My evolving relationship with hamburgers

As a singleton, it is sometimes necessary to commit to one type of food for more than one meal. For example, I wanted to make myself a hamburger this weekend, which meant all I would eat was hamburgers for 2 days. I certainly could have gone out for a hamburger, and thus only would have to eat one. Growing up, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this, I exclusively liked McDonald's. Hamburgers prepared by anyone or anywhere else were too...meaty. Too intimidating. And I wasn't really a red meat person until a couple of years ago.



Now that my appreciation for freshly prepared food has greatly increased with my age, I have many more options for carryout. PJ's barbeque is a great one during the summer- bacon, a nice char smell, and amazing crispy onion bits make this one a stand out.



But, this weekend I wanted it my way. I got into the habit of making my own burgers when I started ordering from Omaha steaks. Individually wrapped frozen patties are easy to thaw on a whim for near instant burger gratification. But even if you only have to thaw one burger, you still need to purchase the other ingredients fresh....thus a weekend of burgers or blatant wastefulness. I ran out of my Omaha steaks burgers a while ago, so bought 4 fresh patties and the essential accessories:

1. Buns- A nice Kaiser roll from the bakery section is wonderful. However, this weekend I chose Pepperidge farm whole grain white as they are better for me and a decent substitute.

2. Tomato- I went with Vermont hydroponic. Perfect size, nice and red. The on-the-vines that i usually buy looked like they reached their tomato potential a couple days ago.

3. Bacon- precooked, because it's easy.

4. Lettuce- spring mix was on sale. Also, it's small bits that neither overwhelm the burger nor fall out of the burger on the first bite. I do not allow iceburg lettuce near any sandwiches made in my home.

5. Red onion. Sliced very thin...I hate a too thick slice of onion.

5. Muenster cheese.

6. Ketchup, mustard, AND mayonaisse. I sometimes get funny looks from waitstaff in restaurants when I request all three condiments. I don't understand why.



Coking techniques I employ include grilling the bun in my panini pan. It's an amazingly satisfying meal. And with lean beef, lowfat toppings (mayo, buns), and fresh veggies, the only kind of bad part is the bacon, which I generally refuse to go without it. I like feeling in control of the ingredients, and I don't feel all gross like after a restaurant burger. Only a short lived burger coma ensues, which is fine by me on a rainy August day with nothing to do but watch the Olympics. Ahhhh.