Beef on the road

The Mr. had a conference to attend in San Antonio this week (where he won an award — sweet!) and I decided to take advantage of this whole being-your-own-boss thing and tag along. After all, it’s nice to get a little change of scenery even if you are working all day from the hotel room. I mean, who else wishes someone would make your bed and clean your tub every time you go to lunch?

We did some pretty good eating en route and once we got there. After all, we have to take advantage when we’re some place with more than one restaurant to choose from!

Here are a few of the highlights…

On the (long) way down there, we stopped along the way at a restaurant I’ve been hearing about since high school. Seriously. And you know what? The Beehive Saloon in Albany, Texas, was worth the wait. We got chicken fried steaks on the lunch, which came with some of the best seasoned fries ever, some good dark bread and a trip to the salad bar. I forgot to take a picture, but you can check it out here.  

That night, we went to Hooters. I know, I know. It sounds weird. But Hooters became a tradition for the Mr. and I when we were dating, and we’ve since started a goal to eat at one in every state. We’re at 8 states right now — not bad considering we’ve only known each other 3 years and been married 2. Oh, and fellow beef advocates, you’ll be interested to know I’ve never had chicken there. Who needs to, with such an awesome burger and curly fries?

Wednesday at lunch, I headed to Texas Land and Cattle for one of my favorite dishes I rarely get to have since I don’t live anywhere near one anymore. It’s their smoked sirloin and it’s super peppery and very delicious.

That night, we drove to the south side of town to meet one of the Mr.’s good friends who lives about an hour and a half south of the city for dinner at a LongHorn Steakhouse. I was happy to see flat iron on the menu. Even though it was a little overcooked, it was still quite good.

And even better? The dessert. This Chocolate Stampede was one of the best desserts I have had in a while. And it was so big that 3 of us ate less than half of it!

It was great to eat some good beef on the road, but it’s also great to be home. You know, aside from the lack of housekeeping service…

The Mr.’s favorite fried egg cheeseburger

The “add a fried egg” option seems to be popping up on burger menus all over these days, and it’s something the Mr. almost always takes advantage of when available. So, tonight, I decided to make him a fried egg burger here at home and share it with you.

Here’s what you’ll need to make his favorite version, which features bacon, lots of cheese and an egg over medium:

½ pound 85/15 ground beef, seasoned generously with salt and pepper and formed into a patty

1 Sara Lee Hearty and Delicious sesame seed bun

1 slice American cheese

1 slice Swiss cheese

1 slice Cheddar cheese

2 slices thick-sliced bacon

1 egg

3 tablespoons butter

Miracle whip

Directions:

Preheat griddle to 350 degrees.

Add patty. Cook until seared on one side, about 5 minutes. Flip.

Add cheese slices.

Cook bacon.

Cook hamburger to 160 degrees for medium doneness, which will take about 8- to 10- more minutes after the flip for a thick, half-pound patty.

Let rest for 3- to 5- minutes.

Butter the bun with 1 tablespoon of butter and toast on griddle.

Heat a small skillet with 2 tablespoons of butter over low heat. Swirl the butter around so the pan is completely coated.

Crack egg and open over the pan. Increase heat to medium.

Allow the egg whites to cook until solid around the egg. Flip and cook another 60 seconds or so. Remove from heat.

Add Miracle Whip to inside of bun.

Add patty, then slide egg over the top. Place bacon slices on top and close with top half of bun.

The worst of Pinterest: Part 1

A couple of weeks ago, I brought you The best of Pinterest: Part 1. It was filled with Oreos and other goodness and hopefully gave you a few yummy or crafty ideas. But I can't forget the epic fails, so that's what this post is about. My only regret is that I never photographed the disasters. I guess you'll just have to take my word and not attempt these at home.

The pin:

The claim: Use spray paint and a stencil to make a monogram outdoor mat. 

The result: Terrible. I'm pretty handy with a can of spray paint, so maybe I bought the wrong kind of mat (though it looked just like this one to me). But, it ran and just generally looked weird. Also, for the price of a plain mat, stencil and spray paint, you can pretty much buy any "finished" mat you'd like.

The pin:

The claim: Refreshing, easy-to-make, 105-calorie watermelon margaritas.

The result: Technically, they didn't lie. They are easy to prepare and only contain 105 calories. What they don't tell you is the serving size is quite small (thank of it more as a large shot than a drink) and they taste terrible. I was really disappointed, too, because On The Border's watermelon margs are one of my favorite things on the planet.

The last pin I'll discuss today was so bad I immediately removed it from my board, in hopes none of my followers would make the same mistake I did. Now, I can't find it anywhere. (Maybe everyone else did the same thing after making it.) It was for Texas Roadhouse cinnamon honey butter. The pic featured a frame photo of a couple next to a jar of the stuff. Well, you might think you can't mess anything up that contains honey, cinnamon and butter, but with the random amounts given in this pin, you could. I'll go back to just making my own by winging it, or else buying the Land o Lakes stuff.

Beef and apples: Perfect together for fall

(Note: this post was almost titled “How about them apples?” but then I remembered it wasn’t 1997. I’m a little ahead of Uncle Si on my catchphrase expiration knowledge. Speaking of which, who else is super excited about the return of Duck Dynasty tonight? But, I digress…)

One of the perks of my jobs is getting cool emails in my inbox like the one I received this morning from the Cattlemen’s Beef Board. Amidst news on the South Korean market and producers profiles was a feature called Ingredient of the Month: Apples, which I knew immediately I needed to share with you all.

So, if you love apples and want to whip up some fallish beef dishes, why not try one of these?

Beef Brisket With Savory Sautéed Apples

Autumn Beef and Cider Stew

Pot Roast with Cider-Maple Gravy and Mashed Butternut Squash