National Hamburger Day – NATIONAL FOOD DAYS
NATIONAL FOOD DAYS
May 28th
National Hamburger Day
How many times have you heard that phrase ‘The All-American Hamburger”? And what is the Hamburger named after? Its name would imply that it is made from Ham, but that is not the case. Our Hamburger derived it name from the city of Hamburg, Germany from which many immigrants to this country were from. The immigrants made patties of seasoned minced beef which eventually came to be known as Hamburg Steak.
According to the Library of Congress, the Hamburger as we know it today, was originally made in New Haven Connecticut in 1895 and has grown into what is probably America’s most popular food. Today, Hamburgers are made not only from beef, but from Turkey, Chicken, Mushrooms and even Tofu. The Burger ranges all the way from mini-Burgers known as sliders to Monster Burgers that one could barely be able to bite into.
There are naked Burgers, Cheese Burgers, Mushroom Burgers, Double Burgers, Hawaiian Burgers, Turkey Burgers, Vegie Burgers, Tofu Burgers. We could probably do a whole word search, just with the names of all the Burgers joints there are around the country. Lately, Burgers have enjoyed an upswing on the Gourmet Scale. New Burger places have opened up which price there Burgers at $10 or more. These upscale burgers offer a better grade of meat and a great variety of garnishes and sauces.
BUILD A CHEESEBURGER
BUN BOTTOM
THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING
MEAT PATTY
CHEESE
GRILLED ONIONS
CHILI SAUCE
SLICED TOMATO
PICKLE
LETTUCE
BUN TOP DRESSED WITH MAYONNAISE
See the complete recipe at cheeseburgers/
For a Chili Burger recipe see: chili-burgers/
For a great Portobello Mushroom Recipe see: portobello-mushroom-burgers/
My favorite all-time Burger during my High School Days and later was Bob’s Big Boy. I still like to have one for old times’ sake and will go out of my way to get one at least once a year.
Below is a list of some of the Hamburger Restaurants in Southern California. The ones with the asterisk are either out of business or there are very few left.
Bob’s Big Boy – original location is Toluca Lake –
Burger King – all over
Carl’s Jr.
CAR'LS JR.
Fat Boy – Studio City
Five Guys** – Thousand Oaks
FIVE GUYS
Habit – Santa Barbara based – now in many locations in Ventura County
Habit
Hamburger Hamlet – original on Sunset Blvd. Westwood Village was my favorite location. Van Nuys Blvd. in Sherman Oaks and Sunset Blvd. still open.
In and Out – All over
In N Out
Jack in the Box – All over
JACK IN THE BOX
McDonald’s – goes back to the fifties when it was known as Peak’s, a licensee of McDonald’s.
McDonald's
The Counter** – Westlake Village and other locations
Umami Burger** – Westlake Village and other locations
Wendy’s – all over
** – Relatively new – Umami is also located in Beverly Hills
If you can add to this list, please do so in the comment box.
Also, please Vote for your Favorite Hamburger place!
Categories: Dinner Ideas, Lunch Ideas, National Food Days Tags: Burger Restaurants, Burgers, Chili Burgers, Hamburgers, So. Calif.
Teen/Preteen – US Regional Foods – Culinary Camp at LGC
The week of August 8th, 2011 was US Regional Foods Camp for the Teen/Preteens who attend the Culinary Classes at Let’s Get Cookin’ in Westlake Village, CA. The camp lasted five days which included Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The time was from 11 – 2 making each camp day 3 hours long. Just long enough for the participants to learn and practice new skills without becoming too tired.
The Regions that we visited were New England, the Midwest, Pacific Northwest, the South and the Pacific Rim States.
Monday was New England and different breakfast dishes were prepared; blueberry pancakes, Johnny Cakes (or Journey Cakes), Skillet Apples, Molasses Doughnuts, Cranberry Muffins, Deviled Eggs Florentine and a Broccoli Cheese Fritatata. Since it was breakfast, the beverage that was served was milk. The Blueberry Pancakes were served with Butter and Blueberry Syrup. The Johnny Cakes were served with the Skillet Apples. The Deviled Eggs Florentine were an Appetizer and the Fritata was served with the Cramberru Muffins. The Molasses Doughnuts were dessert.
Flipping Blueberry Pancakes
Preparing Muffin Batter
Cooking Skillet Apples
Day Two was the Midwest and luncheon items were prepared. Since the midwest is known for Beef and Corn, these items were the main focus, but not the only ones. Early in the morning before class I went out to Underwood Farms in Moorpark and purchased a box of corn. Needless to say, corn has been a mainstay of the United States, not just in the midwest but almost in every region. The box contained about 46 ears of corn and by the end of the week, most of it had been used. One of the unique things about Corn from Underwoods is that it retains its sweetness far longer than corn purchased in the supermarket.
The Appetizer was Asiago Cheese Puffs and these were passed around during prepartion time so the students wouldn’t get too hungry. The taste buds can be quickly activated when the aroma of good cooking is around. We made a Corn Chowder and Cheese Stuffed Burgers along with a Midwestern Potato Salad. The Midwestern Potato Salad is very similar to a German Potato Salad and for good reason. Back in the early days of immigration to the US from Europe many German immigrants and Scandinavians settled in the Midwest.
We also made Taffy Apple Salad, Apple Pie and Peanut Popcorn Bars. The beverage that was prepared and served was Blueberry Lemonade, which of course was very popular.
Belinda and Cassy making Burgers
Burgers & Potato Salad
Who's cutting the Bars? Emili or Sofi?
Please check out our next post for the remainder of the week.
