Wednesday, April 30, 2008

May is National Burger Month! Anyone ready for a burger a day?


Winifred can has cheezburger?

EDIT (10 May, 2008): I think we're going to go off the schedule from now on. We will still be doing some (if not most) of these burgers, but I think because we can't project how much in the mood we are for one ingredient over another, we'll just be playing it by ear. But the National Burger Month observances will go on!

It's that special time of the year again. May is National Burger Month. And we have just a couple of days left to get ready. Last year, this time, I merely announced the arrival of National Burger Month and tried to get other people to celebrate it with me. Needless to say, I was the only person I knew who actually tried to eat a burger a day. I don't know why nobody else was as into it as I was. I mean really guys, it's National Burger Month. The National Burger Month!

This year, I am being more systematic about it, and perhaps others will join me. To help expedite my mission, I even prepared my Official National Burger Month Calendar of Burgers. I will actually attempt to make these burgers everyday. If you want to have burgers with me, you know how to reach me.

Most of these recipes I found through that encyclopedic burger blog, A Hamburger Today. A lot of them I found on Epicurious. Read this article by Mark Bittman from the New York Times for some tips.

Mike's Official National Burger Month Calendar of Burgers

May 1: The James Beard Burger James Beard is the "father of American Gastronomy," whatever the hell that means.
May 2: The Ultimate Beef Burger, according to Cook's Illustrated. A Variation on the Town Burger This is a cheaper variation of Jeffrey Zakarian's burger from the restaurant Town in the Chambers Hotel.
May 3: Pimento Cheese Burger The Pimento Cheeseburger is a regional favorite, coming from Columbia, South Carolina.
May 4: A Variation on the Town Burger Cap-razy Burger. This is Andrea and my attempt to make a burger out of a caprese salad.
May 5: Cinco de Mayo Burger When Good Housekeeping Better Homes and Gardens says something is Mexican, you know it has to be autentico.
May 6: The White Manna Slider White Manna is legendary burger joint in Hackensack, NJ. Chicken Teriyaki Rice Burger.
May 7: Onion Burgers The onion burger was arguably invented in Ardmore, OK during the Great Depression because onions were cheap and meat was expensive. With the economy the way it is today, perhaps the Onion Burger is appropriate.
May 8: The Juicy Loosey. The Jucy Lucy is a burger from Matt's Bar in Minneapolis.
May 9: Burgers with Mozzarella and Spinach-Arugula Pesto This would be the caprese style burger I guess.
May 10: Jamaican Jerk Burger with Orange Chipotle Mayonnaise With more available free time to cook, the weekend calls for a more complex burger. This sounds amazing.
May 11: The White Castle Clone This recipe attempts to replicate the White Castle Slider. The recipe actually calls for strained beef baby food. Yay.
May 12: Enchiladas de White Castle Burgers y Queso Since we'll no doubt have leftovers from the previous day's recipe, here is a variation. This recipe won the 2006 White Castle Crave Time Cook Off.
May 13: Beef and Andouille Burger with Asiago Cheese A little spicy sausage...
May 14: Tapenade-filled Burgers This sounds absolutely luxurious.
May 15: Seared Tuna Burgers with Ginger-garlic mayonaisse Two weeks of beef. Argh. Burgers don't have to always be cow.
May 16: Portobello Burgers with Red Pepper mayonaisse Heck, burgers don't always have to be animal either.
May 17: Garden Burger Sometimes cooking burgers from scratch gets tiring.
May 18: A simple Grilled Turkey Burger Another day without beef.
May 19: Fowl Burger It's Rachael Ray. I do not appreciate Rachael Ray. I hope this isn't foul burger. Wah wah wah...
May 20: Burger of the Gods Here's a nice, triumphant return to the beef, Alton Brown style.
May 21: Hamburger with Double Cheddar Cheese, Grilled Vidalia Onion and Horseradish Mustard This is turning out to be FoodTV celebrity chef week.
May 22: Crispy Shrimp Burger Eh. What the heck... might as well add an Emeril recipe in here.
May 23: Pressed Cuban Style Burger Bobby Flay says it's Cuban. But I don't know why it has swiss cheese.
May 24: In-n-Out Double Double Animal Style I think I'll be out driving this day. Drive-thru In-n-Out. Yay.
May 25: Homemade In-n-Out Burger Clone Having just eaten at In-n-Out, let's see if we can make In-n-Out at home.
May 26: Greek Burger with Arugula, Tomatoes and Feta My housemate leaves town on the 24th. This means that I can finally make a burger that incorporates feta since she is not a fan of goat cheese.
May 27: Scallop Burger with Cilantro-Lime Mayonnaise Scallops. Cilantro. Lime. Sounds nice.
May 28: Open-Face Lamb Burger with Pistachio Apricot Relish Cute lamb on a plate.
May 29: Inside-Out Lamb Burger More lamb! This time, the cheese is inside!
May 30: Garlicky Pork Burger Pork is good.
May 31: The Real Burger Let's end with what the New York Times says is a real burger.

That's it. Next month, fitness tips from Mike: How not to pinch an inch.