The one thing about burgers is that on any given summer weekend, even those that don’t regularly cook can be found working the backyard grill. Missing those weekend moments is one of the toughest things about summer travel, but we have that covered for those that who will be on the road this summer. Fact is, we see a lot of travelers “cook their own” while staying at Residence Inn, using the grill conveniently available to all guests. Located in the "Gatehouse" area, every Residence Inn is prepared to be your own “private backyard on the road” with a grill ready to use, and no worries of running out of propane
Even easier, guests can give their shopping list to the front desk and have all of the fixins in the in-room refrigerator by the time they get back from the day's business. How about a great Mediterranean burger with a simple salad and healthy grilled zucchini? For this burger, I made it even easier by mixing the cheese directly into the meat so as not to have to gauge when the cheese needs to go on the burger, avoiding the embarrassingly undercooked but perfectly melted cheeseburger or even worse perfectly cooked burger topped with melted away cheese. Just give them this list of 10 ingredients and let the hotel do the shopping. Don’t worry this takes less than 20 minutes to set up and 10 minutes to cook. No long hours in the kitchen to grill this perfect burger retreat. Best of all, the grill is already set up!
Mediterranean Burger Bash Shopping List for 4 burgers
1 pound fresh ground Angus Chuck or ground Brisket
8 oz shredded aged cheddar, gorgonzola, jack, or whatever cheese you like the most
1 package sesame buns
2 heads butter lettuce
1 cup marinated, mixed pitted olives (from the deli section)
¼ cup sundried tomatoes with garlic in olive oil (from the deli section)
2 each medium zucchini
2 large lemons
1 tub Sabra roasted pepper hummus
1 bag pita chips
Countdown to burger time:
Minutes 1-10
1. Place the meat and cheese in a bowl, mix thoroughly but gently using a fork to incorporate the cheese evenly. Form into 4 equal balls. Gently flatten to about ¾’ of an inch.
2. pull the leaves off the lettuce heads and wash under cold running water. Drain well, even patting down the leaves with a paper towel to remove the excess water. Save the larger outer leaves for the burgers. Hand tear the rest into bite sized pieces, place into a large bowl.
3. Drain the oils off the olives and tomatoes together into a bowl.
4. Rough chop the olives, set aside.
5. Slice the zucchini into long planks as thinly as you can from end to end. Drizzle half of the combined oil over the sliced zucchini. Set aside
6. Open the hummus and place the pita chips into a bowl. Set aside.
Minutes 11-15
1. Squeeze the juice of one lemon into the chopped olives.
2. Squeeze the juice of the second lemon into the remaining combined oils, stir vigorously to combine. This will be the salad dressing for the lettuce to toss at the last minute
3. Have someone make sure the grill is on!
Minutes 16-18
1. Take everything and walk to the grill
Minutes 19-30
1. Season the burgers with salt and pepper and place them on the grill. These will take about 5 minutes per side for a medium rare burger on a hot grill.
2. Next, place the marinated zucchini on the grill, cooking until they just begin to soften. I like zucchini like this to be still a bit crisp as it will continue to wilt even after it comes off.
3. About the time you flip the burgers, take off the zucchini and place into a bowl. Toss with the sundried tomatoes.
4. Whatever you do, don’t smash the burgers! That squeezes all of the juice out of them.
5. Toss the salad, toast the buns
6. Take the toasted buns off and spread the top side with a bit of the hummus, setting the rest of the hummus on the table with the chips, the tossed salad and the warm zucchini salad.
7. When the burgers are cooked to your liking, take them off the fire an let them rest for just a minute. The resting is the secret to having a juicy burger without a soaked bun.
8. Place the patty on the bottom half of the bun, divide the olive relish evenly over the patty and top with the lettuce leaf and then finally the hummus spread top.
9. Bring to the table, dunk a few pit chips in the hummus and enjoy with the two salads. A glass of red wine is also not out of the question!
Don’t like Mediterranean? Switch the olives for guacamole and the hummus for salsa for a Southwestern style burger.
What’s on YOUR plate today? On mine, it’s a burger bash I just made from 10 simple ingredients…11 if you count the wine.
Even easier, guests can give their shopping list to the front desk and have all of the fixins in the in-room refrigerator by the time they get back from the day's business. How about a great Mediterranean burger with a simple salad and healthy grilled zucchini? For this burger, I made it even easier by mixing the cheese directly into the meat so as not to have to gauge when the cheese needs to go on the burger, avoiding the embarrassingly undercooked but perfectly melted cheeseburger or even worse perfectly cooked burger topped with melted away cheese. Just give them this list of 10 ingredients and let the hotel do the shopping. Don’t worry this takes less than 20 minutes to set up and 10 minutes to cook. No long hours in the kitchen to grill this perfect burger retreat. Best of all, the grill is already set up!
Mediterranean Burger Bash Shopping List for 4 burgers
1 pound fresh ground Angus Chuck or ground Brisket
8 oz shredded aged cheddar, gorgonzola, jack, or whatever cheese you like the most
1 package sesame buns
2 heads butter lettuce
1 cup marinated, mixed pitted olives (from the deli section)
¼ cup sundried tomatoes with garlic in olive oil (from the deli section)
2 each medium zucchini
2 large lemons
1 tub Sabra roasted pepper hummus
1 bag pita chips
Countdown to burger time:
Minutes 1-10
1. Place the meat and cheese in a bowl, mix thoroughly but gently using a fork to incorporate the cheese evenly. Form into 4 equal balls. Gently flatten to about ¾’ of an inch.
2. pull the leaves off the lettuce heads and wash under cold running water. Drain well, even patting down the leaves with a paper towel to remove the excess water. Save the larger outer leaves for the burgers. Hand tear the rest into bite sized pieces, place into a large bowl.
3. Drain the oils off the olives and tomatoes together into a bowl.
4. Rough chop the olives, set aside.
5. Slice the zucchini into long planks as thinly as you can from end to end. Drizzle half of the combined oil over the sliced zucchini. Set aside
6. Open the hummus and place the pita chips into a bowl. Set aside.
Minutes 11-15
1. Squeeze the juice of one lemon into the chopped olives.
2. Squeeze the juice of the second lemon into the remaining combined oils, stir vigorously to combine. This will be the salad dressing for the lettuce to toss at the last minute
3. Have someone make sure the grill is on!
Minutes 16-18
1. Take everything and walk to the grill
Minutes 19-30
1. Season the burgers with salt and pepper and place them on the grill. These will take about 5 minutes per side for a medium rare burger on a hot grill.
2. Next, place the marinated zucchini on the grill, cooking until they just begin to soften. I like zucchini like this to be still a bit crisp as it will continue to wilt even after it comes off.
3. About the time you flip the burgers, take off the zucchini and place into a bowl. Toss with the sundried tomatoes.
4. Whatever you do, don’t smash the burgers! That squeezes all of the juice out of them.
5. Toss the salad, toast the buns
6. Take the toasted buns off and spread the top side with a bit of the hummus, setting the rest of the hummus on the table with the chips, the tossed salad and the warm zucchini salad.
7. When the burgers are cooked to your liking, take them off the fire an let them rest for just a minute. The resting is the secret to having a juicy burger without a soaked bun.
8. Place the patty on the bottom half of the bun, divide the olive relish evenly over the patty and top with the lettuce leaf and then finally the hummus spread top.
9. Bring to the table, dunk a few pit chips in the hummus and enjoy with the two salads. A glass of red wine is also not out of the question!
Don’t like Mediterranean? Switch the olives for guacamole and the hummus for salsa for a Southwestern style burger.
What’s on YOUR plate today? On mine, it’s a burger bash I just made from 10 simple ingredients…11 if you count the wine.
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