It’s getting to be grilling season, and for me, that primarily means burgers. My husband would disagree and sees no reason to fire up the coals if he doesn’t have a giant steak to throw atop them. I occasionally force us out of our boxes with a pork chop or a kabob or even wild and crazy piece of salmon, but for the most part, I get burgers, and he gets slabs-o-beef. But you know, even the most avowed burger-lover has to change things up from time to time. I need change in life. I need variety. And if a burger is the only way I can get it? Bring it on.

Looking around my kitchen last week, I didn’t, at first blush, think I had much to work with. The only cheese I could find was cheddar, I didn’t have much for fancy spreads, no micro-greens, no sundried tomatoes, not even any wasabi paste, which, in a pinch, usually fancies anything up to my liking.

I did, however, lay eyes on a Granny Smith apple that had been languishing in the fruit bowl for several days, and needed eating tout de suite. And I figured that cheddar cheese and apple slices are one of my favorite snacks, so why wouldn’t they go together okay on a burger?

Still, I didn’t really like the idea of melted cheddar sliming all over an apple slice, so I chose to put the cheddar inside the burger, safely away from the apple chips I planned to force my husband to throw on the grill, against his will.

I usually start with the same basic meat mixture and add the special effects afterwards. For 6 burgers, start with 3 lbs of meat. (Note: for good burgers, you need fatty meat. 80 percent or less. This is not a time to be concerned about your arteries. If you are, skip the burger – 90 percent lean beef makes for a tough and not-worth-it burger.) Dump the ground beef into a bowl, and add the following:

1 T minced garlic
1 T worchestershire sauce
1 T Pickapeppa sauce (can be found on any grocery shelf near the worchestershire)
salt and pepper to taste

Work the meat around with your hands, careful not to over-do it. You want to distribute the ingredients but you don’t want to overwork the meat. Gently fold and turn the meat to work it through; don’t squish or smash it.

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The idea of the “surprise” burger is nothing new, but I have to admit, I still get a kick out of biting into a burger and finding a little gift of cheese hiding in there. To start, I measured 1/2 C of beef to make sure I would get my patties the right size. After measuring out two, I had a feel for the amount and didn’t need to do that step anymore.

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I made a dozen 1/2 C patties, and then I dropped a bit of shredded cheddar on the top of half of them.

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Next, I laid the plain patties atop the cheesy patties and gently worked the edges together, pulling down on the tops like I would if I were working a ball of pizza dough, until they were sealed.

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I sliced the green apple up thin and Mr. Meat and Potatoes threw them on the grill for about a minute on each side on indirect heat, just enough to bring the flavor and soften them, but not turn them into charred apple briquets.

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I didn’t think ketchup and mustard seemed right for this, so I mixed 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar into 1/2 cup of mayonnaise (NOT MIRACLE WHIP!), and spread that on my bun. A bit of sliced onion, a bit of apple, and a light smear of that tart sauce? Perfection. The cheddar surprise was a good addition, although I think I’d like to try a slice of brie or some bleu cheese crumbles some time as well.

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The Burger Stand at the Casbah is definitely in the running for my favorite restaurant in town, but people, I gotta tell you – if you aren’t in the mood to spend $8 or more on a burger, you can make six of them for about that price, and just add some random kitchen ingredients to make it feel all sexy and gourmet. Pour yourself a nice IPA or maybe a Free State Ad Astra, and bring your fancy burgers to your own back yard.