The Chefs Black Book

The Burger Wars are becoming the biggest food
fight since that cafeteria scene from the movie
"Animal House". The two burger giants, McDonald's
and Burger King, have each been cloning the other's
top products in the bloody battle for the big burger buck.
Burger King stepped up first with the Big King -
Burger King's version of the McDonald's Big Mac.
Yes, it had two all beef patties, special sauce,
lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun;
although everything was arranged a bit differently,
and there's no middle bun in there. Then McDonald's
rolled out the Big N' Tasty, which bore a striking
resemblance to Burger King's Whopper, with fresh lettuce,
tomato, and onion on top of a huge beef patty.
Who's winning this fight by leveraging the popularity
of the other company's product? Nobody, really.
McDonald's chose to alter its Big N' Tasty recipe
by making it smaller n' cheaper, then changed the name
to Big Xtra!, while Burger King bailed out on the Big King
altogether. But this food fight is far from over.
More recently Burger King tweaked its french fry formula
in an unsuccessful attempt to steal away fans from McDonald's
winning fried spuds recipe. And McDonald's has added more
breakfast sandwiches to compete with Burger King's wider
wake-up selection. So the war continues. And the battlefield
is splattered with ketchup.

Spread
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons French dressing
2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
dash salt
dash pepper
4 sesame seed hamburger buns
1 1/3 cups chopped lettuce
8 slices American cheese
1 to 2 slices white onion, separated
8 dill pickle slices

1. Prepare the spread by combining the ingredients in a small
bowl. Set this aside until you are ready to use it.
2. Preheat your barbecue or indoor grill to high heat.
3. Divide the ground beef into 8 even portions (3 ounces each).
Roll each portion into a ball, then press each ball flat to
form a patty about the same diameter as the bun.
4. Grill the beef patties for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until
done. Lightly salt and pepper each side of the patties.
5. As the meat cooks, brown the faces of the buns in a hot skillet,
toaster oven, or face down on the grill. Watch the buns closely so
that they do not burn.
6. Build each burger by first spreading a tablespoon of the spread
on the face of the top bun. Arrange about 1/3 cup of lettuce evenly
over the spread.
7. On the bottom bun stack a patty, then a slice of American cheese,
another patty, and another slice of cheese.
8. On the top slice of cheese arrange 2-3 separated onion slices
(rings), then 2 pickle slices.
9. Turn the top part of the burger over onto the bottom and serve.
You may also want to zap the sandwiches in the microwave,
individually, for 15 to 20 seconds each. Serves 4.

BK Broiler

This grilled chicken sandwich was introduced by
America's number-two burger chain in 1990, and
soon after the launch the BK Broiler was selling
at a rate of over a million a day. Not good news
for chickens.
This one's easy to duplicate at home. To clone
the shape of the chicken served at the burger giant,
you'll simply slice the chicken breasts in half,
and pound each piece flat with a mallet. Pounding
things is fun. Let the chicken marinate and then
fire up the grill. The recipe makes four sandwiches
and can be easily doubled if necessary for a king-size
munch fest.

Marinade
3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons ketchup
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon oregano
dash onion powder
dash parsley
2 chicken breast fillets
4 sesame seed hamburger buns
1 1/3 cups chopped lettuce
1/4 cup mayonnaise
8 tomato slices

1. Make the marinade by combining the ingredients in a medium
bowl.
2. Prepare the chicken by cutting each breast in half. Fold a
piece of plastic wrap around each piece of chicken and pound
the meat with a tenderizing mallet until it is about 1/4 - inch
thick and about the same diameter as the hamburger buns. Place
the chicken into the marinade, cover it, and chill for at least
four hours. Overnight is even better.
3. Preheat your barbecue or indoor grill to high heat. Grill the
chicken for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until done.
4. Toast the faces of the hamburger buns in a pan or griddle, in
a toaster oven, or facedown on the grill. Watch the buns closely
to be certain that the faces turn only light brown and do not burn.
5. Build each sandwich from the top down by first spreading about
a tablespoon of the mayonnaise on the toasted face of a top bun.
6. Spread about 1/3 cup of chopped lettuce over the mayonnaise.
7. Arrange two tomato slices on the lettuce.
8. Place a chicken breast on the toasted face of the bottom bun.
9. Flip the top part of the sandwich over onto the bottom and scarf
out. Serves 4.

Tidbits
Liquid smoke is a flavoring found near the barbecue sauces and
marinades. Use hickory-flavored liquid smoke if you have a choice.

Burger King® Breakfast Sandwiches

You can have your eggs and sausage and biscuits
sitting next to each other on the plate like
all the traditional folks out there, or you
can get vertical with this top secret breakfast-in-sandwich
from the world's number two fast food chain.
And if you prefer a croissant to a biscuit,
I've got that version for you, too (along with
the special way to get bigger, circular croissants).
A great way to make the eggs for these breakfast
sandwiches is to pour the beaten egg into a well-greased
mold made from an empty pineapple can. Just cut both
ends off an 8-ounce pineapple can - you know, the short
cans that have crushed or sliced pineapple inside.
Oh, and take the pineapple out. Then, before you know it,
you'll be making perfectly round eggs like the fast food pros.

Biscuit Sandwich

1 small can (5 biscuits) Pillsbury Grands Buttermilk Biscuits
melted butter
Non-stick cooking spray
5 eggs
salt
ground black pepper
10 ounces ground breakfast sausage (such as Jimmy Dean) or 10
slices of bacon
5 slices American cheese

1. Prepare biscuits following instructions on the can
(bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes). When you remove the
biscuits from the oven brush the top of each with melted butter.
2. Spray a skillet over medium heat with non-stick cooking spray.
Open both ends of a clean, small, sliced pineapple can. Spray the
inside of the empty can with the non-stick spray, and then place
the can in the pan to heat up. Use more than one can if you'd like
to speed up the cooking process.
3. Beat an egg, then pour it into the empty can mold, add a bit
of salt and pepper, and cover with a saucepan lid. Cook for a
couple minutes, then scrape a knife around the edge of the egg
to release it. Remove the can, then turn the egg over and cook
it for another minute or two. Repeat with the remaining eggs.
4. If using sausage, form 2-ounce portions of sausage into patties
with the same diameter as the biscuits. Cook the sausage in another
hot skillet over medium heat until brown. If using bacon, cook the
bacon and drain on paper towels.
5. Slice a biscuit in half through the middle. Build each sandwich
by first stacking egg on the bottom half of the biscuit.
Next arrange sausage (or 2 slices of bacon) on the egg,
then a slice of American cheese. Top off each sandwich with
the top biscuit half, then zap it in the microwave for 15 to 20
seconds to help melt the cheese. Repeat with the remaining
ingredients. Makes 5 sandwiches.

Croissan'wich®

1 8-ounce can Pillsbury Original Crescent Rolls
4 eggs
salt
ground black pepper
8 ounces ground breakfast sausage (such as Jimmy Dean) or 8
slices of bacon
4 slices American cheese

1. Prepare the rolls by first unrolling the dough out of the can.
Separate the dough into four sections, each made up of two triangles.
Detach the triangles by tearing along the diagonal perforation,
then reattach the dough along the outside parallel edges,
pinching the dough together along the middle. This will make one
bigger triangle. Loosely roll the dough, from the wide end,
all the way up. Now, bring the ends around so that they overlap
and the roll is in the shape of a circle. Press the ends together
and place the roll onto a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining
dough, then bake following the directions on the package
(bake at 375 degrees for 11 to13 minutes).
2. When the rolls are done baking build the sandwich using the
above steps 2 through 5 in the recipe for the biscuit sandwich clone.
Makes 4 sandwiches.