Monday, January 24, 2011

Snow Day 2011


It's only January and it's already been a crazy winter. Augusta almost never gets snow. In fact, winter in Augusta sometimes means 70 degree days. But not this winter. At about 10 p.m. on January 9, much to our delight and joy, the sky opened up and let out a beautiful shower of light, fluffy snow onto our little Southern town.

On Friday, we'd received a winter weather advisory for Monday morning and to stay by our phones in case work was cancelled. My head kept telling me to "get real, how often does it snow here" but my child-like heart kept telling me to hope for the best, and for lots of snow.

As the weekend progressed, the chance of snow went from a whopping 6 inches on Friday to a mear 1-2 inches on Sunday monring. Still, there was a chance. We went to Aiken for brunch and at the last second, we thought, "what if we're snowed in tomorrow, and we don't have any libations for Auburn's chance at the National Championship on Monday?" Oh the horror! So we stocked up on beer and wine thanks to Aiken's Sunday beer and wine sales, replaced our broken flashlights at Walmart in case of power outage, and made it to the grocery store for a few last minute dinner ingredients.

What better way to (hopefully) usher in a snow storm than with good old-fashioned American comfort food? Our last meal before the winter white weather was a big, fat juicy cheeseburger and French fries. This, however, was not your regular cheeseburger and fries, but a fancy gorganzola stuffed ground sirloin burger and authentically French fried pomme frites. Not at all healthy, but oh-so satisfying on a cold January night just waiting for the sight of the first flake drop.

Gourmet Burger and French Fries
Serves 2
1/2 lb. ground sirloin
4 oz. gorganzola cheese
Burger fixings

Make four flat patties with the sirloin. Take 2 oz. cheese and place on 2 patties. Take the other patties and cover the ones with the cheese. Seal the patties to ensure no cheese escapes while they are grilling. Grill until your desired burger temperature.

3 Russet baking potatoes
Peanut oil
Kosher salt

Wash and scrub the potatoes. Cut the potatoes into thin sticks by using a mandoline or sharp kitchen knife. Drop sticks into cold water to keep from browning and to release some starch. Meanwhile, pour about 3 inches of oil into a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Using a thermometer, heat oil to 325 degrees. Rinse potatoes until water is clean in the bowl. Dry potatoes really well with a kitchen towel. Working in 3 batches, fry potatoes for about 3-4 minutes until they are soft and have a little color. Remove with a slotted spoon or spider, and drain each batch on paper towels (I had a lot of sheet pans out and lined with paper towels). Heat the oil back up to 375. Still working in batches, drop sticks back into oil and fry for 3-5 minutes until they are a golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels. Immediately sprinkle with kosher salt. Place fries on a sheet pan and place in a 250 degree oven until all the fries are browned. Serve immediately with burgers and lots of red wine.

Sissie and me in the snow

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