these buns look amazing too.....I hope your trip goes well...
    Safe home.
    Karen

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  2. Well. First of all, I think my head just popped off and is floating way up above the power lines amongst the clouds ;) You always make me feel good about myself! Second, I LOVE the topping on your buns, they look absolutely amazing. Thanks for being my blogging buddy for so long...YOU are an inspiration to ME. Be safe on your trip and prayers sent out for your MIL. See you when you get back =) I think I'm off to start some dough for these buns again. I suddenly have the urge...

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  3. I L-O-V-E your way of baking the buns
    and I'm glad that I've already discovered (myself!) the wonderful blog of girlichef.
    It's one of my favorite :)

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  4. Fantatsic buns.I bake my bread and buns regularly and always happy to find new recepies:)

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  5. Oh my! What's better than home made bread/buns! These really look delicious and I'm craving for some now!

    Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving your sweet comment. I always appreciate it.

    Amy

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  6. OMG! These really do look great. Heather is the best, as are you. I hope all is well with your MIL and that Jackie has siblings to help with the extra work that comes when a parent is ill. Hugs and blessings to both of you. Blessings...Mary

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  7. Those little buns are awesome. I will have to test them myself very soon. :) Thanks for sharing this recipe

    regards,
    bakingglory.com

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  8. Girlichef is one of, wait...is my favorite blogger out there :) Always helpful and ready to assist.
    Thanks Heather,

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  9. Great post, Dave. Heather is one of my favorite bloggers too, and I think her recipes are the best. There's nothing better than homemade sandwich buns and they turn an ordinary sandwich into something very special.

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  10. Pin, Pin, Pin! What a great post and I cannot wait to try this recipe! Thank you so much for linking up at Savvy HomeMade Monday, Dave!

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  11. When I'm still on the process of reading this post, I've been tempted to directly jump to the recipe. The uniqueness of this recipe is off the box. I've never found anything like this anywhere on the web, not in http://www.gourmetrecipe.com (because the site of gourmet also features incomparable recipes).

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