(Blue) Cheese Burgers

One of my goals this month was to make some recipes from my Barefoot Contessa cookbooks (barefoot contessa at home).  Last night I made my second one...hamburgers!  I don't normally use a recipe for hamburgers.  I just mix in whatever I'm in the mood for/what we have on hand.  But these sounded a little different...and good.  But still very simple.  I'm not a fan of blue cheese.  So I just used cheddar (what I had in the fridge).  And we had some bacon leftover from our quiche, so I made them bacon cheddar cheese burgers.  There is basically one "secret" to these burgers.  And I think it's a trick I'll be using from now on to make burgers...BUTTER!  She puts a pat of butter inside each patty.  Wow, does that make them moist and flavorful!  And I'm always looking for ways to get more butter in my diet :)  We all really liked these burgers.  I scaled back the recipe to use 1 lb. of meat instead of 3 lbs.  I usually make 5 burgers with 1 lb. of meat.  But you can make them as big or as small as you'd like.  I'm going to post the recipe as my scaled down version.  This is a great gluten/grain free meal if you don't use a bun, use a lettuce wrap, etc.  I just eat mine w/o the bun and dip it in ketchup and mustard.  Justin uses a bun, so I could at least get a good picture :)  And I got to use our new camera on food for the first time.  Love it!!!  Takes much better pictures.

(Blue) Cheese Burgers

1 lb. ground beef
1 Tbsp. steak sauce
1 or 2 egg yolks
salt and pepper to your liking
2 Tbsp. cold, unsalted butter
cheese - whatever kind you like
bacon, cooked (optional)

In a large bowl carefully mix the meat, steak sauce, egg yolk, salt and pepper with the tines of a fork, but do not mash the mixture.  Ligthly form hamburger patties and press lightly into shape.  Press a thin slice of butter into the top of each burger, making sure the meat entirely encases the butter.

Prepare a grill (outdoor or stovetop...I used a grill pan).  Cook burgers 4 min. on one side and 3 min. on the other for medium-rare.  Remove to a plate and cover (she suggests aluminum foil...I don't use that on my food.  I put them in a stainless steel meat dish to rest).  Allow the burgers to rest 5 minutes.  Meanwhile grill the buns, cut side down, for 1 min.  Place a burger and a slice of cheese (and bacon) on each bun w/ the toppings of your choice (she suggests arugula and tomato with the blue cheese).