This Burger is a Keeper

A few weekends ago, my husband and I invited his parents over for dinner. They had been to our new house before for parties and to see our kids, but this night was special. It was the first time we were hosting them to a home cooked meal in OUR home. Big difference. I have been loving making my way through Ina Garten's Back to Basics cookbook over the past few months, so I turned to it once again, as it has yet to disappoint me. Her Niman Ranch Burgers recipe is what I landed on since I knew my father-in-law (especially) might appreciate it.

I have to admit... I don't eat very much red meat. In fact there are times I swear I could almost convince myself to be a vegetarian... The word almost is key. I still like the flavor certain meat products add to dishes. I'm just very picky about what part of an animal I consume and where it comes from. In this case, I turned to an upscale shopping market in our area and purchased organic, almost 100% grass-fed ground beef. I learned from the butcher that since the cows were raised here locally, they can't be 100% grass-fed at this time of the year here in Oregon. Due to weather, grass doesn't grow here well enough over the last 3 months of their lifetime to sustain them. During those last 3 months, they are fed a mixture of grass, alfalfa, and corn. I soaked up this information, as I try to only buy grass-fed beef as it tends to be leaner, retain more nutrients than grain-fed beef, and is a more natural diet for a cow. It really is true what good cooks say, "get to know your butcher"... Ask questions about your food!

The recipe I chose took a fancy spin on a traditional burger in that it was served open-faced on a toasted english muffin. We added a little blue cheese to the meat (which the original recipe did not call for), added our lettuce, tomato and topped it off with caramelized onions... Our taste buds were in heaven! It absolutely made my evening when my husband and father-in-law said it could beat any burger they've tried in a restaurant! I agreed. I served the burgers with Ina's Oven-Roasted Vegetables that included fennel bulb, fingerling potatoes, haricots verts (french string beans), and tri-colored broccoli (she calls for asparagus). Here is a very similar vegetable recipe of hers. To me, it is incredibly rewarding to find recipes and ingredients that are healthy and delicious at the same time. Try these recipes and let me know what you think!