Bookshelf Burgers

What do burgers and bookshelves have in common?!?!?!

My wonderful, fabulous and handsome Hubs!

Lately it seems that my wish is Hubs' command. I am not sure if it is the likely upcoming deployment, or what. No matter where his motivation is coming from, it's been great for me!!

For instance: Over the last month or so, I had been asking if we could PLEASE build a new porch entry. Now don't forget, we're in VT. It's cold, often windy and covered in snow during these winter months. I assumed this would be a project put off until Summer 2011 (he's supposed to be gone for 2010)...but wouldn't you know it - poof, my wish was granted! I had come home, after spending the weekend with my folks' in SoVT, to find we had a brand new and improved entry!

What has gotten into him? I'm curious to know, but do not dare to ask. Instead I'll just stay the course of throwing out wish list items to see if they come true ;-)

One night, while digging through my pile of cookbooks and magazines, I thought - jeez, it would be great to have some bookshelves in here. I brought this up with the Hubs and showed him where in the kitchen I was thinking. We really only have one small open wall space where something like this could go...and wouldn't you know, within a day or so he had sketched out a new bookcase/cabinet for the kitchen!

My father-in-law happens to be a cabinetmaker by trade, when he is not selling real estate. Having been scheduled to have the week off from work, Hubs accomplished what seems to me an absolutely amazing feat! Armed with his sketch, he drove down to his Father's SoVT shop and in only two days constructed this new cabinet...just for me!!

Since getting home, Hubs has been sanding doors/shelves, priming, painting, assembling, etc. He did incidentally treat himself to a nice new sander with a misc Home Depot Gift Card we've had since the wedding...but hey, he deserves it! Between him being gone for two days and the incredible thoughtfulness of constructing this new piece of kitchen furniture, I felt I needed to do something just for him as well.

With the kitchen 'under construction' as the cabinet gets finished, there wasn't a ton of room to make anything too fancy. Another great thing about Hubs is that he is more inclined to prefer simple...so I made him burgers.
*

Burgers are actually his all-time favorite. So much so, we had a Gourmet Burger Buffet at our wedding this summer...it is a very tasty and fun option in case anyone out there is planning such an event!?!?!

*

Dedicated to Hubs, here are my Bookshelf Burgers.

*

I don't know about you, but we are mayo people.

Other than the occasional quarter pounder, or classic summer bbq burger with ketchup and mustard...we like mayo on our burgers.

*

Since this is a special burger, for my special person, I made aioli!
*
I can't believe I have never thought to do this before.
It really tastes amazing and kicks the burger up a few notches...not to mention it's sooooo easy!
*
Tonight's aioli is simply - mayo, garlic, parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
*
Have you ever noticed that after the holidays certain cheeses go on sale at the grocery store? This year I stocked up on Honey Goat Cheese and 1000 Day Gouda.

This aged Gouda is more like a Parmesano Reggiano by taste and texture. Truly decadent.

*
I shaved off pieces of this very special cheese to put on the burgers.
Note, this is a hard cheese. In order to get proper meltage (is that a word?), I put the cheese right on as soon as I flipped the grilling burgers.
*
Watercress.
*
The inspiration for the aioli and watercress actually came from my memory of these scrumptious farmers' market burgers I had in Chicago with my lil' sister a couple summers ago. The vendor piled perfectly grilled grass fed beef, aioli and microgreens on a delicious bun...they were very good!
*

Bitter and peppery, this too brought the burgers to a whole new level!
*

Everything was piled onto a grilled ciabatta roll
and my Bookshelf Burger creation was complete!
*

Not to toot my own horn, but these suckers were awesome!

Hubs continued to work into the night on the bookshelves...turned full blown cabinet. I will post the finished product soon!!

Being as super amazing as he is...I think there are some braised ribs in his near future, so stayed tuned for another braising experiment :O)