So I did not make it through the entire 52 weeks of cooking last year. I’ll blame the fact that I was pregnant when the year started and gave birth to my beautiful baby girl in May. I’m starting over this year with Reddit’s 52 weeks of cooking. I will not be doing the baking challenges; I think it would just be a little too much for me.

The first challenge this year was pretty simple: Appetizers. My choice for this challenge is Whiskey BBQ Sliders, a la Pioneer Woman. She calls hers Spicy Whiskey BBQ Sliders and puts jarred jalapenos in them. I don’t mind spicy, but jarred jalapenos make me want to yack. So I substituted a couple of shakes of cayenne pepper.

If I’ve learned anything from watching Food Network (which I only do at hotels now…no more dish), it’s the virtue of the mise en place. That’s basically French for getting your shtuff together ahead of time. Here are the ingredients!

Looks simple, right? This was not a difficult recipe in the least. So the first thing I did was to shape my slider patties from the ground beef.

I’ve heard that if you put a dimple in the middle of the patties, they don’t shrink up as much. It worked somewhat well! Also, it’s best practice to shape the beef at room temperature (I didn’t do this), and to work the beef as little as possible to prevent it from getting too tough. Season your patties on both sides with salt and pepper.

Cook your patties for 3-4 minutes on each side in 4 tablespoons of butter. (Mine could have used more cooking…they were a bit rarer than I usually like.) I had to brown mine a few at a time…my stove top has hot spots and cold spots.

Chop up an onion. I like white onions best for most things, but you can use whatever floats your boat. If chopping up an onion makes you nervous, check out P-dub’s guide here. It will help you take a whole onion…

…and turn it into this! When the meat is done cooking, drain off all but a couple of tablespoons of the butter/grease. Add the onions to the pan and cook for a few more minutes.

Add whiskey and cook for a few more minutes.

Add a couple shakes of cayenne pepper and a cup of BBQ sauce.

Some of my pictures won’t load right, so I don’t have any more, but add your burgers back to the sauce and cook them for a few more minutes. Split the dinner rolls and grill them with butter until golden brown. Put a patty on a half-roll, and top it with some sauce and the other half. Enjoy!

Edit: Here is the Pioneer Woman recipe.