BBQs Galore--Frisco Style Part II

Sunday Night, July 1st aka Burger Battle

After being the main participant in the creation of hot dog night, we were able to take the night off for the Burger Battle at Alex and Christine's house. One of my favorite parts of being associated with this group of neighbors is that there is no let down from one event to the next. With just as much passion and care that we tried to exhibit with the previous evening, Alex put into his burger entry. We invited Chris next door to participate with his offering as well and we were immediately immersed in the most confounding burger creations that have been exhibited in the state of Texas. First and foremost, here in Big D, we are lovers of beef. There must be 30 prime steak houses and hundreds and hundreds of slab o' beef type places in the metroplex. Just behind steak houses are the burger joints, and there are countless mom and pop places as well as local chains and the larger national places. One thing that they all have in common is that they pay an almost lustful homage to beef. There are probably a couple of those barn looking places that'll let you go and pick your own black angus cow out of the pasture like it was a lobster and they'll butcher it right there for you and slap that Porterhouse right on your platter. (If nobody has come up with that genius idea yet, count me on board for making it happen--how could that possibly go wrong?)

So here in Texas, any burger battle would have to start with the finest cuts of ground beef, nurtured into delicate patties and embraced for all of its bovine goodness--mooooo indeed. If that was what you might be looking for by attending this grand event, unfortunately you would have been sadly disappointed. There were a couple of obligatory beef patties for the kids, but Alex and Chris would have nothing to do with cattle on this day. Prior to the enjoyment of the burgers, however, Alex made sure we were treated to the proper ensemble of pre-burger nutrients. As always, there was an antipasto platter. This time we had a variety of Muenster and Pepperjack cheeses, Hungarian Salami, Italian Prosciutto and crackers. He also put together a grilled tomato appetizer (fresh from his garden) which he stuffed with fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, homemade pesto and a squeeze of lemon. I am not usually a fan of tomatoes, but these were fantastic--a perfect combination of flavors: the sweetness of the tomato, the saltiness of the prosciutto, and the tartness of the lemon all gave way to the rich pesto and creamy mozzarella. As we waited for Chris to arrive, we enjoyed a few of these to say the least.

The main course was obviously the hamburger. In addition to the beef patties for the kids, Alex created a buffalo burger stuffed with Muenster cheese. For some reason, people are intimidated by Buffalo as a protein option, and I truly have no idea why. I can promise you that if you had a Buffalo burger one time and nobody told you that it wasn't beef, you would almost certainly have nary an inkling that it was something other than beef. You probably might think it was just a better grade than what you are used to eating. It is very consistent, extremely lean and incredibly flavorful with absolutely no gaminess. It is better for you than beef (I realize now that living in Texas, this might be the worst thing I could possibly say--I'd better call Oprah and find out how she handled the backlash from the Beef Council--hey, it's still almost always what's for dinner). To me, the Buffalo burgers were perfect. If you aren't willing to take a risk creating food this week for this venue, I don't know what to tell you. While some were gun shy about trying the bison, those who did were treated to an outstanding burger creation.

Chris is a little bit of a perfectionist and his food preparation is a labor of love (his words, not mine). He showed up predictably a bit later than everybody else. A couple of things I have learned to count on with regard to Chris is that he almost never is the first arrival to any event, and that he is always well worth the wait. His contribution on this day was lamb burgers. He used a seasoned ground lamb topped with arugula and a cucumber yogurt. He brushed his hand selected buns with an extra virgin olive oil before lightly toasting them on the grill. I would love to share with you the splendors that I am absolutely unequivocally certain were represented by this Burger creation. However, due to circumstances beyond my control, I did not have the opportunity to taste this marvel.

After two nights of staying up late, Lauren had hit her wall early this evening. Kim decided that she needed to get Lauren home and tucked in because the night was quickly disintegrating. After finishing my Buffalo burger, I went over to the house to check on them and to see if I could bring Kim something to eat or to switch out and let Kim return to Alex and Christine's house. They were laying down in my bed when I got there and she said that they were fine. By the time I got back to the festivities, they were putting all the food away and I had missed my chance to try the lamb burger delight.

I was probably the only person there who missed out on a lamb burger that was actually disappointed that I missed out. Alex and Chris both made sure that they got to enjoy both varieties of the old classic gone wild. As they took turns taking bites and babbling to each other endlessly how incredible it was, I imagined only what could have been. On the other hand, while Kim is truly getting more adventurous in her dining exploits, I still think that she would have passed on a lamb burger drenched in a cucumber yogurt topping no matter what the occasion. I almost definitely could have gotten her to try a Buffalo burger, but there would have been certain trepidation. Brad of the appendicitis fame was back for the burger battle, but his appetite had been greatly reduced and he couldn't find room for a second burger--even though Brad has a somewhat meat and potatoes palate, he does usually try anything one time, so he would have at least ventured into the world of lamb on a bun. Gillian was so enraptured in her Buffalo burger (unbeknownst to her that it was buffalo until she was 3/4 the way done) never even feigned interest in a second burger. Christine also called it quits after the Buffalo Muensterosity. Stacy wanted no part of anything that didn't come from good 'ol US Beef, and when it became apparent that those offerings would only be available to the kids, she went to her freezer and had Alex whip her up a Gardenburger. He begrudgingly grilled it up for her and mumbled and muttered under his breath about "the freaking veggieburger" for at least three days. The thought of her delving into the lamb was almost as realistic as the idea of Kim going on a 3 day bender at a sushi bar. Those who were daring enough to partake of the lamb burgers were no doubt afforded a treat that the rest of us can only imagine. The next time I have the opportunity, I will most certainly not allow it to slip away again. Hopefully I won't have to wait past Labor Day!

Part III tomorrow