Extraordinary Lives

The Basic Burger

From the book How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition) by Mark Bittman

Serves4

Editor’s note: Check out Mark Bittman’s Amazon single for Kindle: What I Grill and Why.

Introduction

Ground chuck — which generally corresponds to the “20 percent fat” ground meat sold in supermarkets — makes the best burgers; the fat acts to keep it moist. An overcooked but fatty burger will still be moist; a lean burger will be unappetizingly dry.

Ingredients

1 to 1⅓lb. ground chuck or sirloin, not too lean1tsp. salt or 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, or steak sauce¼cup minced onion, shallot, or scallion (optional)

Steps

Place the meat in a bowl and sprinkle with salt or sauce and the onions, if using. Lightly mold the meat into 4 patties.

If you’re cooking the burgers on a grill, heat the grill to high; cook the burgers for about 3 minutes on each side for rare, a minute more per side for each increasing stage of doneness. If you’re cooking the burgers on the stovetop, preheat a cast-iron pan over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes; sprinkle coarse salt in the pan and cook the burgers for the same amount of time as on a grill.

If you’re making cheeseburgers, add the slices of cheese to the burgers as soon as you flip them. Serve on warm buns, toast, or hard rolls, garnished with ketchup, mustard, mayo, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, etc.

Notes

Given concerns about the safety of store-ground meat (E. coli, salmonella, and the like), you might want to try grinding your own meat for burgers. Buy a chuck roast, cut it into small cubes about an inch square, and pulse a small batch (about 1/2 pound) at a time in a food processor. Make sure you don’t pulverize the meat and it’ll be wonderful. Freeze what you don’t use immediately.

If you do buy pre-ground meat, most authorities recommend that you cook it to well done (160 degrees) to kill harmful bacteria. Do this once and you’re likely to begin grinding your own meat, since well-done hamburgers are often too dry to eat.

This content is from the book How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition) by Mark Bittman.

Copyright © 2008 Wiley

This is the recipe is used most often. Damn easy!

2.5 - 3.0 pound pork butt roast (the pork butt is from the shoulder and has 

a bit more marbling for better flavor)

1L A&W Root Beer (you can use a cheaper root beer but why?)

1 jar (28oz) of Jack Daniels Original No. 7 BBQ Sauce (again, you can use what you like)

6-8 Sandwich rolls

----------------------------------------------------------

Rinse the pork butt and pat dry. 

Place pork butt into slow cooker. (If it comes wrapped in roasting string, just leave that on)

Pour Root Beer over pork butt until covered. (If you don't use all the root beer, have a float later!)

Cook on low for 8 hours or so. (leave it in longer if that's more convenient)

Remove from slow cooker and using two forks, separate the meat. Dump out the juices in the crock pot.

Return the meat to the crock pot and add the jar of BBQ sauce. Add what you like, you can always add more later)

These are so easy to make! 

Prep: 10 minutes           Cook: 40 minutes

2 pounds round red potatoes, unpeeled and quartered

1 tablespoons minced garlic (3 cloves)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Combine all ingredients in a large tiptop freezer bag. Seal bag and shake well to coat. 

Arrange potatoes in a well-greased 13x9-inch baking dish.

This roast has become a family favorite, especially for Sunday Family Dinner! We serve with Roasted Rosemary Potatoes and Fresh Green Beans.

Prep: 10 minutes           Slow Cook: 8-10 hours

The time it will take

You cannot turn the corner until you get to it. In order to create a breakthrough, you must lay the groundwork for it.

Real value is built with time, effort and commitment. Don’t cheat yourself out of that value by demanding instant results.

When you’re moving in a positive direction, enjoy the ride and give it the time it takes. Even though the fulfillment is not yet complete, you can already begin to experience it.

Don’t be afraid of the time it will take to make real progress. Be thankful for the opportunity to make an increasingly valuable difference as time goes on.

There is great joy to be found in meaningful effort. The longer and more committed the effort is, the more joy you are able to experience.

Cheerfully give yourself and your work the time it takes. Choose a worthy destination, and treasure every step of the journey.

— Ralph Marston

Today's motivational message from Ralph Marston was extremely timely (aren't they all) for several reasons. The message focuses on joy, and more specifically, enjoying your journey. Life is a journey through time. It's time that people want more of, cannot buy, nor alter. Do you sit and wonder where the years went? If I were to make a resolution this year, it would be to learn to enjoy each day. "Live in the moment" as it where.

Three areas came to mind when reading this quote: The Kansas City Royals, Humanitarian Relief International (HRI) and our family.

First, the Royals. Even the most casual Royals, or baseball, fan can appreciate this message. No major sports team (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL) has endured a longer playoff drought then the Royals 28 years. The next closest is 10 years shorter, Blue Jays. It's not just that they haven't made the playoffs, they haven't even been close, having only 2 winning seasons since 1994. But one of those seasons came in 2013, in year 7 of Dayton Moore's "rebuilding process". I highlight that because those 7 years have been the groundwork for 2014, the year continually targeted as when the Royals would become a competitive force once again. While I cannot say those 7 years were joyful, I can say the progress made is significant, measurable and real. The Kansas City Royals of 2014 could be a year to remember.

The second focus is with HRI (and by extension, GTSG). Over 2 years ago, I joined the GTSG team as a start-up organization and here we are still a start-up. In those 2 years, the team worked through the process of creating HRI, developing the mobile donation process and receiving grant funding for the Data Analytics project. Like the Royals, GTSG and HRI are poised for success in 2014, but to get to this point the groundwork HAD to be laid. And also like the Royals, I cannot unequivocally say I've enjoyed the journey. However, the rest of the journey starts today, and my attitude can reflect that.

Finally, learning to live with contentment leads to a much more joyful day. I resolve to start my day being content and spend time during the day being thankful. I resolve to understand and maximize the value of my attributes, my possessions and my attitude. Not an easy task by any stretch, especially for me, but one that should bring immediate returns. Again, I could not even write this without 49+ years of groundwork. That's 49+ years of success and failure, of happiness and hurt, of times of plenty and despair. "Real value is built with time."

As Marston wrote, "There is great joy to be found in meaningful effort. The longer and more committed the effort is, the more joy you are able to experience." I seek great joy!

Source: The Green Fields of the Mind

THREE NIGHTS.

Throughout my childhood years (and even into early manhood), there were three days each year that induced such excitement into my soul that I struggled mightily against The Sandman the night before. These three sleepless nights were December 24, the first Sunday night in April and today, July 31.

The first date is easy to understand, Christmas! As a child, I loved Christmas morning and the magic of opening a bounty of perfectly wrapped boxes. Of course not much time was spent thinking about the Christian tradition started more than 2,000 years earlier; and why the Magi brought gifts to a newborn king. I was thankful they did, though, focused instead on baseball cards, record albums and Aunt Sandy’s Christmas Tea Ring. 

The second date was centered on Opening Day. During the latter half of the 20th Century, baseball season nearly always started on the first Monday in April. Baseball, like Spring, is a new beginning, and it is that first game after a long restless Winter that generates such anticipation that sleep eluded me. For the Kansas City Royals, their fan base included one young soul who spent countless nights listening to Fred White and Denny Matthews on KMA Radio. I wasn’t sure where Shenandoah, Iowa was, but it must have been a great, great town!

The third day is today, July 31, the day before my birthday. While the other two days can hold that same, youthful enthusiasm, the last day of July has evolved over the years. As a child, that is YOUR day. Every other day you share, but this was yours and yours alone. Mom coddles you, Dad presents that special gift and even your sister finds it in her heart to befriend you. You lie there in the dark thinking about the birthday party with your friends, cash flowing in from cards mailed from relatives you met at last year’s family Christmas gathering and you wonder what it may be like to celebrate your birthday during the school year, bringing  cupcakes to class to celebrate.  As you’re older, it may be a dinner with friends, homemade cards from your own children and a bottle of wine. But it is still your day. Focus turns to you.