For 2: Buffalo Chicken Burgers & Ralph's Birthday Cookout

Just like I said we would, on Friday we grilled out for Ralph's birthday.  It got dark crazy early, silly fall with your early sunset, so my pic is a little dark but we still had tons of fun!  And Ralph can still find the tennis ball even in the dark, so he had fun too - about 2 solid hours of fetch!

The buffalo chicken burgers were tasty, juicy and spicy, but the blue cheese spread cooled them off just enough, and the grilled zucchini strips were the perfect accompaniment. Click "keep reading" below for the burger recipe, and, what is a party without wine?  A pretty lame party in my opinion, so we each had our own bottle, don't judge me it was Friday and a party...Oh and in another effort to keep the party from being lame, there were party hats, or a party hat I guess I should say:

At least for a minute there was...

Sincerely Loving Food,
Lainey

Buffalo Chicken Burgers
1lb ground chicken
1 tblsp butter
3/4 C hot/buffalo sauce (I prefer Frank's red hot, but use your fav)
1/2 of an onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 C shredded carrots
1/4 C panko bread crumbs
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional for extra heat)
salt/pepper

For the Blue Cheese Spread
1/3 C store bought blue cheese dressing
1 tblsp mayonnaise
2 stalks celery, finely diced

For the burgers: Combine the butter, hot sauce, onion and garlic in a small sauce pan over medium high heat. bring to a slight boil and reduce heat to medium, cook stirring often for about 15 minutes or until mixture is slightly thickened, allow to cool.  Prepare a baking sheet with a strip of aluminum foil and a coating of non stick spray.  In a bowl mix the chicken, about 3/4 of the hot sauce mixture, carrots, bread crumbs, cayenne and a pinch of salt and black pepper with your hands until just combined - mixture will be sticky.  Form mixture into 4-6 patties (depending on how big you want them), place patties on prepared baking sheet, cover with another piece of foil or wax paper and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, this will help the patties stick together.  Cook either on a grill or in a skillet preheated to medium high for appx. 4 minutes on each side, while basting with reserved hot sauce mixture.  Serve on a toasted bun with a smear of blue cheese spread.

For the spread: mix all the ingredients - so easy!