I didn't know girls could grill...

Last night some friends and I welcomed spring by having our first cookout of the season. We eat together all time, but this time we actually got out the old grill and ate outside! It was amazing! It really is too hot to eat outside in the summer, so we have to capitalize on the few mild months we have each year.

Prior to the arrival of my guests, I was far more concerned about creating a tablescape than preparing dinner. (Though, all I had to do was make burgers.) I was going for something that offered a bit of ambiance and elegance, yet was simple and cheap. Basically, I just took a bunch of candles and glass jars and made this.

It worked out pretty well, if I say so myself! And I was able to work "tablescape" into the conversation about 14 times throughout the evening.

After dinner, we gathered around the firepit. This was interesting. Apparently certain people didn't believe that firelogs could be burned alone, instead of being used as starters. I had to show them the package, but I am not sure they believed me.

THEN...a bunch of hubalub went on about cooking s'mores over firelogs, which apparently puts off some kind of chemical. So...I allowed my neighbor to cut down part of a very small, dead crape myrtle in my back yard. It gave him something to do, and provided a cleaner burning fire to roast our marshmallows.

As a side note, we used the bag of candy I bought for work since it had various kinds of chocolate in it. I used Mr. Goodbars for my s'mores, and it was AMAZING!!!!

Prior to all of the fire, and prior to all of the discussions on chemical fires, we ate. I can't just skip over that! Since it was warm, and since we wanted to do warm weather things, we thought grilling hamburgers would be a great idea. So, the emails went round, we divided up responsibilities, and got things ready for a party. I was charged with the task of making burgers. (Okay, it was my idea.) Not a hard task for me. I have made burgers plenty of times in the past.

HOWEVER...a certain male neighbor of mine showed up and asked who was in charge of grilling the burgers. He was a bit shocked when I said I was. He replied, "I didn't know you could grill?" And something along the lines of most girls don't know how to cook meat outside. I mean...who does he think I am? Ha ha! He has eaten at my house enough times that he should know I can probably make a hamburger.

I decided to make a big deal about it in order to give him a hard time for his sexist pig joke. (I said he was sexist. He said I said he was a sexist pig. Maybe you had to be there.) I also wanted him to "eat his words" after he tasted the deliciousness of my burger.

Want to prove the men in your life wrong? Then ladies...make this burger. It was great!

"I Didn't Know Girls Could Grill" Hamburgers

Ingredients:

3 lb. ground beef

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

3-6 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons Dale's Steak Seasoning

2 tablespoons Tony Chachere's creole seasoning

1-1/2 tablespoons Season All

Mild Cheddar Cheese cubes (optional)

Directions:

Preheat your grill at least 30 minutes prior to cooking.

Put beef in large bowl. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, Worcestershire, Dale's, Tony's and season all. Mix ingredients with hands, combining all well.

Take a handful of meat, form it in a ball, and then flatten out.

To stuff with cheese: Take a palm size of meat and flatten out. Layer cheese on top of meat. Take another ball of meat and flatten on top of cheese, covering and enclosing all sides.

Put on grill and cook about 10-15 minutes on each side.

*If your meat is not holding together well, try adding an egg and bread crumbs to help it stick together. Fattier meats tend to hold together better, but the fatter the meat, the more the patty will shrink on the grill.