The First Post - Buffalo Chicken Burgers

I have a secret to tell you.  Come closer.  Closer.....  I love chicken burgers!  This is a fairly new thing for me, I confess.  It has only been within the last 6 months or so that I have even given ground chicken a try.  I think I equated it with ground turkey, which I am NOT fond of.  Let me tell you, I didn't know what I was missing!  It is moister than ground turkey, which is huge.  HUGE, I say!  One thing that must be said though, you have to season it before cooking.  This is non-negotiable.  It's a requirement.  Period.  End of story.  Otherwise, you will come out with one bland burger, and then you'll start blaming The Unabashed Kitchen Wench for telling you to try it.  I hate when people are mad at me, so do us both a favor and take my word on this.  Do your seasoning before cooking!  Okay, now that we have that settled, let's get down to one of my favorite ways to fix ground chicken - Buffalo Style.

Here is the Cast of Characters:

2 Lbs. Ground Chicken
1 Tbsps. Creole Seasoning - I really recommend Tony Chachere's, but you can sub your favorite in.
2 Tsps. Fresh ground pepper
2 Tbsps. + 1/3 cup (divided) Frank's RedHot - I feel very strongly about Frank's.  This is what you use for Buffalo Wings.  Trust me.
2 Tbsps. Blue cheese dressing
2 Tbsps. Butter
Thinly sliced celery - optional (Not pictured because I thought I had celery in my fridge but low and behold, when I looked it wasn't there.  After blaming the dog, because he eats everything, I remembered I used the last of it in a lovely Autumn Harvest Chicken Soup last week.  Woopsie!)

Here's what you do:

Mix ground chicken, Creole Seasoning, pepper, 2 Tbsps of Frank's & 2 Tbsps of dressing (Plus the celery, if you choose.).  Form 6 patties and cook in a non-stick skillet on medium heat for about 10 minutes.  Do not flatten with a spatula.  (Here's another secret - ground chicken is very, very sticky.  I prefer to use Tyson brand if I am making burgers because it sticks together a little better.  I like Gold'n Plump in pasta sauces, and such, because it breaks up easier.  Gold'n Plump just happened to be on sale this time.)  Once your burgers have had time to cook a little on one side and set up, flip them over.  They should look like this:

Cook for another 10-15 minutes, until cooked all the way through.  Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl, melt the butter with remaining 1/3 cup of Frank's, and warm up some buns.  When burgers are done, take the patties one at a time and dip each side in the Buffalo sauce, and place on split buns.  Top with a lovely puddle of blue cheese dressing.  So easy, yet so delish!

One last thing.  See those buns.  They're homemade light rolls.  From my grandma's recipe.  I finally mastered them.  Yep, I am pretty proud of that fact because bread and roll making has always been my nemesis, but not anymore!  Someday soon, when I make more and actually take pictures during the process, I'll share the recipe.  You'll thank me for it.