Looking for something quick — but yummy — that you can whip up in the middle of the week?

I keep these on hand for just those occasions . . .

These babies were hard as a rock when I decided that’s what we were having for dinner. Planning ahead just wasn’t happening on a Wednesday evening.

But that didn’t stop me.

I thawed the patties in the microwave on “defrost.” (Not my favorite method, but it was my only option.) Then I poured the olive oil in a pan, salt and peppered the steakburgers and we were off!

Soon, the house was smelling like a real home, with meat cooking and wine flowing. I found myself whistling and humming in anticipation of a meal that did not include “Mc” in its name or instructions like “Poke a hole in the plastic wrap to ventilate while microwaving.”

Thirty minutes from frozen to steaming hot on a plate is just perfect for me. And it meant a lot to skip the drive-thru. And THAT makes for a peaceful, pleasant dinner at home which I think is something we all crave whether you’re the chef or the grateful diner.

This week, I think I may have made the most perfect steakburger I’ve ever attempted.

I pan fried them in olive oil and just at the last moment placed a glistening slice of cheese on the top so it could meld itself to the burger, fitting perfectly.

Out in the backyard, my 5-year-old son ate an orange Popsicle while I took photos of this masterpiece.

“Whatcha doin’, Mommy?”

“Taking pictures of this beautiful burger.”

(What? Doesn’t every mom take pictures of their dinner before they serve it to their family?)

“It looks like sunshine on a mountain,” he said. “And there’s the grass. And a red swimming pool.”

Classic. Now THAT is why you have kids, people. They show you new ways of looking at things you’ve seen a thousand times before.

It made me teary-eyed that he had put so much thought into this. This steakburger had created a real MOMENT between us.

Then, my precious son pummeled his empty Popsicle stick at a rabbit that had the misfortune of hopping through our yard at that exact moment.

That bunny was just trying to live his life, man. Sheesh.

But the moment was good for the 30 seconds it lasted.

We went inside to eat our sunshine-on-the-mountain burgers and the innocent stick that had been turned into a lethal weapon went promptly into the garbage.

But that’s life in the ‘burbs for ya. Go tough or go home, Thumper.

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.