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With the record breaking winter of 2010 on its way out, we can finally put away the snow shovels and ice melt and begin to look forward to some warmer temperatures and pleasant Spring weather. Ok, so maybe it won’t always be pleasant, but April showers sure beat double digit snowfall amounts in my book. I think we could all use a good nine months without hearing the terms like “black ice,” “wintery mix”, and “bread-milk-eggs” being used in one sentence.
With the start of Spring we can also look forward to the new season of baseball. I am sure our Fightin’ Phils were feeling sorry for us from sunny Clearwater as we suffered winter storm after winter storm. I’ll bet they’ve been working their hardest to reward us with another great season of baseball. So now we can all look forward to switching off the stale reality T.V. programming that we’ve been surviving the winter on and tuning in to what promises to be another winning baseball season.
To help get the season into swing here are some baseball inspired recipes complied by the staff at the Philadelphia Catering Company. Our “Flyin’ Hawaiian Pineapple-Habanero Hot Sauce” is the perfect condiment for burgers, fries or anything that could use some spicing up. “Home Plate Sliders” are a classic crowd pleaser and are great for groups that include children and adults. Customize your own, by substituting your favorite cheese and toppings.
So sports fans, put away the snow blower and fire up you’re BBQ grills, good times are here again!
Home Plate Sliders
Ingredients
2lbs ground beef (80 percent lean)
3 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
1 TBSP finely chopped garlic
1 TSP chopped fresh thyme
1 TSP kosher salt
1 TSP freshly ground pepper
Cooking spray for grilling
12 small rolls
Your choice of toppings: cheese, lettuce, red onion, hot peppers, mustard,
ketchup, mayo
Preparation
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Fire up your grill to medium-high heat. In a large bowl gently mix ground beef, olive oil, mustard, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Mix gently until combined – do not overly compress the ingredients. Shape mixture into 12 – 2 inch patties.
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Grill sliders for 4 approximately minutes on each side (or longer to desired wellness). Top with cheese in the remaining minutes of grilling. Toast sliced buns on grill. Enjoy with your choice of toppings.
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Flyin' Hawaiian Pineapple-Habanero Hot Sauce
Recipe by Aham Amachi
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Ingredients
1 pineapple, med dice
4 Habanero seeded and diced
3 red bell peppers seeded and large dice
3 yellow bell peppers seeded and large dice
2 med yellow onions large dice
5 cloves garlic minced
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med piece ginger minced
2 cups cider vinegar
1 ½ cups rice wine vinegar
¼ cup buckwheat honey
Salt to taste
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Preparation: |
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In a large stock pot place all the ingredients except for the honey and bring to simmer.
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Let simmer for about half an hour occasionally stirring. Add in the honey and let simmer for another hour. Add salt to taste.
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Remove the sauce from the heat and let cool. Once the sauce has cooled puree it done in a food processor or a blend and the run through a fine mesh strainer.
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The sauce can be placed in a squeeze bottle and refrigerated.
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Mandy is a Philadelphia area native and graduate of Drexel University. She is the Mom of 3 and an avid Phillies fan. Mandy is part of the customer service team at the Philadelphia Catering Company.
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