Reminiscing Dad's Tasty Burgers on Father's Day

My dad loved beef, especially burgers and steak. Whenever we had either, he was usually the head cook for our steak and burger meals as opposed to my mother who was for the most part the primary cook in our family. Dad made the best burgers, for starters, (and this was very important) patties were made using ground chuck. Ground chuck is made from only boneless chuck roast and has just enough fat to make it juicy, but not too much to make the burgers shrink down to nothing. He would gently form the meat into patties and season them with salt and pepper. He'd fire up the grill or get our mainstay cast iron skillet nice and hot and cook the burgers a perfect medium rare. "Flip the burgers just once," he would tell me.

Mr. Fabulous and I don't consume a lot of meat, but when we eat a burger, I can't help but reminisce all the times my dad cooked the best tasting burgers. We'd set out a big selection of toppings for the burgers, each of us preferring something different than the other. Ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish, cheese and onions was usually the typical topping selection.

Today in honor of Father's Day Nick and I will be eating burgers topped with two of our favorites ... white cheddar cheese and tons of smothered onions. The burgers will get placed on buns (another very important component) the best are those that come somewhere in between a squishy supermarket bun and a fancy bakery version, (although dad wasn't as concerned about the bun as we are).

Dad preferred starchy sides in lieu of vegetable based accompaniments. As a tribute to what he loved, I'll be preparing his all time favorite potato salad, a recipe my mother began making for him shortly after they married.

Dad made my life (and the life of so many people) interesting and fun. I miss him and wish more than anything he was here with us today.