Improvise for Simple Meals and Burger Fervor

We were in the mood for burgers, but we didn’t have any buns. Michael is a traditionalist when it comes to burgers, so I wasn’t sure if I could make this simple meal without them. Pickles are non-negotiable for sure. At our local burger joint, they know him as “Double burger, extra pickles”. Could I make him a burger without a bun? I looked in the freezer to see what kind of bread we had and then floated the idea of using pita. Imagine my surprise when he agreed to it.

Fortunately he had expanded his palate by eating burgers that way at a restaurant many years ago and decided it was good. In fact, it became his tradition to order a chili burger in pita there every time he went to a concert across the street at the famous Roxy Theater. This was in its heyday…a different era…he began to reminisce. Ah, I had hooked him on the pita.

Testing the limits, I told him that I didn’t have any big tomatoes for slicing, but suggested slicing the small grape tomatoes I had. That was fine too. I was on a roll cooking without a recipe!

Here’s an exception to my no bottled dressings rule: Thousand Island. I love it on my burger. You can also make your own for simple meals like this by mixing mayonnaise with ketchup and some sweet relish if you have it. Since I was using small tomatoes, I chopped up some green onions and tossed both with some of the dressing before putting them on the burger.

Cooking

Since I was putting these frozen fries into the oven anyway, I decided to cook the burgers in there too. You would get a better char on them using a grill or skillet, but I took the easy way. After about 20 minutes in the oven, I put them into a skillet briefly to get a little color on them. Simple meals rock.

Cooked the sliced onions low and slow in a skillet while the fries were in the oven. I wish I had gotten a better angle on the picture so you could see the caramelized onions better. You’ll have to trust me on that part. Summer just got better, even though there wasn’t a concert after dinner.

For another of Michael’s summer favorites, please read Michael’s Famous Tacos next.