When I was growing up, Sloppy Joe's were every school kid's favorite recipe.  In Wisconsin, however, we called them Spanish Hamburgers. Does anyone else remember this? Perhaps, in the land of meat and potatoes, a mixture of ground beef, celery, onions, and tomato paste was considered exotic? My mother's recipe was seasoned only with salt and pepper, and while I loved it as a kid, I couldn't help but doctor it up when I got older. Usually, this meant some mustard, worcestershire sauce, garlic....whatever I could dig up in the fridge. Until now. Now, there is this.....

Bonus--there's Red Gold Ketchup in there!

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be invited to Indiana to participate in the Red Gold Tomatoes' Farm to Table Event. If you follow my blog, you all know that I'm already a huge Red Gold fan. This trip confirmed what I already knew....Red Gold Tomatoes are the best! I saw first hand how those fresh tomatoes make it into the cans, from one of the 53 Midwest family farms that supply the tomatoes to the actual plant, where the tomatoes are sorted, cleaned, and canned using the finest methods. If there was ever any doubt that not all canned tomatoes are equal, the "tasting" portion of this trip erased all of it. Different brands of tomatoes were displayed side by side. There was visual evidence---you could see the "other" brand's tomato was mushy---and sensory evidence...we could taste a difference! Plus, since Red Gold is committed to providing the best product to their consumers, their tomatoes are certified non-GMO and their cans are non-BPA.

Red Gold Tomatoes mean more than just canned tomatoes and sauce, though...they have ketchup, too! Recently, they teamed up with the original Huy Fong Sriracha to make an incredible Sriracha Ketchup, and they've rolled it out nationwide. So if you can't find the original Red Gold Ketchup in your neck of the woods, look in your local Walmart or Target and you'll find the Sriracha Ketchup. Go get some and make some of these Sriracha Joe's!

I made a slider version using my Homemade Hamburger Bun recipe. If you make your own buns (I highly recommend this), just portion out the dough into 18 portions. Then just butter them, toast them, and fill them up with this awesome recipe. This can be easily doubled or tripled for a bigger crowd.

Sriracha Joe's

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground chuck
• ½ cup diced red bell pepper
• ½ cup diced onion
• ½ cup diced celery
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• ¾ cup Sriracha Ketchup
• ½ cup water
• 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile pepper, optional

Instructions

• Brown the ground chuck, bell pepper, onion, and celery in a medium skillet over medium heat. Drain, then add the garlic, water, ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and chile pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer.
• Continue to simmer for 20 minutes, adding additional water if needed. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. For less heat, reduce the amount of Sriracha Ketchup and replace with regular ketchup. Makes 8 sliders or 4 regular sandwiches.

Disclosure: I was given a trip to Indiana to participate in Red Gold Tomatoes' Farm to Table Event. I was not obligated to write about the trip and all opinions are my own.

Sweet on Weck...A Sweet Potato Patty on a Kimmelweck Roll

.......with Spicy Ketchup and onions.

Some of you may recall that I was lucky enough to go to The Taste of  the NFL in Indianapolis the night before the Superbowl. While there, I was able to sample some really great food. One item that caught my attention was called Beef on "Weck"...basically a sliced beef sandwich on a Kimmelweck roll. Believe me, I didn't know what it was, either. It took at least 6 times of my asking someone, before it sunk in. The Kimmelweck roll (also spelled "Kummelweck") is a Kaiser roll that is topped with a mixture of course salt and caraway seeds. While the beef on this sandwich was tasty, the roll is what really grabbed my attention. The Kimmelweck roll was the first thing I googled when I got home.

As much as I love sliced beef, I wanted to make something with these rolls that even my vegetarian family could eat, and since I'm deep into sweet potatoes at the moment, why not use those, too? So, at the risk of receiving the stink eye from the good folk in Buffalo, New York (home of Beef on Weck), may I present to you.....Sweet on Weck!

Sweet on Weck

Printable Recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more if needed

1 bag (14 oz) frozen bell peppers and onions, preferably fire-roasted

1 cup frozen corn (again, I'm partial to the fire-roasted variety)

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 (6 oz) bag baby spinach leaves

1 large sweet potato, baked and skinned*

1 (15.5 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 cup crushed hot and spicy cheese crackers

1 cup panko bread crumbs

6 Kimmelweck rolls (easy recipe follows)

*Bake the sweet potato at 400 degrees F. for about an hour, or until soft.

Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the frozen peppers/onions, corn and garlic; stir with a wooden spoon and cook until the vegetables are heated through, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Put aside a few spinach leaves for each sandwich and add the rest to the pan. Cook until the spinach leaves are wilted. Remove from heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mash together the cooked sweet potato and the cannellini beans. With a wooden spoon, stir in the pepper/onion mixture, salt, pepper, paprika, and chili powder, mixing until combined. Stir in the egg, cracker crumbs, and panko crumbs.

To form the patties, line a custard cup with plastic wrap, leaving an overhang, and fill nearly to the top with the sweet potato mixture. Carefully pull the sweet potato mixture out of the custard cup and fold the plastic wrap over the top to form into a patty. Repeat until 6 patties are formed, leaving wrapped in the plastic until ready to cook (you may freeze the patties at this point).

Once they're wrapped, you can pop them in the freezer or make them right away.

Add a tablespoon of oil to the skillet and heat over medium high heat. Unwrap 2-3 sweet potato patties and carefully add to the heated skillet. Reduce the heat to medium low and fry for about 5 minutes per side, or until browned and cooked through. Repeat for the remaining burgers, adding additional oil to the skillet, if needed. 

For an easy, easy way to make a Kimmelweck roll, simply purchase some good quality Kaiser rolls at your favorite bakery or supermarket. Then, use this method: (adapted from Bobby Flay)

Mix together 1 tablespoon caraway seeds and 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt; set aside.

In a small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup of water to a boil. Dissolve 2 teaspoons of cornstarch in 1/4 cup warm water and stir into the boiling water. Cook until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and cool until room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the top of each Kaiser roll with the thickened cornstarch. Sprinkle desired amount of salt and caraway seed on each roll. Bake for 4 minutes or until the topping has dried.

To serve, simple top the bottom of the Kimmelweck roll with a few spinach leaves, add the sweet potato patty and top with some spicy ketchup (simply stir together 1/2 cup chili sauce with a few drops of Sriracha sauce), and some raw onions. Oh, and don't forget the top part of the roll--my favorite!! :)

Remember--it isn't required to use marshmallows and sweet potatoes in the same sentence. :)