Disclaimer: The photographs you see in this post are of poor quality due to lighting, and my blackberry. Yes, I was too lazy to go grab my camera. Sorry. Oh yeah. And this isn’t very healthy. Moderation please.

I’m told that food is the way to a person’s heart. It’s very true. Whenever my Mom prepares something with me in mind, she wants to share her love through her cooking. I try to have the same mentality when cooking for others. And myself.

Earlier this evening, I ventured off into various markets and picked up all kinds of random things. Onions, a papaya, English cucumbers, kosher salt, yadda yadda yadda. You get the picture.

When it came time to make dinner, I got a bit adventurous. I had enough “stuff” to make turkey burgers, but I didn’t want this to be some cookie cutter burger. I wanted to be a bit aggressive with my palate.

I felt the urge to go sweet, but also bold and hearty. I came up with the “Near Perfect” burger. I gave it this name because it literally is…near perfect. Not quite perfect, because that would involve something that has been tested amongst food critics, eaters and others. It’s near perfect because after wrapping my lips around this burger, and taking a bite…I experienced the full gamut of flavors. Everything I wanted, and needed. The sweet, the salt, the hot, the cold…it was damn near perfect.

I used a couple of different ingredients that required some extra prep work.

Carmelized Onions

Ingredients and Method

• In large pan, coat with olive oil and heat on high
• Reduce to medium-high heat. Add two onions (sliced).
• Season with two pinches of salt, one pinch of sugar and ground pepper to taste.
• Stir until properly mixed.
• Reduce to medium-low heat.
• If onions begin to stick to pan, de-glaze by adding one-to-two teaspoons of water.
• Continue mixing until onions become brown and soft to desired consistency.

Garlic Butter

Ingredients and Method

• In food processor, combine: one stick of butter, two garlic cloves, one diced jalapeno, zest of one lemon, juice of one lemon, two tablespoons of olive oil and one teaspoon of paprika (smoked).
• Mix until smooth.  Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

The Near Perfect Burger

Ingredients for Burger

• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 small white onion (finely diced)
• 2 tbs. McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning
• 1 egg

Toppings

• Tillamook Medium Cheddar
• Carmelized Onions
• Sauteed Mushrooms (salt, pepper, olive oil, sliced mushrooms. Sauteed till soft)
• Sliced Pepperoncinis
• Heinz Ketchup

Method

• Mix all ingredients by hand, and form patties to desired size.
• Grill or heat as desired.

I constructed this Near Perfect burger by grilling the burger with the cheese, then toasting some hamburger buns with the garlic butter. I added all of the topics listed above: pepperoncinis, ketchup, caramelized onions, and sauteed mushrooms. It really was, nearly perfect.