Fang Food: hamburger buns and creamy potato salad.

As you recall, a couple weeks ago, Whit made some wonderful Apple Bacon Burgers. Those inspired me to make some hamburger buns, because, in my opinion, nothing makes an already good burger better than a homemade bun, and the best part is, they're pretty easy! Then of course, I completely forgot to get the ingredients for the Apple Bacon Burgers, so unfortunately, I just made a normal cheeseburger. This week I also whipped up some good old fashioned potato salad, probably my favorite BBQ side dish ever. So without further ado, let's get to the recipes, shall we?

Hamburger Buns

Recipe courtesy of Taste of Home magazine.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 cup, 2 tablespoons warm water (approx. 110-115 degrees F)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 to 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Stir in the oil and sugar. Wait five minutes. Add the egg, salt, and about three cups of flour. Mix together
2. Turn out on to a floured surface and kneed until smooth and elastic, about five minutes. Divide into nine to twelve pieces, and shape each piece into a ball. Place about two inches apart on a greased baking sheet.
3. Cover and let rise about ten minutes. Bake in a 425 degree F oven for eight to twelve minutes, until golden brown.
4. Take the buns out of the oven, and brush them with the melted butter. This gives them a butter flavor, and a nice sheen to them, but isn't strictly necessary. I just think it adds a nice finishing touch to them. Let cool and enjoy!

Creamy Potato Salad

Courtesy of America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
• 3 tablespoons dill pickle juice, plus 1/4 cup finely chopped dill pickles
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 onion, red (small), chopped fine
• 1 rib celery, chopped fine
• 2 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, cover the potatoes with one inch of cold water. Over high heat, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and add one teaspoon of salt. Continue to boil until the potatoes are tender, about ten to fifteen minutes.
2. Drain the potatoes and then spread them out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Mix two tablespoons pickle juice and the mustard together in a boil, and then pour the mixture over the potatoes. Allow to cool in the 'fridge, about 30 minutes.
3. Mix the remaining pickle juice, salt, diced pickles, pepper, celery seed, mayo, sour cream, onion, and celery in a large bowl. Toss in the chilled potatoes, transfer to airtight container, and allow to cool for at least another 30 minutes before serving. If you're using them, gently stir in the eggs right before, and then enjoy

I guess that about does it for this edition of Fang Food. Once again, thanks for reading, and happy eating! Go Dbacks!

~Blake

Fang Food is a series of weekly baseball food articles written by prwhitaker1 (Whit), imstillhungry95 (Blake) and Turambar (Patrick). Check out the archive of past articles! Questions, comments, suggestions, concerns? Email us at fangfood@gmail.com or contact us on Facebook..