Grilled Cheeseburgers

I've always had a huge thing for cheeseburgers. And by thing, I mean unhealthy obsession. I love them. And everything about them. Anytime I see something to the tune of "1/2 lb of natural beef patty"...I just go to pieces. I have no explanation for this burger weakness except for the fact that my mom constantly ate cheeseburgers when she was pregnant with me...cheeseburgers, ice cream and Mexican food, to be exact. She stuffed herself silly with pineapple when she was pregnant with my sister, and now Nicole can't get enough of the stuff. If only she decided to go healthy a few years earlier.

Incidentally, I've never had access to a grill to grill my own cheeseburgers. I do own a grill pan, which is a terrible substitute for an actual grill. I know those folks on tv say that you can substitute a grill pan...this is completely not true. Grill pan grill marks does not equal grilled deliciousness. There is no substituting charcoal. Get a grill.

Mmm...toasty bun! These super juicy cheeseburgers are courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa and are seasoned with Dijon mustard, her suggestion, but whole grain (highly recommended) was used as well as fresh thyme leaves. And of course, arugula!

Don't be put off with the 80% beef. You can offset it with a refreshing tomato salad.

This tomato salad was spicy and lemony, and the perfect side for the burgers.

The recipe is actually for little sliders...but how could you not buy these buns?

Seriously. How awesome.

About 20 minutes after eating my 1.5 cheeseburgers, I had a few scoops of vanilla and hazelnut gelato. Cheeseburgers and gelato! I can't think of a more lovely dinner.

Bagels

When I was in New York last December (pre-blizzard of the century), I was on the hunt for a bagel. The kind of bagels you hear about and lust over. Warm from the oven still crispy and chewy that a toaster is the very last thing you'd want near your bagel. But as I hunted down the bagels from this one, to this one, I was a little disappointed. They were all yummy, crisp and filling, but it wasn't the bagel of my dreams. On one of my last days in New York, I did finally discover Murray's Bagel, which I declared to be just perfect. Chewy crust and not too bready. Positively dreamy.

And I haven't had a bagel since then. Until Sunday. When I made them! Who knew you could actually make bagels, but I found myself with an aimless weekend, and saw bagels listed as a weekend project on this food blog. And so I got bageling.

The first step to bagels is to make the sponge:

Appetizing, isn't it?

Next, you make the dough by adding more flour and mixing. And then kneading like heck for 10 minutes.  That's right. 10 whole minutes. Aka the longest 10 minutes of your life. Don't skimp! I caution you that your arm may become numb. Don't worry. Just switch arms. I figured that out at minute 9. If only I had that revelation at minute 5. My right arm hurt for 2 days. But it was worth it.

Then comes the weighing and shaping. And that's it! You're done for the night. The bagels go in the fridge to retard. This is where they develop all their wonderful bagel flavor. You can retard the bagels for up to 2 days. If you have the patience and refrigerator space, I am infinitely jealous.

Day 2 is the fun part. This is the boiling, topping and baking day!

Boiling the bagels in baking soda and water give the bagels their lovely brown color. It's also what gives the bagels their nice crust and chew.

As soon as the bagels are done boiling, immediately sprinkle them with toppings.

Usual suspects for bagel toppings. Except maybe the crushed red peppers.

And finally after all the proofing and kneading and boiling, your bagels are ready to bake! Finally!!

They are perfectly delicious right out of the oven. So chewy (if you're into chewy, as I am) and crusty and bagel-y. I've been eating them all week long.

And not just for breakfast. Bagels also make for a quick dinner with eggs and asparagus (from the Barefoot Contessa).

Even though I found the recipe on another site, I ended up going with this recipe here. I realize both sites used the same source (Peter Reinhart), but the recipe on the second site was more detailed.