I suspect that many who consider themselves foodies may occasionally view holidays as both good and bad. On the one hand, yay for a holiday! Occasions to spend time with people you love, and that nearly always center around food of some kind. However, so many holidays have “classic” foods associated with them, it can leave little room for creativity or experimentation. Ham at Easter, turkey at Thanksgiving, cookies upon cookies at Christmas. And Memorial Day – well, obviously it’s going to involve grilling. Likely hamburgers, hot dogs, or maybe barbecue chicken. Probably potato salad. That’s certainly not to imply that I don’t enjoy some of the classic fare or that I’m too snooty for that stuff (puh-lease…I love me some deviled eggs!) But the classics don’t always get the foodie part of my brain excited.
This burger is my answer for any foodies who feel similarly about the upcoming holiday weekend. You can still get your grill on and satisfy the urge to experiment…or of late, my urge to use goat cheese in nearly every meal. This may not look all that special on the surface, but let me tell you – herbed goat cheese, red onion jam, and basil aioli are involved, and they make this burger ah-mazing. This is my homemade version of a burger from the best burger place in Indy. Their menu has all sorts of interesting, jazzed up burgers. I’ve tried the majority of them and this is by far my favorite. It may sound fancy and complex, but you can make the red onion jam and the aioli in the time it takes your grill to heat up. It’s totally worth the little bit of extra effort required. (Oh and be forewarned – the aioli is addictively good. Make some homemade fries to dip in it and let me know what time I should be over.) I hope you all have an awesome three day weekend! Be safe, have fun, and wear sunscreen!