So it seems my theory that it is universal to celebrate all of life’s milestones with steak is once again proven.

This time, by none other than the First Lady herself.

She chose to dine on American Wagyu steak to mark the occasion of her birth. AND, at a place that serves an Obama Burger – an American Kobe burger with bacon, cheese, ketchup and mustard. Yet again, exquisite taste.

Yum, Mrs. Obama. Yum.

See? I’m not the only one who likes to dine on a perfectly grilled steak when there is something to celebrate.

Next time you have something in your life to shout about, you can revel in it over your own American Wagyu steaks or Kobe burgers at home. Just click here and they can be on their way to your door in no time.

Happy birthday, Mrs. Obama. Hope that steak – and your day – was divine!

Photo courtesy of KansasCitySteaks.com.

This clever idea comes to us from ChefElf and it cracks me up!

Here’s what they say about Emergency Steak:

Do you ever run out of steak? You rummage around foolishly through your fridge to no avail. There is no steak to be found!

Do you happen to have ground beef, milk and Wheaties? For some inexplicable reason do you not want to eat hamburgers or have a bowl of Wheaties?

If you answered “Yes” to one or more of these questions, then I have the recipe for you: Emergency Steak.

The very idea of this is genius. Ground beef, milk, Wheaties, plus a few other ingredients form together to create a replacement – or “Emergency,” if you will – steak.

Here is what the shaping process looks like:

Here is how the “Terminator” would view the steak-making process:

Hilarious, guys!

Now, go out and gather your ground beef, milk and Wheaties, and head over to LanceandEskimo.com for the full recipe and instructions.

It CAN’T be as good as the real thing, but in a pinch it just might do!

Excerpt and photos courtesy of LanceandEskimo.com.

This was the scene on Labor Day. Grilling. Chilling. Peacefulness.

Except for the minor mishap with that burger in front. Not sure what happened there. It somehow got split in two.

I got to eat that one. That’s what moms do.

But it tasted fantastic all the same.

Those other delights on the grill are bratwurst. We had ourselves a little combo going and our friends who came over thought they had died and gone to heaven.

We had a little football on TV, some meat on the grill and all was well.

THAT’S something to be thankful for. And that’s what we’ll be thinking on Sunday as we remember what happened in our country 10 YEARS AGO.

I can’t believe 9/11/01 was 10 years ago. It feels like yesterday in my mind. My kids weren’t even born then. But they know about 9/11 and we’ll discuss it again.

Just being here is something to be thankful for. And we’ll remember those who aren’t. I hope you will too.

I like great quality meat. But I like a good bargain, too. And I have to start planning for Labor Day now. It will sneak up on me.

So this Labor Day holiday I’m going to stock up on some of our neighborhood favorites – because inevitably, the neighborhood ends up in our back yard.

I really love that because I like being in control. I’m neurotic that way. We have burgers, steaks and chicken. Everyone’s happy.

We eat the food I like, listen to the music I enjoy – you get the picture. So why wouldn’t I want the festivities at my house? What’s a few crumbs on the counter among friends when I can make sure I have Teriyaki sauce for my ribeye? See how that works?

I’m looking forward to Labor Day because it’s that last grasp at a summer feeling. People are off work, it’s still warm out where we live and folks are in the mood to have fun. I like that.

So come on, Labor Day! I’m ready for ya!

I’m just not ready for you to be over.

Photo courtesy of Kansas City Steak Company.

This was a little middle-of-the-week pick-me-up. (Did I use enough hyphens for ya?)

We were blowing and going like we always do (and like most of America does). And we just needed to sit and eat something that made us happy.

This was it.

We pan fried some delicious steakburgers and then we all topped them with whatever we thought would bring out the flavor best.

Some of us used mayo, others opted for ketchup and cheese and others – who will remain nameless – drenched theirs in Teriyaki sauce.

The fries were an added bonus.

For us, there’s nothing like a good, hearty meal to fill our bodies and our souls. And this beefy one did the trick!

Well, it seems like it sometimes.

See, we’re on vacation. And we’ve made it a rule to not eat out as much as possible on vacation.

We have kids under age 10 and all the “family-oriented” places around here are, well, deep-fried disappointment.

Ugh.

Plus, there are lines and waiting and complaining.

That’s not much of a vacation.

So we opt to cook our favorites at our home away from home.

And these steakburgers? Well, they were heaven.

As soon as we began cooking, the place where we’re staying filled quickly with the amazing aroma of grilled beef and we all could hardly contain our appetites until the sweet relief of a plate on the table.

No lines, no gum-chewing waitress, no bill, no TIPPING.

Just my food exactly the way I like it with incredible smoky bacon and ooey, gooey cheese.

You tell me heaven isn’t like that. I dare ya!

It’s tried and true. How can you go wrong with sliders on a sunny, holiday weekend?

Answer:  You can’t.

Try this recipe for scrumptious goodness on a bun – which includes the ever-popular bacon and some tasty seasonings.

Your crew will be happy and so will you!

Bon appetit, my friends! And have a safe and flavorful holiday weekend!

Let’s all remember the reason for the holiday as well. We have much to be thankful for.

Photo courtesy of MyRecipes.com.

And now, for your daily exposure to literary greatness -

My Love For Steakburgers Knows No Bounds…

Burger, burger on the wall

So sorry the poodle caught my fall.

It’s just too bad I was running late

Cuz then you might still be on my plate.

I’ll scrape you off – good as new

And wash you down with a Mountain Dew.

Now THAT’S a well-used grill!

We often have impromptu get-togethers in our backyard with the neighbors. So. . . we’ve got to keep lots of good food on hand. You know, just in case.

There are always steakburgers in our fridge or freezer and this weekend we just happened to have a bunch on the grill when our neighbors stopped by for a swim and a burger. What fun!

This is my beautiful friend’s “halfburger.” I’m trying to get her to patent the name, but she just thinks I’m crazy. She is very dainty and lovely and half a burger is all she needs.

Me? Well, let’s just say I can easily handle an entire burger.

We just love summer at our house and when you’re prepared, fun can happen at any time!

When you’re at the beach you don’t realize you’re hungry until you’ve stripped off your wet, sandy bathing suit, taken a shower and then sat down.

And then by that time, it’s too late . . . you’re RAVENOUS.

For us, the grumpies start to appear and nobody’s happy until they’ve eaten.

That’s why we like to cook in our little condo. I usually leave the beach early to get the meal rolling and then head off the “grumpies” before they appear.

See how that works?

This gorgeous photo is a steakburger meal we prepared one night. But it’s not just ANY steakburger. It’s got Vidalia (sweet) onions in the beef. And boy do they flavor that beef!

Some of us like to make them into cheese steakburgers (like the one above), but that night I preferred to make mine an onion steakburger with no bun marinaded in Teriyaki sauce. I’m crazy about the stuff. Those yummy onions mixed with the marinade brought out the amazing flavor of the burger. I just plain didn’t need a bun.

Everybody was happy because they got to make theirs however they wanted it.

And those grumpies I mentioned? They stayed far away that night. Well played, if I do say so myself.

This is incredible — and insane.

And weird.

But in a good way.

Weighing in at a whopping 78.5 lbs. is the “World’s Biggest Hamburger” shown here.

Amazing. Delicious. Creepy.

Take a bite!

Read more about this gigantic delight over at KarnMeats.com!

Photos courtesy of KarnMeats.com.

Ed Levine knows good food.  And this Labor Day weekend I plan to cook some burgers for friends and family.

I don’t want to mess this up . . . so he’s going to help. Why on earth would you chance ruining a perfectly great burger???

Here are his warnings against making the 6 most common ways to ruin a burger.

1. Not Sticking to Salt Plus Beef: Use Kosher salt (and pepper!) on both sides of the beef patty before slapping it onto the grill. Salt is a glorious thing for red meat-it draws out the natural juices and helps with the charring. Try to avoid turkey, bison or other alternative meat options, which have a much higher risk of moisture and flavor deficiency. Don’t get crazy here, just stick with beef. Motz even says, “if it’s not beef, it’s not a burger.” Here is Bobby Flay’s recipe for the perfect beef burger.

2. Bad Beef-to-Bun Balance: There’s no hard-and-fast ratio for beef-to-bun balance. It’s like Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart said in 
Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964) “I know it when I see it.” In the case of beef-to-bun balance, taste it. Beef-to-bun balance all depends on your patty size. If you’re cooking up a thin patty, don’t use a jumbo bun-you don’t want a mouthful of bread and hardly any meat, do you? When in doubt, make your patties bigger or stack a double burger. It’s bettern to err on the side of more meat.

3. Condiment Overload: Building a burger with “everything” is a huge mistake. Avoid the garbage pail approach. In most cases, going beyond onion and ketchup (arguably the most popular condiment) masks the beef taste and creates an absurd flavor profile. Seriously, a pastrami burger? Pastrami is not a condiment. However, we will make one exception for Fatty Melts-when grilled cheeses become condiments.

4. Wasting Precious Burger Juices: If you’re cooking the burgers over a flame, pressing down on them will send the precious meat juices straight into the coals. Those juices are valuable-they belong in your mouth. While it’s very tempting to apply pressure with a spatula, don’t. Unless you want a dry hockey puck. Sometimes they do it on TV, but just close your eyes.

5. Overcooking: This should be a crime recognized by the federal government. For the popular medium-rare, grill the meat exactly three minutes on one side (keeping the grill lid closed) and two minutes on the other. If you’re going to add cheese, let it melt on top for another minute (and keep that cover closed!).  We like our burgers medium rare, so much we’ve even sent them back at restaurants when they go beyond medium.

6. Machine-Formed Patties: If you really want to ruin your burger, try a machine-formed frozen patty! No, don’t. While making every ingredient from scratch is not necessary (see: Heston Blumenthal’s Blumenburger) try to form your own patties from ground chuck (80 percent lean is good) purchased at your nearest market or better yet, butcher.

Photo and excerpt courtesy of food.yahoo.com.

Remember how I wasn’t sure if my photos would do the cute little mini steakburgers justice? You know, the ones I grilled at the beach?

Well, check this out . . .

I think they turned out all right!!!

The combination of the gorgeous slider and the beautiful beachy sunlight made this a PERFECT meal. And photo. This was just taken on a white plate out on the balcony.

I was pretty sure I couldn’t mess up the grilling on these little guys. And I was right about that. I whipped out my George Foreman Lean Mean Grillin’ Machine and our little condo was filled with such an amazing smell. All I did was salt and pepper them. That’s it! The kids played as these babies sizzled and everyone kept asking, “Are they ready yet?”

They had been delivered to my door the day before and it was so nice to not have to hunt through the local supermarket’s selection of beef. We’ve been to this resort town before and it’s often iffy at best.

My kids loved how small and cute the sliders were. We bought Hawaiian rolls, sliced them in half and we had the perfect little buns for our mini steakburgers.

What a treat to have these little guys delivered to us halfway across the country!

Seriously, one of our absolute favorite aspects of a vacation is cooking great meals at night. We take the time to savor the experience of cooking and eating.

These sliders were so fun and flavorful. And to me, that’s what life’s about.

Like burgers?

Like cheese?

Check this out . . .

I know. It’s really pretty, right?

Just thought you’d like to see how we’ve been spending our time over here.

Carry on.

The conclusion of our Memorial Day carnival of carne came in the form of some amazing barbecue ribs.

We allowed them to share the grill with the steakburgers. They earned it.

See what I mean? Those ribs were awesome. We dipped them in some spicy barbecue sauce and all was right with the world.

And the steakburgers? Well, they rocked the house. I don’t think we had any left.

It’s a sad day around here when we don’t have leftovers from a HUGE cookout.

But that just tells me it was a job well done!