Burger Showdown

Y'all, I'm having a burger showdown today in my kitchen

My friend Bridget Nguyen, an accountant turned chef, also host of From the Kitchen Hub

and $50,000 burger champion is coming over to make her first place Chinese chicken burger

Now, after testing a few of my burger creations, I've decided to make her my butter bacon burger

And we're making my warm macaroni salad. I have not told her, y'all, that it's a competition

Ha, ha, ha. This one, I'm springing on her. Well, I'm in my kitchen today preparing for Bridget Nguyen

I don't want to be caught with my pans down. I come bearing gifts

Well, honey, put them right down there. Listen, I am so intrigued by you

You have inspired me today. I've been in here just tinkering around with different burgers

You won $50,000 with a burger. I sure did. We're going to make it for you today

But that looks like more than tinkering around. What are you doing in here? Well, I've got like four different burgers

But I want to make for you my butter bacon burger. All right, so here's our ground beef

Now, if you would. Beautiful. I've sprayed our skillet. If you would get some bacon going in there

Oh, happily. Here's your set of tongs. I'll keep an eye on it. And you got your eye on

You didn't have any trouble getting that on. Nope. Got my eye on. Got my eye on you, too

I got my eye on you, girl. Anybody that can walk in and win $50,000 with a burger recipe

Oh, you could do it, too, and you know it. Has my admiration. All right, so I'm going to put just some salt and pepper

and a little garlic. You want me to be your mixer? That would be great

Excuse me, baby. I'm gonna reach in over here because this is my secret ingredient

Secret's out, Miss Paula. Yes, my secret is definitely out. And Bridget, I'm using cold butter

And as these burgers are cooking, those little cubes of butter will melt throughout our burger

It's genius. So that's about two pounds of ground beef. Okay, how much butter went in

I used a stick of butter. All right, so what I'm going to just kind of take over here

Okay. We want it to turn up like inside our patty. Oh, not on the outside

Not necessarily on the outside. I mean, some may... Tucked inside. Yes, kind of tucked inside

So I'm going to spray our grill, Bridget. And you might want to look at your bacon

We're probably not going to have to worry about them sticking. I don't think that'll be a problem

Do you like a thick burger or a thin burger? I'll have it any way you make it

Okay, darling, I promise you it will be good. It looks good. All right, so there's one down

And I've got some buns over here. You got buns, hon. Yes, I got buns, honey

So you wanna hear what kind of hamburgers I came up with while I was in here

Yeah, of course I do. I came up with an Italian burger, a barbecue burger with coleslaw

This is my favorite. It just came to me. It's called a ham dog

A ham dog? Yeah, you ain't nothing but a ham dog. It's got that song theme song too

there is a hot dog and a hamburger in there. You gotta be kidding me. No

So I'm gonna make you my burger, but then what I want you to do

is to make your burger that won happily 50,000 big ones. I would love for you to taste it

You know, I never thought about participating in contests. People have such amazing ideas

Bridget, I see holes where there were cubes of butter. Oh, I love it

All right, now, I'm going to just quickly. Oh, no, you aren't. Well, I'm going to try to do it over here where it's a little dry

All right, but we got to have some cheese. There's something about American cheese on a burger

It's just so classic. You know, it is. It really is. Come to mama

So here's your bun. Oh, thank you for my bun. Good and buttery

You will find everything that you could possibly want on your burger

No shortage. So just go through and look around. Oh, and there was another burger I didn't get around to making

I wanted to make the Reuben burger. I was going to do a glazed burger with a pepper jelly and cream cheese

Oh, my gosh. I wish I hadn't interrupted you. That would have been delicious, too. Oh, no, no, no

It's just two. Thank you. All right, so there's your burger. Mmm I love mayonnaise I like a little mustard You know I just like kind of the things that my mother and grandmother put on the table Mm-hmm

Sometimes the basics are the best. Yes. Well, and really, I think that's probably why I cook is because my mom cooked growing

up and I'm always kind of chasing that memory, that flavor. And when it smells like my mom's kitchen, that's when I know I've done something right

That's brilliant. Chasing memories. Alright, do you like pickles? Yes, please. I feel like you can't do any wrong with this burger

I'll just put everything on it. Yes. Okay, I've got everything on my burger that I love

Oh, I can tell it's going to be like a five-napkin burger. Look at that

I think it's an elbow licker. Bon appétit, Bridget. Mmm. I can't imagine anything better than this

It's awesome. Mmm. I think you might have a $50,000 burger. Mm-hmm

Coming up next, nothing goes better with my burgers than macaroni salad

The perfect side dish for burgers. Then I'll pass just a few friends over for a little contest

You trickster. I think I might have to vote for the... And later, it's time to see what makes up this $50,000 burger

All right, we'll go with our burgers. Mm-hmm. I thought I'd make us a little macaroni salad

Do you like macaroni salad? I love macaroni salad. Love macaroni salad. All right, so measure out two cups of elbow macaroni, Bridget

Love your scoops. Don't you love those scoops? Love them. I use them as almost like a ladle

My husband would use this as a spoon. As a spoon. I have done that, too

So we're going to let that cook for about eight minutes. If you would, chop me some onion. Okay

I'm going to be working on a little carrot and celery over here. Okay. I think maybe just like half, Bridget

I've got some eggs balling back here. Mmm, yummy. I've got a carrot

And I'm just going to quickly peel that. Be the perfect side dish for burgers

Yes. I love macaroni salad. You know how I serve mine? Tell me

I serve it hot. Oh, I love that. Just like I do my potato salad

I love it. Warm. So while you're working on the onion, I'm going to get started chopping up all the celery

I may have failed to mention something to you. What's that? I've asked just a few friends over

For a little lunch? No. Getting serious. What have you asked over for

Actually, for a little contest. What kind of contest? Like a burger tasting

You just... Rex's turn. Really? Yes. That does sound fun. You want me to cut your carrot up

Actually, I was thinking about grating that. Oh, yeah. Got your carrot

here. Alright, so if you would, Bridget, you just get the bowl

and put all that stuff in the bowl. Okay, all of that onion, or you just want me to take some

Well, let's start with like half of it. We'll go have these

Okay. But I do like a lot of celery. Me too. Because of the crunch

I like that you put that leaf in there, too. Yes, the leaf is so pretty

It adds texture. About that much? Perfect. You want your bowl back

Yes, please. Now, I don't put a whole bunch of stuff in my macaroni salad

I like it kind of simple. This one's perfect to dip out my mayonnaise

And you know what? It's going to look like I'm using a whole bunch

But that pasta being starchy will absorb all that liquid. There's a good chance you're going to have to add some more moisture back to it

It just keeps sucking it up. It keeps sucking it up. You can't ever have too much mayo

Now, here I'm going to use a sweet diced pickle. And just for color, we're going to put in some pimento

Pimento. I'm gonna add a little salt, a little pepper, and this is just gonna be wonderful alongside our burgers

Our burgers that are going head-to-head. Yes. For your friends. That scares me

Well, I will happily cook in a competition, but don't ask me to sing or dance because I can't

Honey, me neither. I can't carry a tune in a bucket and I have no rhythm

And don't make me have to prove it. Let's see. I wonder if those eggs are done

Well, I tell you what. Let's let that keep cooking while we're waiting on that

I'm going to just... You want me to peel them? Please. Perfect

So that those skins will slide right off for you. And they are indeed

I going to go home and make this macaroni salad for my family Oh well they love it with that burger of yours honey All right normally I just take my eggs and I do them up in my hands Oh But I not going to do that because

these are so hot. Okay. Look at that, a perfectly cooked egg. We're going to want to make sure

that we drain this real good because those elbows, see that? That macaroni is shaped

just like that elbow, and water will get trapped in there. We don't want any water in our

macaroni salad. We don't want to thin out that nice dressing you made. So, it's time

for our facial, and I'm gonna give it some shakes. Who said I don't exercise

Yep, getting our workout right here in the kitchen. Alright, now I'm gonna... Oh, back in the pot

I'm going to put it back in the pot because I'm going to just make sure that all the water's cooked out of it

Oh, that's a great trick. And here we go. Yum. Yum. So creamy

Look at that just coming together. Looks good. Let's get us a little taste and see if it needs anything

Mmm. I'll never eat it cold again. Coming up next, Bridget's Burger gets some surprise seasoning

Sugar, too. Sugar. Yeah, sweeten it up. And later, this burger gets a special slaw topping

Full slaw. A full slaw. Full slaw. Finally, we've made it

We're here. Yes. The $50,000 burger with Bridget. The $50,000 chicken burger, and I'm so excited

Chicken burger? Yeah, it's a chicken burger. Oh, did I not tell you that

It's a little different. No, you didn't. It's a little different. Well, I've got the ground chicken right here. Okay

Help me out with it. All right. Well, I am your Sue today. Now, when did you win this contest

This was Derby Day 2009, so we missed out on watching the ponies race, but I got a payday in the end, so it was pretty sweet

That's all right. You won the race. I did. All right, so we've got our ground chicken

Yep, and then there's some soy sauce there, Paula. A couple tablespoons of that if you just want to eyeball it

Okay, I will. I will just eyeball. And then a couple tablespoons of sugar, too, if you've got a little sugar bowl

Sugar? Yeah, sweeten it up. Okay. I never would have thought about sugar

Sugar in the burger. So you say two tablespoons? Two tablespoons. The same amount as the soy sauce

I'm going to pull a knife off here, too, if you don't mind. Okay, yes, help yourself. You make yourself at home

I've been poking my nose around the kitchen, figuring out where everything is. All right, Bridget

Here goes two tablespoons of sugar. All right, now what is this

That's sesame oil, Paula. That's what I thought. So about a tablespoon of that would be great

Do you like sesame oil? You know, I do, but a little goes a long way

It sure does. And it'll be good and toasty in there. It is strong

And I'm mincing up some garlic to go in there, too. So just a bunch of different flavors

Six cloves of garlic. Some of them have pretty big pieces. And then a little bit of lemongrass, Paula

Just about a tablespoon. Nice fresh flavor. So we got the sesame oil, the soy sauce, a little sugar

Got it all in there. Fresh garlic. Fresh garlic. Lemongrass. Yes, ma'am

All right. There's your lemongrass. Okay. And then I'll just slice up some scallions, too

So there's all kinds of stuff that goes in this burger. Okay, so everything's in here

Everything's in there. And you'll notice it's a little bit of a wet mix, but once it hits the grill, everything

will come together just fine. I hear you. That sesame oil... You can smell it already, ma'am

Smells good, good, good. Good. We can just divide it up into about six little burgers

Okie doke. It's sticky. It can get a little bit messy. Perfect

Okie doke. Oh, you got this under control. One down. Well, then I will go ahead and start our slaw then

Two down. Slaw. Yeah, this burger's getting some slaw. Ooh. It'll be a good little colorful rainbow slaw

You had no idea when you entered that contest that it was really going to be a life changer

for you. It was. It was a huge redemption. Because you got a cooking show, didn't you

I sure did. I host a show on the cooking channel called From the Kitchens Of

And it was really from cooking and entering contests and just putting myself out there

Sometimes to win the game, all you have to do is show up

That is exactly right. Be willing to show up. Get your game face on

Yes, and take a risk. Well, I love that story. So now how long has your show been on

Ah, since last year. You are kidding. Like I said, just put yourself on the line

It's good to do something that... Just like you did. Good to do something that scares you every once in a while

You know, it keeps the old adrenaline rushing and keeps the heart beating, right

You can't get too comfortable. No. But you're right. It is scary, too

You do feel vulnerable. Look at the way you did that bell pepper

You like that? Just kind of unrolled it. Look at that, y'all. Oh I was almost going to cut it in half Look at that You want to give it a try I love it Well I am going to try it It just kind of unrolls everything I feel like it just makes it easy Okay so did you cut

Just a little bit off the bottom and a little bit off the top. Okay. I kind of cut down the side

Oh, you did? And then went, sort of wedged my knife in and sort of unrolled it

Uh-huh. Well, would you just look at that? All the seeds should come out in one fell swoop

I did it. I can't believe I got to come in here and do something fun and new

Look at that. All right, let's finish chopping up these veggies. And your burgers look ready to be flipped

The soy, the sugar, and the sesame oil is giving them kind of a charred look

You are exactly right, Paula. It's that sugar in there. So typically, you know, you don't put sugar in a burger patty

So it will caramelize quickly. Perfect. Coming up next. we top off Bridget's Burger with her special slaw

And the Burger Off verdict is in. Second one, I give two picks

That's two picks. So tell me again, what all you have in your faux slaw

In my faux slaw? What is that? That is jicama, Paula. I love jicama

I just couldn't tell what it was. Yeah. And you could substitute some cucumber

And then I had these little sugar peas. I juliened them, stacked them up

And then I just put a little bit of this hot chili sauce into our slaw. Let's just get a tablespoon and a half of rice wine vinegar

So one other thing that goes on here, Paul, before those burgers come off, is a little bit of this hoisin sauce

And this is a sweet Asian conamit. It's kind of like an Asian barbecue sauce

Well, we just need to finish dressing the slaw. Will you hit me with some of that soy sauce? How much

About a tablespoon. And then I'll follow you. Just yet? Yeah, perfect. Okay

About a tablespoon of these sesame seeds. And then same thing. Just a squirt of that

Perfect. Tell me when. That's awesome. And then about a tablespoon of sugar

About a tablespoon of sugar. Yep. Did you serve this on your burger

I did. It'll go right on the burger. So the burgers are done

The slaw's done. We can toast some buns. Okey-doke. I'll mix up a little bit of a spicy mayo for us

So you're just using half a cup of mayo? I am going to put some lime zest and lime juice in here

along with a little squirt of this hot chili sauce. We don't want to make it too spicy

I think we're ready to rock. I'm really, really curious to see what a $50,000 burger tastes like

Well, I can't even concentrate on eating mine. $50,000 burger. I just want to watch you eat it

Hi there, girl. It is so good. Music to my ears

Are you up to... Competition? I'm ready. I'm always ready for competition

So no matter how this ends, we will still be friends. Of course

Right? Of course. I can't believe you even have to say it. I will try not to get mad

I'd like to see you mad. Come on and meet my buddies. Okay, let's go

So there's my buddies. Hey, y'all. Wow. Hi. How are y'all? Hi

Y'all, I would like for y'all to meet Bridget. Hi, Bridget. Hi, Bridget

Hi, Carolyn. Okay, Carolyn. Donna. Brandon. And Sarah. Yay. All right. Bon appetit

Okay. I'm not sure which one will be chosen as the favorite

We'll just have to wait and see. But I could lose y'all

The first one, I give one peck dance. The second one, I give two peck dances

I'm going with the second one B. I'm going to give A

A one peck dance. Me, I'm gonna give two pain dances. So tell us what you think, Carolyn

I just love the chicken because it was so different. Moving on to Brandon

I am choosing the chicken burger. It was kind of like a party in your mouth. Donnie, I like the chicken because it's different

All right, darling. I'm going with the classic, your butter burger. So we're tied

Sarah. Sarah, my love. I think I might have to vote for the chicken

Four chickens and three beefs. My burger was the beef. It was Burger B

My darling friend, Bridget, won $50,000 with her wonderful Asian chicken burger

So I will happily come in second, Bridget. So it really was unique

And quite delicious. Thank you, Bridget