BFBs

What is a BFB, you may ask. This is a family original, or perhaps I should say a family indulgence. It even looks good despite being poorly stage on the floral Corelleware. A BFB is a Big Fancy Burger. I don't remember whether we held an official contest for the name, or if it just evolved and BFB just seemed right. Recently we have considered renaming it the BSB (Big Sloppy Burger) or BMB (Big Messy Burger).

This is actually more of a meal idea than a recipe. There are just a few critical elements. First, use sourdough bread instead of a bun. Lightly butter the bread. Sprinkle and press grated parmesan cheese on the bread. It should look like this:

Then toast the bread on a griddle until it is golden, like this:

We use the sourdough loaves from Costco. You could also buy the square loaves from other stores, but the slices are quite large, so you would probably want to cut them in half. And of course pre-formed, frozen hamburger patties are a bit of an odd-size for this sandwich, so we usually form our own, adding salt and pepper:

The garnishes you add to the burger are really up to you. We usually make them into cheese burgers, and then offer lettuce, pickles (Claussen are our preferred brand), tomatoes, onions and (when we are being lavish) avocados or even bacon. However one of the key secret ingredients is homemade Thousand Island dressing, the recipe for which you will find below. Ketchup and mustard are definitely no-nos on this burger. Trust me. You'll like them better with special sauce.

Thousand Island Dressing

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon white vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish

1 teaspoon finely minced white onions

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 dash black pepper

Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Stir well. Place dressing in a covered container and refrigerate for several hours, stirring occasionally so that the sugar dissolves and the flavors blend.

Quantity note: We make a lot of burgers at one time. We have never used all of the dressing made by this recipe. So make them again soon to use the rest, or use it as a salad dressing.