Burgers and Fries

This weekend I hit up Epic Burger with my mom.  For those who haven't been, the experience can be reasonably summed up in ZOMG!!!!!11.  Epic Burger has follows some food rules of their own: all natural ingredients (even the ketchup is organic, though containing some things I can't eat), grass raised beef, real Wisconsin cheddar, locally baked buns available in white or wheat ... frankly, a dreamboat place for a girl who gave up processed foods for the year and HAS ACTUALLY BEEN DREAMING OF MCDONALD'S CHEESEBURGERS.

Like, hott dreams.

Of course, the problem with eating one delicious cheeseburger is then you crave them all week, right?
But you don't want to be that guy who the staff at Epic Burger starts to recognize.  And Michael Pollan says "RULE #63: COOK".

So tonight I cooked:

I had some ground lamb in the freezer from a couple weeks ago when Crystal was out of ground beef, just the right flavor profile for Greek burgers.  If you read this blog, you know that I love lemon and feta, and they're total stars in this recipe.

Saute half an onion and a couple minced garlic cloves in a little olive oil until almost caramelized.  Chop two or three sun-dried tomatoes and saute another minute or two.  Pour it all into a mixing bowl and allow to cool for a minute or two (so it won't start to cook the lamb as you mix).   Mix in 1/3 to 1/2 a pound of ground lamb -- more if serving more than a couple people -- and add the juice of half a lemon, one teaspoon ground cumin, and one teaspoon ground coriander.  Divide into burgers and grill in your onion pan.

Simultaneously, melt a tablespoon of butter in a smaller pan; add a cup of sliced mushrooms and stir occasionally as they cook down.

When the burgers are almost fully cooked, top each with a slice of feta -- the feta will melt slightly as they finish.

I layered these on some slices of sunflower rye bread we had lying around (home-baking buns was briefly considered and eventually rejected in favor of watching the Olympics), and roasted some sliced fingerlings as a stand in for fries.  For the record: roasted potatoes < french fries.  Also for the record: french fries = significantly messier to cook and clean up.

They weren't Epic Burgers(tm).  But they were pretty epic nonetheless.