Ingredients

Ground Beef/Elk/Bison | 1/3 lb patties

Pineapple Rings | 1 can, or 1 fresh pineapple

Bacon | 1 lb

American Cheese | 12 slices

Pepper jack Cheese | 12 slices

Onion – chopped & griddled | 1 large

Lettuce | 1 head

Tomato | 3 large

Chick Fil A Polynesian Sauce | 1 bottle

Directions

Using your hands, gently mix the ground meat (we used beef & elk) in a medium bowl. Form meat into 1/3lb patties.

Grill pineapple slices until golden grill marks are achieved. Fry bacon in large pan until crisp. Drain bacon fat as desired and add chopped onion to hot pan and cook until perfect.

Cook burgers until desired doneness on a grill of choice: gas, charcoal or even one from George Foreman’s empire all work well. Place a piece of bacon on each and then top with a piece of American cheese & pepper jack cheese to hinge the bacon in place. Top with a grilled pineapple slice and onion and serve on farmhouse rolls spread with Polynesian sauce. Garnish with lettuce and tomato as desired. Serve with an ice cold Cherry Coke, coleslaw and some corn on the cob.

Yield: 12

Prep time: 45 min

Total time: 1 hour

Why this recipe?

Growing up we used to come to LA every summer and attend “Camp Grandma”.
Somewhere around 1999-2001, Aunt Sue made a trip down to the South Bay to be our unofficial camp councilor. She took Kelly and I on some amazing adventures! We went body surfing at Redondo Beach, wandered the Redondo pier for souvenirs to take home (mom still uses the Redondo spoon rest to this day) and ate at every important family spot in the South Bay.

We even got to go to Woody’d Schmorgasburger on PCH, which has since shut down. For anyone who didn’t go to Woody’s, it was the best burger joint you could get a hamburger and then carry it over to a little self-service counter stocked with ketchup, mustard, onions, pickles, salsa, barbecue sauce and more! They also had a self serve ice cream bar, which was amazing before I learned I was allergic to milk!

The most memorable part of our summer with Camp Councilor Aunt Sue was playing the Pulp Fiction soundtrack over and over. Now, Kelly and I were definitely too young to WATCH Pulp fiction, but the soundtrack is an amazing mix of the Ventures playing surf music and classic 60’s jams. Every time The Ventures come on it takes me right back to the South Bay and all the fun we have there!

So this burger is an homage to Wood’s Schmorgasburger and to the Big Kahuna Burger chain seen in Pulp Fiction and other Tarantino movies. With the Polynesian flare of the islands that Sue once inhabited, the Big Kahuna burger is sure to make you smile!

Since that summer, Aunt Sue has always helped and encouraged us to come back to Redondo as often as possible. One year, she couldn’t make it down to visit, so she got me and Kelly a rental car that we took to EVERY place we could think of from Hollywood to Long Beach!

Key Lime Pie is the quintessential summer dessert. I’ve read that pastry crust is the original.  Though it seems like graham cracker crust has taken over. At Zest, though, we like gingersnap crust. It’s spicy, fun, a little traditional and a little new.

For the filling, we use the Nellie and Joe’s key lime juice recipe from the back of the bottle. The only thing we do differently is to double it and use as much as you need for your pie plate. There have been too many times that we’ve had to run to the store for another sweetened condensed milk. Has the size of a 9-inch pie plate changed? Not sure, but this is how we compensate.

Gingersnap Crust:

1.5 C gingersnap cookie crumbs

4T butter, melted

2T sugar

1 T Flour

Pinch salt

Mix the dry ingredients together. Pour melted butter over the mixture. It should resemble wet sand. Pat into a 9-inch tart pan or pie pan. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Do not over back or it gets hard to cut through.

Nellie and Joe’s Key Lime Filling (Doubled):

2-14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk

6 egg yolks (whites not used)

1cup Nellie & Joe’s Key West Lime Juice

Combine milk, egg yolks and lime juice. Blend until smooth. Pour filling into pie crust and bake at 350º for 15 minutes. Allow to stand 10 minutes before refrigerating. Just before serving, top with freshly whipped cream, or meringue, and garnish with lime slices.

 

We prefer whip cream or whipped coconut cream if you can’t do cream!

Enjoy.