This week we made taco smash burgers, or at least that’s what we are calling them because they involve smashing a burger with a tortilla, and then flipping it over and folding it in half like a taco. When I saw it on a cooking show that I was watching when very hungry – dangerous business – I knew it would take no effort to get Ben on board.
You know what Ben is less excited about? My singing Bruce Springsteen’s “Hungry Heart,” substituting the word “Monterey” for “Baltimore” so that I’m singing about Monterey Jack cheese. The lyrics then make no sense at all, but I can’t even think about Monterey Jack cheese without singing that song. I’m singing it right now. To be clear, Ben is not opposed to the cheese, just to his mother’s singing. Fair enough. I’d stop if I could.
Taco Smash Burgers
Olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 pound ground beef, seasoned with salt and pepper and rolled in a ball
4 slices of Got a wife and kids in Monterey, Jack
4 small flour tortillas
Shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes (optional)
- Heat a griddle and drizzle a little olive oil in four spread out spots. Distribute onions to those spots. Cook a minute or two.
- Place meatballs on top of onions.
- Cover each meatball with a slice of Monterey Jack. I went out for a ride and I never went back.
- Cover cheese with tortilla and smash as flat as you can with a heavy duty spatula. If you don’t break your heavy duty spatula, you’re not trying hard enough. Start lifting weights on your commute and try again next time.
- If you have a branding iron, brand the tortillas as they cook. Flip them so they are meat side up. They will be messy due to melty cheese, Like a river that don’t know where it’s flowin’. Using the edge of your broken spatula, divide each smash burger in half, not cutting all the way through, but enough to make it easier to fold. Garnish with lettuce and tomatoes and fold in half like a taco.
Is your heart hungry for another connections game? Open the link below, tap any four boxes that have a connection and hit submit. You have as many tries as you need to get four sets of four. The official NYT game only gives you four chances, but here you can take a wrong turn and you just keep going.
https://connections.swellgarfo.com/game/-NzcZJ_kGCB6SxOrPQza