#FoodieseekerFriday - A Taste of Carnival Vista - Guy's Burger Joint

Welcome to this weeks FoodieseekerFriday post. This week I am sharing my first "A Taste of Carnival Vista" recipe posts. Before we even boarded Vista I knew that I wanted to rekindle the holiday magic as often as possible once home. The best way for me to do that is to recreate some of the spectacular meals that we indulged on. Carnival pride on supplying food to please everyone and they certainly do not disappoint. They provide a wide variety of dishes that change daily in the Lido self service marketplace, have their speciality restaurants and the pool side, made to order, diners.

Today I am going to tell you about one of the inclusive diners, Guy's Burger Joint. As soon as we took one bite of the epic burgers that were served here we were hooked. They were unlike any burger that we have had before! Carnival have designed an authentic burger bar with the help of American best selling author, Food Network television star and restaurateur Guy Fieri.




Guy Fieri owns a host of all American restaurants that specialise in a variety of cuisines from a good old barbecue to Mexican burritos, from American kitchen to the burger joint. So when it comes to a good, authentic burger Carnival certainly went to the man who really does know his stuff!

Guy's Burger Joint was situated on deck 10 at the entrance to the Lido Marketplace around the Beach Pool. We all love burgers, but really enjoy a good handmade burger so we could not wait to give Guy's Burger Joint a try.  As you wait to order your burger you see trays of handmade burgers coming out of the ovens all topped with super melty cheese. This is what I love about the made to order meals around the Lido. All of the counters have glass around so you can actually see the food being prepared. 

The first time we that we saw the menu, we were so pleased that they explained at the bottom what all of the abbreviations meant. However all of the abbreviations made the menu so much fun! Just take a look...

The three burgers that stood out to us were the Plain Jane, Straight Up and the Pig Patty but deciding which to have was the hard part! My favourite was the Straight Up. This burger was made with 80/20 beef and it topped with S.M.C. (super melty cheese) L.T.O.P. (lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle) and a great dollop of their special Donkey Sauce.

You can have the burger on its own or you can really indulge and have some hand cut fries that are coated in Guy's signature seasoning. Once you have got your burger it is on to the salad and trimmings bar. Here you can help yourself to extra salad, potato chip sticks, mushrooms and super crispy bacon alongside a wide selection of sauces. As soon as I tasted these burgers I knew that I would have to try to make my own once we were home.

As the children returned to school last Tuesday I thought that it would be the ideal time to rekindle the holiday feelings and cook them a return to school treat of a meal. We made it a real family affair by inviting my parents down so that they could also have a taste of Carnival Vista. Now I am sharing it with you!

This is what I did...

Guy's Straight Up at Home

Ingredients - makes 8 burgers

Burgers:

1kg 20% fat good quality minced beef

1 onion, finely chopped

8 slices of red Leicester cheese

Brioche burger buns

Sides and Topping:

8 rashers of bacon, chopped

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Tomatoes

Lettuce

Onion

Chips

Potato chip sticks

Burger sauce

Method

Pre heat the oven to 200C

1 - Place the mince in a large mixing bowl and mix in the finely chopped onions

2 - Divide the beef and onions mixture into 8 burgers and place in a roasting tin or a deep baking tray

3 - Place the chopped bacon on a separate tray, drizzle with a little oil and season with salt and pepper

4 - Place the two trays into the pre heated oven

5 - After 15 minutes move the bacon ensuring that it is well cooked on both sides. Turn the burgers and return to the oven and continue to cook for 10 minutes.

6 - Remove the burgers from the oven and lay over a slice of red Leicester cheese over each burger and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes

7 - Now that the burgers are ready it is time to build the iconic burger!

8 - Start with the base of the brioche bread bun and place your chosen sauce

9 - Place your burger on top of the sauce, now comes the fun, challenging part!

10 - Top your burger with L.T.O.P. (lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle)

11 - Finish the burger with the top bun, dig in and enjoy!

Serve the burger with potato chip sticks, the super crispy bacon and fries. When you serve this burger you know that you will be having a delicious, make it yourself, Guy Fieri burger!

For next weeks FoodieseekerFriday post I am going to show you the wonderful world of Dr Seuss and the fantastic Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast!

Enjoy x

Disclosure: I am Carnival Cruise Lines Foodieseeker Blogger