Al Fresco

Cheeseburgers. Easy enough, but here's a few simple tricks to make your burgers FABULOUS. I've heard it's a good idea to mix your meats, like 1/2 ground sirloin, 1/2 ground chuck. I just use ground chuck, 80/20 (a little fat in your burger is a good thing.) I put the ground beef in a bowl, shake some Montreal steak seasoning in, about 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, kosher salt, pepper, and sometimes A-1 steak seasoning- although lately we've been leaving it out. Mix in seasonings with your hands or a wooden spoon and start shaping your burgers into patties. (I usually get four small burgers for each pound of meat.) Now, here comes my most important hamburger tip: a pat of butter hidden inside the patty. I'm totally serious. One pat of butter inside your hamburger patty and you'll be thanking your friend Katherine for your totally awesome, moist and delicious hamburger. When you're grilling them or cooking them in a skillet, resist the urge to use your spatula to flatten the patties. You'll squeeze the juiciness right out of them! Butter is also our friend when we're preparing the buns. Spread butter on each side of the bun and broil them for 2 minutes or however long it takes for them to get all toasty and warm. And don't forget the mayo. (NO miracle whip!)

My kids were mostly into the homemade fries. Sometime when I'm not so tired I'll tell you how to make those, too.