Monday, August 24, 2009

Sliders... the new "it" food



A long, long, long, long time ago.... Costco brought in White Castle sliders to their freezer section. My ex-boyfriend was a frozen food junkie and always had yummy treats in his freezer. The first time I tried my first "frozen slider" I was a little grossed out. It was probably a little over cooked, as they can get when you nuke them until they are hot all the way through without moving them every so often in the circa 1980's microwave... I wonder if he still has that microwave?

Fast forward to 10 or 15 sliders later. There was something about the delicious White Castle, Cheeseburger Sliders that just really called to me. Do they add MSG to these things??? They are delicious! I was on a White Castle kick! The Beastie Boys sing about this chain restaurant. I had heard murmurs that it was an East Coast delicacy. Fast Food Chains are making their way across the nation... When, oh When would San Diego be blessed with the arrival of White Castle?

Then, someone had the bright idea to make a film about 2 stoners and their all night search for a White Castle Burger - Harold & Kumar go to White Castle. Seriously, my search had been about 5 years at this point. Loved the movie, and for those of you who know me... I am the farthest thing from a stoner, but oh am I a foodie! I wore my White Castle T-Shirt (that I picked up at some Hollywood Schmoozefest) with pride!!!

Finally, I found out there was a White Castle in Columbus, OH... and I just so happened to be going their for a business trip. Work was the purpose for the trip, but White Castle was my mission! It was late night. I had convinced my drunken co-workers that we HAD to get some White Castle. After waiting in line for what seemed like forever, I ordered and sat down to wait for my food. When it came out, I wrapped my lips around that first slider so quickly I don't even think I tasted the actual food. By the 2nd slider, I was getting the fresh yumminess that is White Castle.

Every now and again, I crave a White Castle Slider. Now, every trendy restaurant has some sort of slider on their appetizer menu. I've tried them all. Most of them are delicious, some are hack jobs! But nothing beats a White Castle Slider.

Hubby loves my enthusiasm and helped me research how to make a White Castle Slider at home. There are so many different recipes and some of which include beef baby food, bleck! Hubby did a great job and recreating the slider for me. And now, I use a variation of the White Castle recipe, that I no longer even Google. Here's my tips for making sliders at home, the White Castle style. They are not exactly like White Castle... I really don't think we could ever do the white paper hats justice!







SLIDERS RECIPE
Ingredients
Hamburger meat
Onions, chopped
Salt & Pepper seasonings
Buns
Condiments
Cheese, Pickles - optional


Directions
1. Heat pan at medium and add tiny bit of water to cover base of pan. Add onions with salt & pepper seasonings and start to cook. Place hamburger meat, in prepared patties, on top of the onions. Cover pan in with lid. Allow the burgers to cook 5 minutes or so before checking. Drain excess liquid if it becomes too much, but always keep a little in the pan.

2. Once burgers are cooked mostly through. Add a pickle and cheese (both optional) and place top of bun on top of burger while it is cooking in the pan. Cover again with lid for another 2 minutes or so. Toast the bottom of the bun and add condiments.

3. When burger is done cooking, slide the burger onto the spatula and slide it off to the bottom of the bun. Wa-la, you are done!


Just a note. You can do this with full size burgers- eat whole or cut into quarters, or prepare mini "slider" size burgers and use Hawaiian Bread Rolls or any other small roll as your bun. If you notice that there is an increasingly large amount of grease puddling around the edges of your burger, just wipe it away with a paper towel after you have removed from pan.

These burgers may not be the healthiest for you, but MmmmMmmm if you can find a yummier White Castle slider from your home!





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