All American Burgers in Special Sauce

This recipe inspired by Rachael Ray is perfect for Junk Food Friday and to show my USA pride for the Olympic's Opening Ceremony!  Remember the commercial jingle for McDonalds, "2 all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun."?  How much more American can you get? So I decided on recreating the All American Burger.  And another little tidbit is the 'Big Mac' burger that the jingle touts began in my area, some say Pittsburgh, but the McDonald's company says it initiated in Delgatti's in Uniontown, PA for .45 cents, in 1967 and went countrywide in 1968.  It was meant to compete with the Eat 'n Park Big Boy sandwich.  Ok, ok, I am thinking you are saying who know this stuff?  Well I like information and facts.  It ranks right up there with chopping vegetables all the same size.  And, to think some of you thought you really knew the real me!

But I digress.  I will start with the buns.

Hamburger Buns

1-1/2 c. milk
1 stick of unsalted butter.....shhhh, there are no preservatives or excess salt in these like store bought, so do not raise an eyebrow at the butter.
1/2 c. sugar
1 pkg (2-1/4 tsp.) active dry yeast
1/2 c. warm water
3 large eggs
1-1/2 tsp. salt
6 c. flour

Place milk in a small saucepan.  Bring to a simmer.  Remove from heat and add butter and sugar.  Allow to cool.
Add yeast to the warm water.  Allow to sit until foamy.
In a mixer with the dough hook attachment, add the milk, butter, sugar mixture, the eggs along with the yeast water.  Add in half of the flour.  Mix until smooth.  Add the remaining flour 1/2 c. at a time until it forms a smooth ball.

Remove from the bowl onto a floured surface.  Kneed for 5 minutes.  Place in a warm spot, in a greased bowl with a towel draped on top.  Allow to double in size, about an hour.
Punch dough down.  Roll into 1 dozen balls or 24 mini buns.  Place on a parchment lined pan.  Allow to rise 30-40 minutes.

Bake in a 350 degrees oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Brush with a little butter and sprinkle with sesame seed buns.

Wallah!  Fresh made sesame buns!

For the burgers:

1 lb. ground beef (thank you to my sister for gifting us farm fresh beef!)
2 T. steak sauce
1 T. grill season
1 tsp. sweet paprika

Mix all together and form into 6 patties.

You can grill these on an outdoor or indoor grill for 3 minutes on each side; or as I did, on a rack in a 400 degree oven for 12 minutes.

Special Sauce:
1/2 c. ranch dressing
1/2 c. ketchup
1 tsp. fresh cracked pepper

Assemble with chopped onion, shredded lettuce, pickles, cheese of your choice and special sauce.  (I added tomato because I had one left for the week!)

I served with an American Macaroni Salad from the Food Network Kitchens which I will share with you tomorrow.....so, I guess I should sign off with, 'to be continued.'