Better Burgers

With the temperature up around 60 degrees in Boston today, I couldn't help but think of the coming summer and how I plan to grill, particularly burgers, on my roofdeck every day. I have tried out some new burger recipes a few times this winter on the stove top. It's not as good or as fun as on the grill, but cooking these burgers is quick and easy. And they are much better than your ordinary patty.

To make four servings, you need about a pound of ground beef, four teaspoons of hot pepper sauce, four teaspoons of salsa, four slices of Cheddar cheese and four slices of Monterey Jack cheese. Then all you do is form the beef into four burgers and begin cooking. When the burgers are almost done, just add a touch of the hot sauce, your desired amount of salsa and a slice of each type of cheese. Once the cheese is melted, you're all set.

Even better are burgers that you add spices and other items to before cooking. There are many different recipes for these types of burgers. For example, before forming the patties from the ground beef, you may want to put everything (maybe mayonnaise, jalapeno pepper, onion, garlic and various other ingredients) into a large bowl to mix it all. After mixed, it's just a matter of forming the number of patties, adding cheese if necessary after they are cooked. Burgers may seem boring and run of the mill, but by adding a little spice to different recipes can help turn an ordinary dinner into quite an adventure.