Tuesday, June 17, 2008

escapades in the kitchen: burgers part II

Stuffed burgers = fabulous.

I tried it out last night using feta cheese as the filler. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Next time I'll try it with gorgonzola, which takes to red meat like a Romeo and Juliet where the Montagues and Capulets reconcile before the suicides and everyone lives happily ever after organizing their dialogues into sonnets.

5 comments:

Phil said...

This is an excellent idea...

I do love me some cheese.

I'm curious as to the effect the feta had on the burgers. Feta has such an innocuous flavor, it seems that the difference in texture would be the most noticeable addition to the recipe, but perhaps it's the subtlety of the flavor that's the treat.

Gorgonzola, however, would be amazing... or the sharpest cheddar you can find. Or something as simple as an extra-spicy pepper jack.

You've opened new doors in my life. I'm firing up the grill tonight, without a doubt. The nights here are perfect right now for nightswimming and whispering around the backyard fire pit.

Too bad a cold Yuengling isn't an option. I'll have to make do with a local brew.

The Prufroquette said...

Cheese is one of God's greatest gifts to man.

You find feta innocuous? Perhaps a bit when paired with red meat; feta likes salads and pizzas and poultry best, I think. It was good in the burgers, though -- flavored a bit with the seasoned meat, not too melty, nice and savory.

I confess I used it as a backup because our podunk grocery store doesn't carry gorgonzola. Which is amazing on burgers. Houlihan's has a burger smothered in gorgonzola and mushrooms, and I thought, using the ScienceGirl's suggestion, if it's that good as a topping, how much better as a filler?

Sadly, due to a psychological food-association scar from a stomach bug when I was a kid, I hate cheddar and ground beef, unless it's a little ground beef swimming in a cheesy taco dip. It limits my burger enjoyment, but with so many cheeses out there, it's not too big a handicap.

Happy grilling!! It is indeed the perfect weather for flamed-broiled food and toasted marshmallows and sandy feet.

Oh, and I found that another good seasoning to add to the meat is basil.

Ahh, Yuengling...how I miss thee...

Phil said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Phil said...

Ah, Hamburger Helper claims yet another young victim.

So are you saying that you're amenable to cheddar so long as it isn't juxtaposed with ground beef? I hope so. As simple as it is, the sharpest of cheddars are among my favorite cheeses.

As ridiculous it is to admit, gourmet cheeses are the only things that I have ever plotted to steal. I can afford to pay for my yarlsberg now, but that wasn't always the case during my hungry years. There isn't a more pathetic figure than a poor college student with a shopping cart full of ramen, eggs and oatmeal, and his pockets stuffed with camembert, idiazabal and roquefort.

And that was before I really discovered wine.

(The previous comment was essentially the same, save a horribly embarrassing typo)

The Prufroquette said...

:)

I wish one could go back and edit one's comments as one can one's posts.

Ground beef and cheddar together are my only limitations. Sharp cheddar ranks high among one of my favorite cheeses as well.

Ah, yes, the hungry years. I have to enjoy my fabulous cheeses sparingly due to my budget, which, sadly, has curtailed my sampling some of the ones you mentioned.

My saving grace (since I ADORE cooking, and the farther East the origin of the cuisine, the happier I am) is the lovely little Asian markets, which, though they sport no exotic cheeses, are full of cheap spices and sauces and pastes that I can use to create the little culinary miracles I enjoy. I just bought a Moroccan cookbook yesterday, and am itching to get up to Chicago for some of the ingredients not readily available in the small nearby South Bend.

There was a time a couple of years ago when I was eating nothing but cereal. Thankfully those days are over. Nothing's worse than a high-brow taste on a ramen budget.

I "liberated" a lot of things from our Stalinist college cafeteria back in the day...I found that the trick, once you've put something in your pocket, is to forget that it's there.

The Year of More and Less

Life continues apace. I like being in my late thirties. I have my shit roughly together. I'm more secure and confident in who I am....