Ben's Day Wednesday

Ben Brings Best Burger for “B” Challenge! (And your vote is needed for a new challenge!)

Posted on by Liz

In our opinion, Ben crushed the “B” challenge, where every ingredient had to start with B. We usually don’t make burgers at home because it is Ben’s go-to meal when we get carry out on Fridays, but when our readers requested a “B”-filled meal, Ben answered the call with a loaded beef burger. In principle, our meal was not complicated. In reality, it required the use of 3 sheet pans, 2 frying pans, and a baking dish. Ben said he would top the burger with pickles, but when Phil reminded him that it had to start with “B”, Ben said, “No, I meant bickles.” Nice try, Ben. Luckily, we remembered that Santa put a jar of spicy, pickled green beans in Ben’s stocking – a nice solution to bring the zing to the burger. Yes, Santa brings pickled, jarred condiments to our house on Christmas morning. Any questions?

Ben’s Burger:

Beef

Butter-toasted Brioche Buns

Brie

Bacon

Butterhead Lettuce

BBQ Sauce

Bell Peppers (roasted)

Beans (spicy pickled)

Sides:

Broccoli (roasted)

BBQ potato chips

Dessert:

Blueberry Brown Betty with Brown Butter Almond Brittle Ice Cream

This was a meal that was way more than the sum of its parts. 
Patties in waiting.
Ben photo bombs the burger pic!

For the dessert, we had to get creative, and do some things we wouldn’t normally do, in order to maintain the integrity of the B challenge. Even so, we thought the results were Blueberrylicious! Here’s what we did:

Blueberry Brown Betty

6 cups frozen blueberries

3/4 cup brown sugar, divided

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (white lemon balsamic)

2 brioche buns, torn into bite-sized pieces

1 stick butter (unsalted), cut into pieces

Brown Butter Almond Butter ice cream (for serving)

  1. Turn oven to 350º and grease baking dish. Put berries into dish, sprinkle with 1/2 cup brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. Stir a bit to distribute sugar and vinegar evenly. Place in oven (while it is still preheating) so the frozen berries get a head start while you prepare the topping.
  2. In a food processor, pulse the torn bun pieces, butter pieces, and 1/4 cup brown sugar until the bread becomes large crumbs, and all ingredients are well distributed, but not obliterated.
  3. Remove baking dish from oven, distribute crumb mixture evenly over berries, and bake until berries are bubbly and breadcrumbs are golden, about 45 minutes.
  4. Serve with brown butter almond brittle ice cream.
We used blueberries we picked in the summer!
Chef Ben stirs the berries with brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. Normally, we’d use lemon juice, but because of the B challenge, we used white lemon balsamic vinegar. It worked!
The bread, butter, and brown sugar topping could not have been easier.
No such thing as a bad Brown Betty!
I had to take out a loan for the ice cream. Don’t get me wrong – it was a delightful accompaniment – but it’s a good thing it only comes in tiny containers, because a gallon would have cost $64!
This. Was. So. Good. Phil took a bite and narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “Is there a reason this is so delicious?” Yes, Phil. It’s called butter. Embrace it. It starts with B.
 I would like to say this is an anomaly. I can’t.

Fresh off our (self-proclaimed) win from our first March challenge, we are eager to announce our next challenge for you to vote on. We’ve heard that time is money, so today we offer you a choice. Would you like us to save time or save money? Here are your choices to vote on, readers:

Frugal Gourmet – A complete meal for our family of three costing less than $10

Time Saver – A meal that can be completed in less than 30 minutes

Again, leave your comment on Facebook or the blog before Friday, choosing Frugal Gourmet or Time Saver, and we’ll do the rest.

8 thoughts on “Ben Brings Best Burger for “B” Challenge! (And your vote is needed for a new challenge!)”

    1. Judging from the way we descended on the burgers like a pack of wild dogs, we can confirm that they were great!

  2. My favorite picture is the last one. It makes an aunt proud. I vote for the Frugal Gourmet challenge.

    1. That’s our boy! We’ll mark you down for Frugal Gourmet. Ben received your T-shirt , and wears it at every possible opportunity! Thank you!

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