Burgers :: take one

[week of 10/26/08]

[okay, really it is not take one, given that, since we moved to Maine, I've been occasionally buying burger meat and experimenting with burgers. But it is take one with this project...,]

Pulled a package out of the deep freeze on a Monday, to thaw for Tuesday.

Did these in the most simple way: on the grill, with just a bit of salt and pepper mixed in to the meat.

Made burgers twice during the week, Tuesday and Thursday. So, this one package actually yielded two meals.

Each time, Ray and I each had one burger, with cheese.

Both times, I think we had some sort of veggie sides, fries in one case, carrot salad the other time.

Questions now are: how much did that package weigh, and therefore how much was each burger? are we talking about a standard quarter-pounder or not?

also, larger question: how long to cook, to get it "just right" for each of us, meaning rarer for Ray, and a little more medium for C. This is what we'll be working on figuring out, as we return to burgers again and again.

Finally, what to put in the meat, if anything, to "spice it up." If you read around, there are so many fancy, funky ways to do burgers. Some definitely worth exploring, some, not so much...

Ski Season: Right Around the Corner

[week of 10/19/08] (the very first week...)

Date: Oct 25th.

Location: Emma and Steve's barn.

Activity: ski movies. Who knew they could be so fun? I was totally excited to see snow and all the crazy skiing. My kids were, too. [in fact, the next morning, Milo woke up asking if it was time to go skiing.]

Food: among other things (really, the array of food was amazing: salad, chips and salsa, beer (I know, not a food...), pretzels, applesauce, french fries, courtesy of fry-cook extraordinaire RFVought, and so on and so forth), BEEF STEW. Made with the happy beef. By Steve. Very yummy.

Hoping he'll post more about it at some point.

First post: in which we get the beef

It's a cold day in mid-October.

As per our arrangements, I meet Ellen in the parking lot of the BLC. you know, it's sort of like a drug deal (not that I've ever done such a thing. Really).

I drive up in my car. She's already there, in her Subaru Forester, which she points out is a mobile refrigerator, because of all the frozen meat she is hauling around.

We transfer something a little under 100 pounds of beef into four, yes, FOUR, coolers I had brought for the deal.

I think to myself, what the hell are we going to do with all this beef???

Thus begins the adventure.