The Burger Stand

A few weeks ago, I finally had a chance to eat at The Burger Stand in Lawrence, Kansas! My friend Andrea has been raving about them for a long time, so I figured it was time to stop by and grab one of their burgers.

Before I get to the food (which was great by the way!), I have to talk about their awesome building! They sit right on Mass Street, the main street in the college town of Lawrence. The whole street is lined with shops, restaurants, bars and businesses…you could easily spend all day there and not make it everywhere you want to go.

Inside and out, The Burger Stand is a really cool building. The atmosphere is also laid-back, which I like…you order at a counter, find a table and grab your food from the kitchen window when it’s ready.

Here’s what I ordered…The Smoke Burger, topped with applewood smoked bacon, smoked gouda cheese and chipotle-cocoa ketchup, and Cajun Fries. (They also had bacon-wrapped frog legs on the menu, but I’m not that adventurous.) Everything was absolutely delicious…. and considering I’m snowed in here in Kansas City today, I would give almost anything to be able to have this for lunch today!

The Burger Stand at the Casbah
803 Massachusetts St  Lawrence, KS 66044

Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins with Peach Butter

Last week, I decided to try my hand at making Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins. I found a great recipe, tweaked it just a little, and served the muffins with peach flavored butter. The end result was pretty amazing!

You can find the recipe over here on Hayseed Homemakin’, one of my favorite blogs! (Thanks to Mallory from Hayseed Homemakin’ for letting me guest post : ) I hope you enjoy the muffins as much as we did…They didn’t last long around here! (And the peach butter is great with toast or biscuits, too.)

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

A few years ago, I started a new tradition of making a Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie for dessert on Christmas Day. Although it’s traditionally a Kentucky Derby pie, after all the pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, I thought it would be fun to do something different for Christmas. This year, I tried a new recipe for the filling and combined it with my Great-Grandma’s recipe for homemade pie crust. Her pie crust is tried and true…not only has my mom been making it for years, but my Great-Grandma baked pies every week for the little restaurant she and my Great-Grandpa owned. It didn’t disappoint and this pie was a favorite on Christmas!

Here’s the recipe…

Grammie Margo’s Pie Crust
6 tablespoons lard
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup flour + extra for rolling
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup very cold water

In a food processor, combine all ingredients except water, pulsing until crumbly. If you don’t have a food processor, simply use a pastry cutter to achieve the same effect. Next, add the cold water, tablespoon by tablespoon, and give the mixture a quick pulse or two (or use pastry cutter) once all water is added to fully combine.

Transfer dough to the center of a large piece of plastic wrap, form into a ball, wrap tightly and refrigerate overnight (can be refrigerated up to a week.)

The next day, roll out dough until very thin and transfer to pie pan. Crimp edges if desired.

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie Filling
Recipe from Tyler Florence

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark corn syrup (I substituted light corn syrup with no problems, so feel free to use either)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons bourbon (I used Jim Beam)
1/4 teaspoon salt
11/2 cups pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small saucepan, melt butter and chocolate, then remove from heat and let cool. In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat eggs until frothy then add the sugar. Stir in the corn syrup, vanilla, bourbon, salt and cooled chocolate/butter mixture until everything is blended.

Place the pecans on the bottom of the prepared, unbaked pie crust then pour the chocolate filling over them. Bake until pie is slightly puffed, about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean. Transfer pie to rack to let cool completely before cutting or topping with whipped cream.