Cheeseburger with Hop-Pickle Thousand Island

 I was down to the last two pickles in the jar of Brooklyn Brine's Hop-Pickles. I had an idea.

I diced them up and added them to Thousand Island dressing, then let it chill in the fridge for a couple of hours. 

Obviously I love the burgers I get from Paisanos, but sometimes I either am not in the mood or it is too damn hot to make the two-mile round trip. Fortunately, there is butcher four blocks away - Heights Prime Meats. They only have a fraction of the options of Paisanos, and their prices can get pretty ridiculous, but their product is definitely quality.

I got some coarse-ground beef and made two burger patties. You can probably guess which of the two was mine and which was Elizabeth's. (And if you can't, I'll tell you: mine was the larger, half-pound patty.)

Once I grilled the burgers, I spooned plenty of the sauce onto a potato bun. (When I'm not in the mood to walk to Paisanos, I'm also not in the mood to go to Caputo's for those great rolls. I got these at the market across the street from me.)

This was a good burger. The Thousand Island was not nearly as aggressive as the aioli I made the other day. It was still a pretty extreme flavor, but it worked well.

Like the aioli, though, it's not something I plan to make again. So many more ideas...