We spent the day doing not much of anything, just a long walk with the dogs and a visit to Pike Place Market for the Seattle Cheese Festival, which was way overcrowded and kind of a bust. It was still nice to get out of the house and wander around a bit. We made stops at two of my favorite places at the market, Le Panier and DeLaurenti Food & Wine and ate pastries while people watching.
When we got home, we got started on dinner, another teamwork meal. Brent made the burgers, using Alton Brown’s Burger of the Gods recipe. He was impressed with grinding the meat himself. While Brent worked on that, I made a couple of buns using the master recipe from Artisan Bread.
With the buns and meat ready, we assembled the toppings: fried up some uncured bacon, some Vermont white cheddar, a bunch of Mama Lil’s Spicy Bread & Butter Pickles and Peppers, heirloom tomato, and lettuce. And burger perfection was born.
The pickles and peppers totally made the burger. If I was Guy Fieri, I might call them “the kicker.” This was a completely delicious burger. With my ever-expanding belly, however, there is actually less room in my actual stomach. Sadly I only ate slightly more than half of this tasty beast, and had to give the rest to Brent, who was more than happy to finish it for me.
Only one week left until I head home to Chicago! Can’t wait to see my family!
