Middle-earth Minutes Blog http://middleearthminutes.posterous.com News, Views, and Miscellaneous from the Middle-earth Minutes Podcast posterous.com Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:15:00 -0700 MEM's World-Famous Hobbit Hamburgers http://middleearthminutes.posterous.com/mems-world-famous-hobbit-hamburgers http://middleearthminutes.posterous.com/mems-world-famous-hobbit-hamburgers

Yesterday we posted a picture on our Facebook page of Micah mixing up some hamburger by hand. I was passing on my famous recipe to the next generation. It was time. We recieved a request for the details, and so we're sharing our secrect World-Famous Hobbit Hamburgers recipe with you, our friends. But, as Gandalf would say, "keep it secret; keep it safe!"

Why are they called Hobbit Hamburgers, you ask? Well, read on.

  • 1lb. Hamburger
  • 1 tsp. Onion Powder
  • 1 tsp. Black Pepper
  • 1/8 tsp. Dry Mustard
  • 1 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 tbsp. A-1 Steak Sauce
  • 8 crushed Ritz crackers
  • 1 egg
  • 4-5 strips of pre-cooked bacon cut into small pieces
  • 4-5 medium Mushrooms (Bingo!) thinly sliced, no shortcuts
  • A few dashes of Tabasco sauce

Mix together by hand. Take a goodly size portion of hambuger (about 2/3 the size of a tennis ball) and roll gently into a ball. Form into a patty. But, here is the important thing - do not smash the patty! Remember, when cooking hamburgers you want to leave as many small air-pockets as you can in the patty. This allows for the juices to run around in there like a group of Hobbits evading a Nazgul. These hamburgers are going to be huge when cooked. The raw patties should cover your palm, and be about a 1/2 thick. They'll be over an inch thick when cooked! Be gentle when forming the patty.

For an added treat add crumbled-up Bleu Cheese in the very center of the patty. They are wonderful that way!

Grilling (because these are meant to be grilled): If you are cooking with gas, pre-heat the grill on high. Adjust to medium just before laying the burgers on. Grilling, of course, is an art. I firmly believe that you have to feel when the burger is done, but generally about 5 minutes per side will do it. And, as with any beef, rare - medium rare is preferred. No use is ruining good meat :)

These will be the softest, fluffiest, juiciest, and tastiest burgers you've ever had! No condiments needed.

Enjoy. And let us know what you think of this recipe.

 

P.S. Micah's version of these burgers were even better than mine!

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/159135/middleearthminutes1.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eERYSDKoTv Michael Kaiser Middle-earth Minutes Michael Kaiser
Fri, 08 Apr 2011 06:13:00 -0700 Middle-earth Minutes (MEM) New News Blog http://middleearthminutes.posterous.com/middle-earth-minutes-mem-new-news-blog http://middleearthminutes.posterous.com/middle-earth-minutes-mem-new-news-blog

We have had this blog at Posterous for a while now and had, in the past, used it under the name Middle-earth Seconds. It was the "little brother" of Middle-earth Minutes where we'd post short audio clips (crudely recorded on an iPod) of This Day In Middle-earth. Well, with the most recent changes in the MEM podcast this seemed like the perfect place to keep an all encompassing blog - where we can post thoughts and ideas about all things Tolkien, or announcements, pictures, etc. from the MEM studio.

"Why not just post these things on the Middle-earth Minutes website?", you may ask. We'd like to keep that as strictly the home base of the podcast. That way new visitors that land on the main page for the 1st time will see that each post includes audio from the latest MEM podcast. If they enjoy what they hear enough to be a regular visitor, and even friend us on the Middle-earth Minutes Facebook page or follow us on Twitter, they will then have the chance to see these posts from the blog. These will (if all works as it should) be disseminated to the aforementioned two services.

So the new name of this site is Middle-earth Minutes Blog, and we hope that you find some enjoyment from it. For the most part we will not be re-blogging news stories; we do that on the Twitter account. Though we may offer commentary on the stories that we don't cover on the podcast. We have some fun ideas, though.

Until next time - Test over.

Middleearthminutes1new

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/159135/middleearthminutes1.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eERYSDKoTv Michael Kaiser Middle-earth Minutes Michael Kaiser