This weekend, the hubby and I got to go out and feel what it’s like to be people for just a little while again. You know, instead of slaves to a 7- and 5-year-old. (Whom we adore, but must escape from sometimes to realize that.)

We dropped the kids at my parents’ house and they never even looked back. The prospect of the rapt attention of Grandpa was just too overwhelming for them. And with a wink from Nana, we were off.

We briefly discussed heading for the U.S./Mexico border but decided by the time we got there we’d miss ’em again.

So we settled for a steakhouse.

Now, we usually like to cook our own steaks at home. But it was time to get out of the house so we decided we’d let someone else try to live up to our standards.

Good luck.

The ambiance was nice, and there was live piano music — something that doesn’t happen at my house unless I want to play with my feet while I cook dinner.

The wine was flowing and we got to talk about how we’re going to achieve all the goals we’ve set for ourselves and our family. Not an easy feat. But with a plan, we’re on our way.

When the food came, it was, I’ll admit, delightful. But it was missing the one ingredient I always use at home — Teriyaki sauce.

I know it’s weird, but that’s the way I like it.

How do you like yours? Can a steakhouse ever deliver what YOU’RE looking for?

Photo courtesy of parkcitiesprime.com.

Ed Levine knows good food.  And this Labor Day weekend I plan to cook some burgers for friends and family.

I don’t want to mess this up . . . so he’s going to help. Why on earth would you chance ruining a perfectly great burger???

Here are his warnings against making the 6 most common ways to ruin a burger.

1. Not Sticking to Salt Plus Beef: Use Kosher salt (and pepper!) on both sides of the beef patty before slapping it onto the grill. Salt is a glorious thing for red meat-it draws out the natural juices and helps with the charring. Try to avoid turkey, bison or other alternative meat options, which have a much higher risk of moisture and flavor deficiency. Don’t get crazy here, just stick with beef. Motz even says, “if it’s not beef, it’s not a burger.” Here is Bobby Flay’s recipe for the perfect beef burger.

2. Bad Beef-to-Bun Balance: There’s no hard-and-fast ratio for beef-to-bun balance. It’s like Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart said in ?Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964) “I know it when I see it.” In the case of beef-to-bun balance, taste it. Beef-to-bun balance all depends on your patty size. If you’re cooking up a thin patty, don’t use a jumbo bun-you don’t want a mouthful of bread and hardly any meat, do you? When in doubt, make your patties bigger or stack a double burger. It’s bettern to err on the side of more meat.

3. Condiment Overload: Building a burger with “everything” is a huge mistake. Avoid the garbage pail approach. In most cases, going beyond onion and ketchup (arguably the most popular condiment) masks the beef taste and creates an absurd flavor profile. Seriously, a pastrami burger? Pastrami is not a condiment. However, we will make one exception for Fatty Melts-when grilled cheeses become condiments.

4. Wasting Precious Burger Juices: If you’re cooking the burgers over a flame, pressing down on them will send the precious meat juices straight into the coals. Those juices are valuable-they belong in your mouth. While it’s very tempting to apply pressure with a spatula, don’t. Unless you want a dry hockey puck. Sometimes they do it on TV, but just close your eyes.

5. Overcooking: This should be a crime recognized by the federal government. For the popular medium-rare, grill the meat exactly three minutes on one side (keeping the grill lid closed) and two minutes on the other. If you’re going to add cheese, let it melt on top for another minute (and keep that cover closed!).  We like our burgers medium rare, so much we’ve even sent them back at restaurants when they go beyond medium.

6. Machine-Formed Patties: If you really want to ruin your burger, try a machine-formed frozen patty! No, don’t. While making every ingredient from scratch is not necessary (see: Heston Blumenthal’s Blumenburger) try to form your own patties from ground chuck (80 percent lean is good) purchased at your nearest market or better yet, butcher.

Photo and excerpt courtesy of food.yahoo.com.

Sometimes I’m feeling saucy and I want to experiment with flavors and sauces and techniques. I want to try a new recipe or perfect an old one.

Other times, I just want a great steak, but I don’t want to spend a whole lotta time on it.

For those times, I like a preseasoned steak. You know, where someone has done all the heavy lifting for me.

I just put it over a flame and suddenly I’m a brilliant chef!

This baby is an already seasoned garlic and herb ribeye. I can totally see the flavor spilling out on top of it.

Okay, I’m hungry.

I’m thinking this weekend might be a preseasoned weekend. How about you???

Photo courtesy of KansasCitySteaks.com.