Football season is back, and so are your comfort food cravings.
We’re taking the “meat and potato thing” to a new dimension.
Drafts Sports Bar & Grill at Westgate Lakes in Orlando is — let's just say — "adultifying" the tot.
“Tater tots are hot right now," Westgate Resorts Corporate Chef Mike Lodge said. "We all think that they’re for kids. But they’re really not. And everyone thought we were crazy."
If "crazy" means layering homemade smoked cheese sauce with various shredded cheeses and tots and then some more tots topped with your nacho-fixins, then he is "crazy."
During our visit to Drafts Sports Bar & Grill, Lodge also demostrated a Chicago-style steak sandwich.
"This is actually breaded filet mignon," he said. "So we use the tail ends of the filet."
It’s pounded out big time, coated with panko bread crumbs and fried in soybean oil. Once folded into a hoagie and topped with sauteed veggies and shredded cheese, the cross-section is the visual tease you're looking for.
Let's cook!
Tatchos — A new twist on the traditional appetizer
Ingredients:
8oz Frozen Tater Tots
3 oz Smoked Mozzarella Cheese Sauce
1 oz Diced Tomatoes
½ oz Sliced Green onions
1 oz Diced or Crumbled Cooked Bacon
1 Dollop of Sour Cream
Take Tater Tots and deep fry at 350 degrees till golden brown (Approx. 3 minutes)
Place on your favorite platter and ladle on the Smoked Mozzarella Cheese Sauce. Top with diced tomatoes, sliced green onions, diced or crumbled cooked bacon and finish off with a dollop of sour cream.
Smoked Mozzarella Cheese Sauce
Ingredients:
4oz White Queso sauce
2 oz Smoked Mozzarella, Shredded
2 oz Cheese Wiz
1 tsp Adobo Seasoning
½ cup Half and Half
¼ cup Chipotle Seasoning
Instructions:
In a double boiler add Queso sauce, Cheese Wiz, Half and Half and all seasonings. Once heated, add shredded Smoked Mozzarella Cheese and stir until smooth. Remove from heat.
Original Breaded Chicago Steak Sandwich
Ingredients:
6 oz Beef Tenderloin
2 eggs
5 oz Seasoned Bread Crumbs or Panko
3 oz Draft’s Marinara Sauce
1 oz Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
½ oz Sautéed Green Peppers
½ oz Sautéed Yellow Onions
1ea 8” Hoagie Roll
Parchment or Wax Paper
Pound out the beef tenderloin till super thin and place to the side. Beat the eggs and add a pinch of Salt and Pepper. Dip the pounded steak in the egg mixture and dredge into the bread crumbs. Deep fry at 350 degrees for 6 to 8 minutes Let drain and while still crispy, submerge into the marinara.
Remove from the sauce immediately and place on the hoagie roll. Add cheese, peppers and onions. Place on parchment or waxed paper and roll tight just like a burrito. Cut in half and enjoy!
Draft’s Marinara Sauce
Ingredients:
1 28 oz can Italian chopped or diced plum tomatoes (San Marzano)
4 large vine-ripened tomatoes chopped
6 basil leaves sliced in thin strips
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
Pinch dry oregano
Salt and pepper
Instructions:
In a pre-heated pan on medium to high heat, add olive oil and sauté onions until soft (about 3 to 5 minutes). Add oregano and thyme.
Deglaze pan with red wine and cook until reduced (about 3 minutes).
Stir in canned plum tomatoes and chicken broth. Raise heat until sauce begins to boil, reduce heat to medium for 10 minutes.
Stir in chopped tomatoes. Cook an additional 7 minutes on medium to low heat.
Add basil, cook for 2 to 3 more minutes.
Salt and pepper to taste.