One step forward, two steps back

Well. Last night was another housewife fail.

I thought I would get all fancy and make chicken pesto paninis for dinner last night. Everything was going really well, like no one was crying when PB walked in the door, and then I went to the cupboard to pull out my pesto and alas, I had none.

Huh?

Mind you, I had every single other ingredient. Fresh cheese, crusty bread, yummy baked chicken, tomatoes, avocado and sun-dried tomatoes. But no pesto. How is that even possible?

So then I stop panicking and figure it's ok, I'll just make them buffalo chicken paninis. Brilliant!

Wrong.

I have no buffalo sauce.

I mean. Talk about striking out. This is like living without milk and bread and eggs. How could I possibly not have these ingredients? They are versatile and delicious! Mostly delicious but you get my point.

Anyway, I managed to semi-salvage the sandwiches with mayo and the other ingredients but I wasn't really able to save my housewife pride. PB said it was "a fine dinner" and that it wasn't gross but he was totally lying.

Smart man.

I'm totally inconsistent when it comes to cooking. At least this wasn't as bad as the quesadilla des camarones incident...

The other night I made these sliders by PW. They were ok but only because I mostly don't like swiss cheese.  PB had seconds so that means they were actually good. I also thought it was kind of weird to add cream to my hamburger meat but if PW says jump, I say "how high?". They were pretty easy to whip up too.


Mushroom and Swiss Sliders with Spicy Fry Sauce

Recipe

Mushroom and Swiss Sliders with Spicy Fry Sauce

Prep Time:

 15 Minutes

 

Cook Time:

 30 Minutes

 

Difficulty:

 Easy

 

Servings:

 4

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup Mayonnaise
• 2 Tablespoons Ketchup
• 1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (less If You're Sensitive To Spice!)
• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 1/2 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
• 8 ounces, weight White Mushrooms, Chopped Finely
• 1/2 cup White Or Red Wine (optional)
• 4 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
• Kosher Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 2 pounds Ground Beef
• 4 Tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream
• 4 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 4 slices Swiss Cheese, Cut Into Four Squares
• 8 whole Dinner (or Slider) Rolls, Split

Preparation Instructions

In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, ketchup, and cayenne. Stir together until totally combined. Set aside. (This is the spicy fry sauce.)

Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onions and cook over medium heat for five minutes, stirring frequently. Add mushrooms and toss around, then add wine (if using), Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Cook for several minute over medium heat, or until all liquid has evaporated. Transfer mushroom mixture to a separate bowl, scraping all contents from the skillet.

Mix ground beef, heavy cream, Worcestershire, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Use your hands to thoroughly mix ingredients. Form 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the meat mixture into patties, making an indentation with your thumb to keep the patties from plumping too much when they cook. In the same skillet as the one used to cook the mushrooms, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium to medium-high heat. Add four patties at a time, indented side face up. Cook for 4 minutes, then flip. Spoon generous portion of mushroom mixture on each patty, then top with one or two squares of Swiss, depending on your preference. Place lid on skillet and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until burgers are cooked through and cheese is melted. Remove to a place and keep warm while you repeat with the rest of the meat mixture.

Toast halved buns under the oven broiler. Spread generously with spicy fry sauce. Place patties between buns and serve immediately with fried onion strings.