Bright Eyed And Bushy Tailed

Ahhh, fresh off my "mini-cation" and I feel great! Nothing like a few days of R&R, good friends, shopping, laughing and eating to your heart's content! I tell ya, I could get used to this empty nest thing!

A few observations on the weekend:

• I love my blogger buddies! MarkD60 even though we have never met, I'm pleasantly surprised that you know me so well and that's awesome! You win the prize on where I went!

• Nothing like a Florida sunset, the open ocean, a couple of drinks and the love of some great friends. The foods and drinks taste better when you are with people you love, don't you agree? The gorgeous backdrop doesn't hurt either. 

• My Tommy! YES! My Tommy silenced the critics and everyone else who wanted to spew poison and spread crap about my boy and his commitment to his team. OK, so we won a big one. I'm not a romantic fool. I know that the team's problems are a lot bigger than anyone really knows, but I'm also not one to question it. For now, I'll happily take the momentum and move forward to Buffalo. You go Tommy!!  

• Funny, on Sunday afternoon, when we were sitting out at the beautiful bar on the beach looking at the sunset having drinks, we were chatting with the fun people sitting next to us. They were from Cincinnati and they were talking serious trash about how they were going to kill us in Sunday night's game. Believe it or not we took it! We bowed our heads and agreed that this may not be the Pats year and that there were serious issues with the team, with Brady-hes not happy, blah, blah, blah. We quietly and uncharacteristically agreed with the trash talk.......I couldn't help but think of them halfway through the first quarter of the game. 

• It always takes my dogs a good hour to re acclimate to us coming home. I read once that it causes stress to the "pack" when you separate dogs that live together. They must have been stressed this weekend, because they really take their time about getting right back into the family routine when we get home. It's like they are pissed at us or something. 

•  Happy are those who come home to rest their heads. As fun as it is to get away for a bit, it's always good to come home. That goes for here too bloggers! I'm happy to be back!

Burger Bonanza

Ever have a juicy, delectable burger that you find yourself craving the next day?  I have found the ultimate burger that has been my go-to BBQ staple this summer. I served it recently to some friends who said, "best burger ever!" and that's not the first time I have served them. 

The story goes like this:

My mom and dad were at a Lowes dept store, picking up some home improvement stuff. My dad was perusing the magazines at the checkout line and he found this recipe. On the way home they decided 

to buy the ingredients and try them. The next day mom was on the phone raving about these burgers. About a week later, my dad copied the recipe and gave it to me, without me even asking. Since they were so highly recommended, I made them later that week and they did not disappoint. 

Just in time for the labor day BBQ, I present you with the best burger recipe EVER!

You can thank me later...

Beef Burgers with Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onions

You will need:

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

2 Medium yellow onions, chopped about 2 cups

1 1/2  Lb. ground beef (preferably 85% Lean)

1 Tbs. chopped fresh Tarragon

1 Tbs. Dijon mustard

1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce (preferably Lea & Perrins)

4 oz. blue cheese crumbled (about 1cup)

4 Brioche or challah rolls, split

Heat a gas grill to medium high or prepare a medium-hot charcoal fire.

Melt the butter in a 12 inch skillet over medium low heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until golden and soft; about 20 minutes; reduce the heat to low if the onions begin to brown too quickly. 

Meanwhile in a large bowl, thoroughly mix the beef, tarragon, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce with your hands. Form the mixture into four 1/2 inch thick patties.

Oil the grill grate. grill the burgers, covered, for 3 minutes. flip the burgers and top with the cheese. Cover and continue to cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into a burger registers 130 degrees F for medium rare; about 4 minutes more or 145 degrees F for medium, about 6 minutes more. 

When the burgers are nearly done, toast the rolls cut side down on the grill until browned and heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve the burgers in the rolls, topped with the caramelized onions.

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/beef-burgers-with-blue-cheese-caramelized-onions.aspx