A Year of Blogging: May 28, 2011

May 28 was National Hamburger Day. I didn't blog about it on the 28th, because we had Erich's parents over for dinner. They requested that we have a tossed salad for the meal, and fruit salad for dessert. I didn't want to blog about hamburgers, one of my favorite foods, because I knew it would make me very hungry. I have always loved hamburgers. If we had a cookout, I went for hamburgers and my sister for hot dogs. Hamburgers remain one of my favorite foods. I could go to any restaurant, and as long as there is a hamburger on the menu, I will be happy. That is not to say I eat hamburgers every time I go out. No, I eat a lot of chicken and pasta dishes. But sometimes, you just want a good hamburger. (Ok, I'm sure my vegetarian friends never feel that way. But the carnivores- we do!) For me, a good hamburger has to be cooked properly. That means well done. I know what I like, and I am not afraid to send food back if it is not cooked properly. For my sister's baby shower, she wanted a picnic. Her birthday is in November, so she never had an outdoor party. Mom and Dad hosted the shower at their house. Dad was in charge of cooking the hamburgers and hot dogs. When I bit into the hamburger, it was about medium. I went up to Dad at the grill, who was still cooking. One of my brother-in-law's friends was helping Dad, and he tried to help. Dad took one look at me and said 'I know what she wants... throw it back on'. Dad said there was another plate of more well done, but I had been busy and he hadn't had a chance to tell me which was which. My favorite burger is probably one that is covered in cheese (Swiss or cheddar) and topped with bacon. Then I add mustard and sometimes relish. I don't need to get exotic with different types of cheese or toppings. Sometimes I will use thousand island dressing instead of mustard. That gives my burgers a nice 'Big Mac' flavor. ("Special Sauce", indeed!) I also recently discovered burgers taste good on an English muffin. I used this one night when we were out of hamburger buns and out of bread. And it was delicious! It's fitting that National Hamburger Day fell during Memorial Day weekend. Everyone seems to grill at some point during the weekend. Of course, we had hot dogs, not hamburgers. And just as I knew it would, thinking about hamburgers has made me hungry. So we'll be having hamburgers for dinner tomorrow night. For now, I'll grab some fruit.