Thanks, everyone. Scott and I went out for my birthday Saturday night. We went to a really good Indian restaurant. I had the chicken vindaloo and Scott had chicken tikka masala. The food took quite a while-which we didn't mind bc we weren't in a hurry- so they gave us each a free glass of wine. My actual birthday on Sunday wasn't so great. Scott had to about 13 hours in Rochester for the Dalai and Sam had a fever.
I read an article about the Vatican cracking down on progressive nuns again. This time an organization of 57,000 nuns. Not just some small "rogue" group of Nuns. I find this very disappointing. Here's an excerpt:
It follows a Vatican assessment, which accuses members of the group of challenging the church's teachings on homosexuality and the male-only priesthood, and of promoting “radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith,” the New York Times says.
In Midwest Living magazine, Christy Creme in CB has one of the top 25 burgers in the Midwest. Also Dinkers in Omaha and Django in Des Moines. The Blue Door pub in St. Paul makes the list. That's the only place on the list I've tried. Hot Chocolate in Chicago, The Green House Tavern in Cleveland,. I don't know where Dexter Iowa but their Rusty Duck makes the cut. Sorry, nothing in Cedar Rapids. Get out there and eat your meat!
It all starts with the meat. FRESH (never frozen) ground chuck. After that, don't overwork the meat when you are forming the patties. That will make for a firmer bite (too firm). Ideally, just make a loose ball and smash it to a burger - smashing only once. You can tidy up the edges if you need to.
If you want to keep it from plumping up in the middle when it cooks (and it will - especially if you are cooking out on the grill) the best thing to do is to make the center of the burger thinner than the outer rim of the burger. You can do this easily by further compressing the middle of the smashed burger with a small, round, smooth surface. Something like the bottom of a shot glass or juice glass depending on the diamater of the patty. Make the center about half as thick as the outside.
Another thing - don't make the patty too thick. I would say a half inch at the absolute thickest. Too thick and the outer surface will dry out too much before the inside gets done.
Don't season the beef and mix in the seasoning prior to forming the patties. This will overwork the meat and make for a too firm bite (see first paragraph). Just season the outside when you cook them. I like that Montreal Steak seasoning.
Cook to MW at the most. A little pink probably won't kill you.
If you are cooking out on the grill you will maybe have to work the meat a little more so you have it more compacted and firmer patties than if you are cooking on a flat grill or a pan. Using my smash technique above the patties may be too delicate a break apart on the grill. Feel free to work the meat a little to get a patty that will hold up on an open flame grill.
Make sure the grill is clean, hot and oiled before putting the patties on or else they will stick and fall apart.
Drink a really cold cheap beer. Have fresh sliced tomatoes, onions, bread and butter pickles, mayo and a good bun. Don't get fancy and try to buy some bogus ciabatta bun because it isn't a true ciabatta bun anyway.
Just get a good commercial bun like a kaiser or sesame seed or onion roll.
There has been a rash of burger- themed resturants opening in Chicago it seems like. I have been trying to get to them all to see who has the best!
So far the best burger I have had in Chicago came from Rosebud Prime, but that probably shouldn't count because it was at a steak resturant.....and it cost $16.
We're going to see Fiddler on the Roof tonight, thanks to Grace and Ryan (Christmas gift) and will endeavor to ascertain the wisdom of all the burger opinions and recommendations heretofore mentioned in our preperformance prandifications. Tradition!
By the way, I think the beef needs to be not more than 85% lean. We've been eating 93% lean lately (big sale) and where's the burger love? I was actually tempted to add in some tiny diced butter last time. Don't worry, I didn't.
Ed, I just read about a burger place in Chicago...Des said it's owned by the same people as the little fish place by the Husker Bar...hope that's enough info!
Yes, gotta have the 85% beef. I'm making buttermilk and hot sauce soaked panko crusted oven fried chicken. It's a family face. We should be grilling, but i had my heart set on this.
Tom, did you guys get any snow that hit the middle east section of the U.S?
Burgers are my number one craving this pregnancy, and Christy Creme has the best fries and a homemade sherbet-of-the-day so I will be trying that burger soon.
Oooh, wasabi mayonnaise. I'll have that one please.
Stevo's mom is in pretty bad shape. She went into the hospital after falling and breaking her nose and her blood pressure was sky high, and she has been pretty delirious ever since. Sometimes she sounds almost comatose and sometimes she is totally disconnected from reality. His sister Chris is also in the hospital in Texas, having exploratory laparoscopic surgery because of unexplained internal bleeding and she is not feeling good at all. So keep them in your prayers, please.
It has two rooms (a living room in front and in back a room with a piddle pad and feeding area - kind of like the powder room off the kitchen.) They are separated by a tread mill.
I just loved that article about the health benefits of beer, whiskey and pork fat. They also mentioned a bacon-fat mayonnaise in there. I'm going to invent bacon pierogis. Stay tuned.
51 comments:
Happy Birthday Emily! Don't spend all your winnings at once.
Monica
Hope it was the greatest, smemily!
p
Happy Birthday! Sorry, I don't go near the computer on weekends. You look very happy and somewhat wicked in this photo. In a good way.
Happy 40th Emily!!!
Now I feel old!
Are you gonna join the Lingerie Football Team?
What did you do?
Thanks, everyone. Scott and I went out for my birthday Saturday night. We went to a really good Indian restaurant. I had the chicken vindaloo and Scott had chicken tikka masala. The food took quite a while-which we didn't mind bc we weren't in a hurry- so they gave us each a free glass of wine. My actual birthday on Sunday wasn't so great. Scott had to about 13 hours in Rochester for the Dalai and Sam had a fever.
I read an article about the Vatican cracking down on progressive nuns again. This time an organization of 57,000 nuns. Not just some small "rogue" group of
Nuns. I find this very disappointing. Here's an excerpt:
It follows a Vatican assessment, which accuses members of the group of challenging the church's teachings on homosexuality and the male-only priesthood, and of promoting “radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith,” the New York Times says.
In Midwest Living magazine, Christy Creme in CB has one of the top 25 burgers in the Midwest. Also Dinkers in Omaha and Django in Des Moines. The Blue Door pub in St. Paul makes the list. That's the only place on the list I've tried. Hot Chocolate in Chicago, The Green House Tavern in Cleveland,. I don't know where Dexter Iowa but their Rusty Duck makes the cut. Sorry, nothing in Cedar Rapids. Get out there and eat your meat!
I think to have a really good burger a place has to have a really old griddle. What do you think?
It all starts with the meat. FRESH (never frozen) ground chuck. After that, don't overwork the meat when you are forming the patties. That will make for a firmer bite (too firm). Ideally, just make a loose ball and smash it to a burger - smashing only once. You can tidy up the edges if you need to.
If you want to keep it from plumping up in the middle when it cooks (and it will - especially if you are cooking out on the grill) the best thing to do is to make the center of the burger thinner than the outer rim of the burger. You can do this easily by further compressing the middle of the smashed burger with a small, round, smooth surface. Something like the bottom of a shot glass or juice glass depending on the diamater of the patty. Make the center about half as thick as the outside.
Another thing - don't make the patty too thick. I would say a half inch at the absolute thickest. Too thick and the outer surface will dry out too much before the inside gets done.
Don't season the beef and mix in the seasoning prior to forming the patties. This will overwork the meat and make for a too firm bite (see first paragraph). Just season the outside when you cook them. I like that Montreal Steak seasoning.
Cook to MW at the most. A little pink probably won't kill you.
If you are cooking out on the grill you will maybe have to work the meat a little more so you have it more compacted and firmer patties than if you are cooking on a flat grill or a pan. Using my smash technique above the patties may be too delicate a break apart on the grill. Feel free to work the meat a little to get a patty that will hold up on an open flame grill.
Make sure the grill is clean, hot and oiled before putting the patties on or else they will stick and fall apart.
Drink a really cold cheap beer. Have fresh sliced tomatoes, onions, bread and butter pickles, mayo and a good bun. Don't get fancy and try to buy some bogus ciabatta bun because it isn't a true ciabatta bun anyway.
Just get a good commercial bun like a kaiser or sesame seed or onion roll.
good eats
Tom
There has been a rash of burger- themed resturants opening in Chicago it seems like. I have been trying to get to them all to see who has the best!
So far the best burger I have had in Chicago came from Rosebud Prime, but that probably shouldn't count because it was at a steak resturant.....and it cost $16.
We're going to see Fiddler on the Roof tonight, thanks to Grace and Ryan (Christmas gift) and will endeavor to ascertain the wisdom of all the burger opinions and recommendations heretofore mentioned in our preperformance prandifications. Tradition!
By the way, I think the beef needs to be not more than 85% lean. We've been eating 93% lean lately (big sale) and where's the burger love? I was actually tempted to add in some tiny diced butter last time. Don't worry, I didn't.
It needs to come from the Whittemore locker.
Ed, I just read about a burger place in Chicago...Des said it's owned by the same people as the little fish place by the Husker Bar...hope that's enough info!
Yes, gotta have the 85% beef. I'm making buttermilk and hot sauce soaked panko crusted oven fried chicken. It's a family face. We should be grilling, but i had my heart set on this.
Tom, did you guys get any snow that hit the middle east section of the U.S?
That's supposed to be family fave.
Happy birthday, Emily.
Can't beleive you're 40. I must be old.
We bought a quarter side of beef and the hamburger is soooo tasty.
Lisa
No snow here. There was a chance but we didn't even get a frost.
Happy Birthday, Em.
Tom
Burgers are my number one craving this pregnancy, and Christy Creme has the best fries and a homemade sherbet-of-the-day so I will be trying that burger soon.
Has anyone stayed at the Econolodge in downtown Omaha?
Yes...Mike and I stay there occasionally...NO bells and whistles, but it's clean...don't pay more than $50...they will deal.
Joe just got us rooms at the Courtyard by Marriot for $65 a night.
On Priceline.
Monica
In downtown? I've been trying price line every day! They wouldn't accept $75.
P
We can host anyone who doesn't mind sleeping on a couch or air mattress. I'm assuming all our kids will be here.
Pat, yeah. It's about a block away from the reception. Try again.
Monica
I've tried four days in a row. I'm going to try with a different email address.
Thanks, Cathy! I appreciate the offer. I want to try to stay close to the reception in case Manny needs to leave early.
P
Nope it still wouldn't take it.
p
I bet it took ours because we got 2 rooms.
Monica
Probably. I just had Ed try too and it wouldn't accept 70.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/25/idUS288472+25-Apr-2012+BW20120425
I'm kind of a big deal
Tom
Oooh, wasabi mayonnaise. I'll have that one please.
Stevo's mom is in pretty bad shape. She went into the hospital after falling and breaking her nose and her blood pressure was sky high, and she has been pretty delirious ever since. Sometimes she sounds almost comatose and sometimes she is totally disconnected from reality. His sister Chris is also in the hospital in Texas, having exploratory laparoscopic surgery because of unexplained internal bleeding and she is not feeling good at all. So keep them in your prayers, please.
Oh no. Sorry to hear about Steve's momand sister. I hope everything turns out ok.
Tom, do you get to pick the winner? I want to try that wasabi burger too.
Tom,
Do you have many leather-bound books and does your apartment smell of rich mahogany?
Trader Joe's has wasabi mayo...we use it almost every day...great for egg salad and tuna, too.
Cathy, I'll say a prayer for Stevo's mom and sister...any updates?
Very cool Tom! Reuters!
Egg salad = gross
Cathy - let us know how Stevo's mom and sister are.
If anyone wants to stay here, we have extra rooms. Welcome!
Kid news flash: Mary won Honorable Mention at the State Invention Convention contest!
Lisa
Good News!
http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2012/04/27/beer-whiskey-and-pork-fat-the-new-health-foods/?hpt=hp_c2
What did Mary invent?
Mary invented
A Fun Kennel for small dogs.
It has two rooms (a living room in front and in back a room with a piddle pad and feeding area - kind of like the powder room off the kitchen.) They are separated by a tread mill.
lisa
Congrats to Mary!! Now she needs a dog...that sounds like the perfect kennel for Little Miss Curly Girl!
Here's Joe's cell phone #515-320-0420.
Egg salad is my favorite sandwich.
When I was a kid egg salad sandwiches used to gross me out. I still would rather eat it with a fork than on bread.
Mike and I eat it at least twice a week...Oh, in the summer with really good tomatoes and a slice of onion on good bread.
eh, eggsalad. I can take it or leave it. I don't generally like things that have a lot of mayo. I like tuna salad better.
Monica
Egg salad is gross.
Egg salad made with still warm eggs is the best.
Tom
I like deviled eggs much better. Next time I'm going to make them with wasabi mayonnaise.
I just loved that article about the health benefits of beer, whiskey and pork fat. They also mentioned a bacon-fat mayonnaise in there. I'm going to invent bacon pierogis. Stay tuned.
my egg salad is 1/2 mustard with the wasabi mayo.
esurance is giving me more than I expected for my honda. still not worth the aggravation though.
That's a nice surprise.
Monica
Tommy Rees is in jail. I guess it'll be Golson starting!
Tommy, Tommy, Tommy...you can't hit cops...Dad said he read a blog that said the 60 year old cop was able to run Rees down...haha...
What? What happened?
What about the piano playing QB?
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