Must Have Mini Burgers

Recipe: Pan-Fried Baby Bacon Cheeseburgers 

Source: The Picky Palate Cookbook

(Note: This recipe is not listed online however, a similar baby bacon cheeseburger recipe is found here:)

http://picky-palate.com/2011/05/23/bacon-and-ranch-cajun-baby-cheeseburgers/

Time: 25 minutes

Ease: 2

Taste: 7

Leftover Value: 6

Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Keep it in the Strainer!

Last year, Hubby bought The Picky Palate Cookbook as a last-day-of-school gift for me.  

Isn't he so cute?  Although just yesterday we realized that this year he didn't buy me a last-day-of-school gift.  What was he thinking?

Oh yeah, that's right.  He was thinking we had a wedding to drive to twelve hours away in Indiana and then a trip to Las Vegas.  I guess I'll forgive him.

I keep a running wishlist on www.Amazon.com of any cookbooks that I find interesting either from other bloggers, Food Network stars/shows, or ones I find while browsing at Barnes and Noble.  Picky Palate was recommended by The Pioneer Woman, and if you've read this blog for some time now, you know how much I adore her and her amazing recipes.

While I don't dislike this cookbook, I'm finding it isn't exactly related to the type of cooking I like to do.  Let's face it, it is titled "PICKY" Palate.  I've tried to be anything but that with the meals I have prepared for the last five or so years.

I've found this to be a good book to use when I'm making dinner with my brother, Jonathan.  Though he doesn't exactly have a picky palate, the meals are usually simple enough that he actually enjoys cooking with me and/or watching me cook.  

The burgers are pretty basic with their makeup consisting of: beef, onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and seasonings.  The above recipe link is a little more exciting with zesty and intriguing ingredients like Ranch dressing, paprika, and hot sauce.

Aren't they so cute?!

Nope, never thought I would call a hamburger cute.  I've called donuts cute before, but never burgers.

I like it.

Ordinarily I am not a fan of onion in my burger.  I find it is always too crunchy and that I could easily achieve an onion flavor by simply adding onion powder.  With these burgers, I barely knew the onion was there.  I'm going to chalk that up to their petite size.

Oh my goodness, I love these.  I know it has more than likely 80 percent to do with the fact that they are mini and not the fact that they actually taste good, but I don't care.

Try the above recipe link, The Picky Palate Cookbook, or even turning your own favorite hamburger recipe into a mini one today.  You'll thank me later for the joy and excitement that a mini burger brought into your life.

By the way...you're welcome.

Mini Pumpkin Bundt Cakes

Recipe: Moist Pumpkin Bundt Cake--Mini Style!

Source: Taste of Home

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Moist-Pumpkin-Bundt-Cake

Time: Approximately 1 hour, so long as you don't make your own pumpkin puree first.

Ease: 3

Taste: 7

Leftover Value: 10

Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Keep it in the Strainer!

By now, you know of my pumpkin puree mission and also of my pumpkin puree failure.  In a flash, here's what it looks like:

Failure photo removed for your safety.

Whew, thank goodness that's over with.  

Before the pumpkin puree failure of two days ago, I made pumpkin puree with these bad boys in mind:

And of course, there is a reason behind them as well.  I decided to make all my Thanksgiving desserts this year mini.  So I thought, 'What on earth is cuter than mini bundt cakes?"

The answer?

Nothing.  Except maybe mini cheese cakes.  Or mini trifles.  Or mini cinnamon rolls.

But more on that later.

This was the first recipe I found when looking for pumpkin bundt cake recipes.  Then I convinced myself that there had to be a better one out there somewhere.  After a very unfortunate amount of wasted time searching, I decided my first instincts had been best.

If you make this bundt cake in a regular bundt cake pan, it will take about an hour to bake.  However, in the mini bundt pan, it takes about 15 minutes per batch.

And please, whatever you do, don't forget to grease the pan on the last batch.  It isn't a pretty situation to deal with.

What I especially loved about these cakes is that they are just as good the next day as they were fresh.  In fact, I'm planning to make them again today, and then freeze them and see how they fare on Thanksgiving.

Yes, I know, I probably do not need to freeze them for the six days until Thanksgiving but I have serious leftover issues.

Please don't judge me.

The only negative, and the reason I gave them a 7 for taste, is that I felt there was something missing.  The missing elements is what I'm titling, 'The Streusel Effect'.  A streusel typically involves some kind of delightfully crumbly, buttery topping.  However, they also tend to have a cinnamon, sugar, and butter mixture hidden somewhere.

Next time I make these pumpkin bundts, my plan is to make the cinnamon-sugar-butter mixture and toss it in the middle of the batter.

I'm beside myself with excitement to see how it turns out.