Burger Night

The Humble Beginning of a Hamburger Bun

Back in September my roommate and I had started a Sunday night dinner tradition of having hamburgers for dinner. Not just any hamburgers, but the tasty "Au Poivre" burgers from Whole Foods. Ever since reading Fast Food Nation, I've been a little particular about ground beef since. I rarely eat it, so this is the one exception I make; the red blooded American in me loves a good burger. Burger night had been retired for a while. I decided on Saturday afternoon that it was time to resurrect the Sunday night tradition.

Sunday afternoon I gathered my reusable shopping bags and headed out to the store with a mental grocery list in my head. AS usual, that list changed and grew a little once I got to the store. I headed to the meat counter to pick out my patties. Sadly, there were no pepper crusted ones to be had. However there were Sweet Onion and Portabello and Swiss, I took 2 of each. I then headed to the cheese section. I usually like a good Cheddar on my burger, but the Jalapeno Jack was calling my name. I gave in to it's beckoning. I picked up a few other needed and not-so-needed items, and started to look for the bread aisle. Then it occurred to me a bread recipe that I had been using to making dinner rolls would probably make perfect hamburger buns! I already had the ingredients I needed at home and if I hurried, I'd have enough time to make them.

The original recipe was for a cheese bread. You make the dough and let it proof. After the first rising, you punch it down, portion it and then as you roll it into little balls, you push a cube of Gruyere (or hard cheese of choice) into the bottom. It's actually a fairly simple recipe, doesn't take long to make, and bakes quickly. Did I mention its good? I omitted the cheese, and added some sesame seeds to the top before baking.

A Little Sprinkle of Sesame Seeds

 

I had the Portabello and Swiss burger, topped with a whole mess of stuff, some garlic-y mustard, sweet relish, carmelized onions, a little Jalapeno Jack cheese, slice of tomato, some fresh lettuce, and a touch of mayo, all sandwich between the freshest, softest hamburger bun.  Served up with some hand-cut oven fries and a glass of red wine, it was the best way ever to bring back burger night. 

Just Need the Burger and Toppings

 

My Delicious Burger and Fries

I forgot to take a photo of our dessert.  I've started playing with cocktails and making my own chocolate milkshake martinis.  Last night's was equal heavy doses of Creme de Cacao and Chambord blended to perfection with some chocolate icecream and a splash of milk.  Sunday nights like this, make the next day being Monday, not seem so bad.