April 22nd, 2011: Burger Friday! Baja Burgers

Oh, Rebecca Black... will you ever be not relevant? I'll tell you what the answer to that is: no, you won't be. And Bob's Burgers? You inspire me to make burgers. I love making burgers, I see them as a canvas for food. You take a beef patty and then paint on it with sauces, toppings and stuffing. I consider myself to be a De Vinci of burgers, bettered only by those that can afford Kobe and American Kobe beef and Bob himself.

What's even crazier is how I come up with these burgers. I often compile them by simply wandering Miejer and putting together burger toppings in my head. These I call Baja Burgers... why? Because they have a very Southern California Cuisine feel to them, something I'd expect Guy Fieri to offer in one of his restaurants. The burger has green onions, green peppers and my usual burger rub in it, only this time I omitted the brown sugar. I really didn't want to mix molasses sweetness with capsaicin flavors. I threw some La Preferida refried beans on the stove and sliced me up some avocado and tomato. I cooked the burgers up and then proceeded to lid the pan while the cheese melted. For once I achieved a perfect melty-cheese effect using a pan lid. I also undercooked them more than I usually do. I usually eat my burgers medium-well, but these I cooked to a rare-medium. It was surprisingly juicy, but almost to a fault. I served them on a whole wheat bun with a side of beans and chips. Quite a tasty foray into the mind of Guy Ferry.

My girlfriend agreed that the burgers were great and agrees with my arrogant sentiment that I am great burger cook. I'd love to open my own burger place, like Bob, but the capitol is just too great for me. Maybe, if I get a job at The Rock (which is opening in Uptown Normal) I'll be able to work my magic on the unsuspecting public of Central Illinois.

A short list of burger recipes I've made:
Gyro Burgers (ground lamb with gyro seasoning) with homemade Tzatziki sauce
Pepper Jack Burgers (jalapeño stuffed burger) topped with pickled chilies, Pepper-Jack cheese, homemade tomato based hot sauce served on toasted white bread.
Cheddar and Swiss stuffed Bison burgers.
"French" Onion Burgers with Dijon/Bourbon Sauce
Welsh Rarebit Pub Style Burgers
Salsa Stuffed Fiesta Turkey Burgers