Cherry Saturday, May 9, 2020

~ Jenny

It’s Hamburger Month. (That picture below is Epicurious’s Ultimate Hamburger.)

I’m heavily into hamburgers/cheeseburgers at the moment because (a) they taste good, (b) they have infinite variety, (c) they’re fast to make, and (d) I’m writing a book a noodle about a diner. My current fave is a two-cheese (cheddar and jack) burger on a brioche bun with spinach and tomato, mayo-dijon, and a pickle on the side so I can control the sour, but last week I had a bacon cheeseburger with homemade ranch dressing, romaine, and sautéed shallots, oven chips on the side, and it was excellent. The possibilities are endless, and I can count it as research.

Celebrate Hamburger Month. There is no downside.

45 thoughts on “Cherry Saturday, May 9, 2020”

  1. It’sy birthday and I’ve learned that I share it with Sophie Scholl. I actually use her quotes to explain to people why I act the way that I do. This feels momentous.

    I like chicken burgers and once, I had an ostrich burger. The latter was pretty good.

    4. Happy b’day. I hope you have some splendid way to celebrate. Enjoy a sunset or have a glass of wine under the stars.

    5. Happy Birthday! Celebrate with all of us in many different time zones! That ought to give you an excuse to prolong the happiness.

    9. Thank you all! 🌻🌸🌺🌻🌸🌺🌻🌸🌺 Lockdown meant that I was home to pay full attention to all messages received. And I was able to have proper conversations with anyone who called. Silver linings.

      Jennifer- I saw that birthday story on twitter this morning. Just the kindest thing.

  2. I persuaded my DH to get take out from Five Guys. Then we read the calorie count. They were great burgers (and fries), but we opted for a salad for dinner.

    I note that you said “writing a book about a diner”. 🙂 I’m so glad you’re writing a book!

  3. We had hot dogs and potato salad this week. Maybe next week we should have hamburgers.

  4. Nothing like a great burger. Must have cheese and secret sauce. The vegans in the family of carnivores are able to have burgers with the beyond meat burgers. Pretty good burgers too. Granddaughters love them with a brioche bun. Noticed there is a softening in the restrictions. They love Oreos and peanut butter cups of which I have a good supply.

    I too, am glad you are writing a book about a diner. Agnes cooking and feeding her group was great fun.

  5. I broke down and made a frozen pizza with the works last night for dinner. I wish for the sake of my health that I craved vegetables and fruits and vegan protein when under stress, but I REALLY don’t.

    My sister is such a person. It’s amazing how two closely related people can be so different. I never crave air fried tofu and mushrooms. And nothing tastes better to get than a homemade vegan diet.

  6. Hamburgers are one of the “perfect foods.” Another one is pizza. Does anyone remember Ollie Burgers from Lums? A cross-over between pizza and hamburger. Alas, Lums (the chain) is no more.

    I love Five Guys. I love double Whoppers. I love Wendy’s triples with bacon and cheese. Double Quarter-Pounders with cheese aren’t horrible, they just need lettuce and tomato. White Castle and Krystals – what BK ads used to call “postage stamp” hamburgers – are great by the dozen. Everyone has a favorite fast-food or restaurant burger. I could enjoy any of the entries on Applebees burger menu. The breakfast burger, with the egg over easy, is a totally messy and delicious example.

    The absolute bestest burger is the one you make for yourself. Fried, grilled, broiled, however you make it, because it is however you make it. I, for example, would never spoil mine with a slice of avocado, nor that mushy green gook you make from avocados, but I bet someone else just salivated.

    If I hadn’t just finished a salad with chicken strips and Thousand Islands, I’d be slapping a burger together right now. Ate two yesterday with baby Swiss cheese on generic burger buns. And they were great.

    Happy hamburger month!

  7. I had a trip to the burger place scheduled but did not accomplish before lockdown. They are doing carryout but deep fried mushrooms and a lovely juicy burger that have been transported home for 20 minutes are not the same as immediate consumption. I am holding out for on-site, whenever that is once again a possibility.

    Sorry to tell you Gary, but my home made burgers are just ok. I don’t have the knack. The chocolate cookies with tiny pieces of crystallized ginger that I made instead were excellent.

    1. There’s some saying about when some gift is withheld, another is given. My hamburgers, when I trouble to make them and get all the ingredients, are amazing. My chocolate cookies, with or without chips or ginger or pecans… suck. I got the burger gift – you got the cookie gift. We should both be happy with our gifts.

    2. Chocolate and ginger sounds like a superlative combination! Maybe I’ll try adding it to my Chocolate Everything cookies. Or maybe it would be better in a less heavily loaded cookie. Taste trials would be lots of fun.

  8. Love hamburgers, used to eat a lot of Burger King Mushroom Double Swiss, till they took it off the menu in UK. Now 5 guys mushroom mayonnaise burger, though Byron with their brioche bun is good too.

    What I want now is the Harley Quinn movie breakfast sandwich (hygienically prepared and without the hot sauce) Love watching that movie clip

  9. It’s also World Collage Day today. Seems like that would be right up your alley, Jenny. A burger in one hand and scissors (or mouse) in the other.

    2. I’d be down with that if I wasn’t out of stuff to collage. I think I threw all of my paper pictures on my walls these days.

  10. We have hamburgers about once a week. I split a square of focaccia, grill a hamburger, slice a pickle paper thin, slice a small tomato, put a few leaves of lettuce and some mayonnaise on the focaccia and a glass of wine. Voila, a perfectly balanced dinner without trashing the kitchen. This week’s one was made with ground lamb. But they are all good.

  11. Perfect! We have about 50 pounds of ground beef in our freezer. I enjoy baking bread so I make my own buns. My husband adds panko to the burgers. It’s OK but I don’t do that. What are peoples opinions on that?

    1. May as well call them meat loaf burgers. I prefer a plain grilled burger to the juicy stage on a toasted bun then add the fixins’ of choice. As to a comment by Jessie, that was a discussion I had with my husband about thick sliced pickles today. Whatever happened to thin sliced pickles? That got me thinking about pickle barrels I vaguely remember them from childhood. Pretty sure you could get one for a nickel wrapped in waxed paper.

      1. The reason you don’t see thin sliced pickles very often is because they are round and wet, which makes them slip. After cutting myself enough times, I decided that I could live with thicker slices.

    2. I prefer mine without bread crumbs. For meatloaf, the bread helps hold it together and give it texture. But I want my burgers rare and juicy and Panko doesn’t help for that. is that

      The trouble I have with hamburgers these days is that I’m not supposed to eat the buns. I like a lot of condiments on my burgers and a side of brown rice is no help keeping them in contact with the meat. And forget about being able to pick the thing up. So the fact that McDonalds has dropped the salad and is only offering what I can’t eat feels like the final straw. And who knows if the places I like that are not within walking distance will be open when this is all over?
      I used to treasure going out for a burger on my way to book club every month. That way I could have one really enjoyable cheat to anticipate every month and resist temptation the rest of the time.

  12. Barefoot Boardwalk opened and offered a simple burger: bun of good quality, hamburger patty, secret sauce, cheese and pickle. Done. Add a tiki drink of your choice. I am addicted, but the place closed down at the start of the Great Pandemic. When BB opens again, I’ll order take-out. And, yes, I have simple tastes.

  13. I don’t eat a lot of meat anymoe. I usally save that for when I go out. A burger is my go-to then. Haven’t had any for weeks now. As JenniferNennifer said, takeout just doesn’t cut it. Maybe, since we’re celebrating this month, I’ll get some ground beef. If I can beat the hoarders to the meat counter.

    1. Since my earlier comment of having so much ground beef would make me appear to be a hoarder, and I guess in a way I am, I want to explain why I have so much ground beef. I order a 1/4th of a cow from a local farmer twice a year. They harvest in the spring and fall. I had placed an order last December and it was ready last weekend. So, instantly, our freezer is stocked for the next 6 months. There is usually around 40 pounds of ground beef in 1 pound packages with each order. I do this because then I know the cow was well cared for during its life plus I’m supporting a small, local business.

  14. I’ve really gotten into veggie burgers! They taste good, allow just about all the flavors of a burger, and don’t leave me feeling overly full and icky for hours. I was very surprised what eating those did for me, same for lettuce wrap over bun. But sometimes you just gotta eat the bad stuff haha

  15. I like my burgers medium rare (to me, well done is like leather and there is no point in eating it). But I don’t trust most places to serve it that way, so I rarely eat a burger unless it is at home. The one place in town that had the best burgers closed, and I probably haven’t had one in two, maybe three years.

    I am braced to be tossed out of Argh.

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