It’s widely known that cooking brings people together. I’ve been discovering this more and more as I talk to people about cooking. It’s an instant conversation starter.
Some offices were recently moved around where I worked, and I’ve ended up with a new neighbor at my workspace. She also likes to cook and has a lot more experience in the kitchen than me. We’ve quickly gone from the routine, “good morning” to, “so what did you end up cooking this weekend?”
On Friday afternoon when I couldn’t figure out what to make for my grandfather’s birthday lunch on Sunday, she came to the rescue. Since it was going to be another hot weekend, she suggested a broccoli salad and homemade burgers.
She even found the salad recipe online for me while I looked up a burger recipe. I decided to go with Paula Deen’s salad and Ina Garten’s blue cheese burgers. Normally, I don’t use their recipes, but I wanted something new and simple this time.
This was my first time making hamburgers from scratch, but I was excited to do it. The last time I ate a burger from a box, it made me feel sick. These burgers were a piece of cake to make. No problems there except the blue cheese. Try slicing that. It doesn’t work, it just crumbles. But the burgers were still juicy and tasty with practically no fat on it.
The broccoli salad, though, gave me a headache. It was simple to chop everything up, but I couldn’t bring myself to make the dressing. It contained a cup a mayo, vinegar, and sugar. Paula is known for her love of fat in recipes, especially butter. (Have you ever seen her show? She puts a stick of butter in everything. That’s why everything tastes so good!)
The part that grossed me out what the mayo. I can handle it in small does, but not a cup. I searched online for a different option and the only advice I found was to use Italian dressing instead. Since my grandfather was arriving in an hour, it seemed like the best option.
It turned out tasting great with the Italian. It usually does. Italian dressing is a good food saver. Something about combining mayo and sugar just didn’t sound right to me, and I’m glad I went the opposite direction.
As for burgers, I don’t see any reason to buy them from a store ever again. It literally took all of 10 minutes to prepare. Well worth it. But I did cheat. I didn’t grill them. My dad did. I don’t know how to use a grill.
But I’m going to learn how in a few weeks at my next cooking class. It’s all about grilling. I’m so excited! It will be so nice to learn how to cook outside and not set my house on fire. It’s a small fear I have, among many others.
Besides not burning my house down, I’m looking forward to telling my work neighbor how well her suggestions turned out this weekend. Getting other people’s tips and tricks always works out for the best in the kitchen.
