If you’re tired of making the same old burgers for every BBQ, dripping with boring condiments and processed cheese, then please allow me to share with you a personal creation of mine.

I call it the Easy Brie-zy Burger, and I’ve served it to many a guest with rave reviews. I’m going to post the full recipe below (I swore I would never share it, but I’ve been worn down), but here is a breakdown of what you can expect on this burger:

- A flavorful brie and pesto mayonnaise
- Crispy fried onion strings
- Juicy heirloom tomatoes (sure, you can use regular ones if you want, but why not go for the gold?)
- And an optional upgrade to slices of crispy maple bacon

If none of that sounds good to you, please, stop reading now. For the rest of you, here is the full recipe good for about 8 burgers:

BRIE AND PESTO MAYONNAISE:

- 1.5 cups mayonnaise
- 2-3 tablespoons pre-made or fresh pesto
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 of a cup small cubed brie (put in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to make it easier to cut)
- few dashes of Tabasco sauce
- 1/2 tsp brown sugar
- salt and fresh cracked pepper

Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly, place in refrigerator until ready to use.

CRISPY ONION STRINGS

- 3 medium onions, sliced thinly
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup corn starch
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon pepper
- 4-6 cups vegetable oil or other suitable frying oil

Slice onions as thinly as possible, preferably using a mandolin, although a very sharp knife will do the trick also. Heat oil in a medium sized heavy – bottomed sauce pan over high heat. Using a thermometer, heat the oil until at 350F. Mix the flour, corn starch and salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and toss the sliced onions until evenly coated. Very carefully place the onion strings into the hot oil, and fry until crispy and golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Place on a paper towel to drain excess oil.

PUTTING THE BURGER TOGETHER

Alright, I’m not going to post a burger from scratch recipe, because everyone makes it their own way and there’s nothing wrong with that. But here is how we want to assemble our burger now that we’ve gotten the individual parts done.

Step 1. Liberally apply the brie and pesto mayonnaise to both sides of a fresh toasted burger bun.
Step 2. Place a grilled burger patty on the bottom half, and top with a thick slice or two of tomato, followed by lettuce.
Step 3. Top with your crispy onion strings, and if you feel like indulging, top with a couple slices of crispy bacon as well.
Step 4. Finish with the top half of the burger, and eat! The heat from the bun and burger will slowly melt the chunks of brie in the mayonnaise, giving you flavor, texture from the crispy onions and just plain good stuff in each bite.

Optional beverage choice: A crisp Strongbow cider

If you eat red meat, odds are you enjoy a steak as much as the next person. Some of you may have mastered the grill, or can rattle off stats about the fat content and flavor levels of various cuts, or have a shed in your backyard with hundreds of pounds of steer dry aging to obtain optimum flavor. Okay, maybe not that far.

But I’d be willing to bet most of you couldn’t tell me much about a hanger steak without rushing off to google.

Just so we’re clear, this is not an alternative name for another common cut, this is an often-overlooked cut of beef that very recently is starting to creep its way back onto some menus. Here are some fun facts:

- Perhaps my favorite fact, there is only one hanger steak per steer. That’s right, one cow, one hanger steak weighing about a pound.

- It is unbelievably flavorful. Cut from a section of the plate, between the  brisket and the flank, some believe its close proximity to the kidneys give it a unique and delicious flavor.

- It has a very unique texture. Almost stringy, but in a good way. It is almost a necessity to have this cut cooked rare or medium rare at most. Anything more and it can become a little tough.

Are you sold on trying one yet?

If you have a good butcher, odds are he can get you one, though they can be tough to find. Luckily, I’ve come across a great place that serves them in our beautiful city.

The Hamilton Street Grill serves a terrific grass-fed organic hanger steak. Go check it out and try something new.

There it is Vancouver! The scorching long weekend that we’ve been waiting to come along for quite some time while enduring our longer than normal winter this year.

If spending time in front of a hot stove on a 30C degree day is not your idea of a good time, check out this unbelievably refreshing chilled summer soup and this great cocktail to serve to your sun-parched guests:

Chilled Avocado and Citrus Soup

Ingredients:

- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 3 large ripe avocados
- 1 quart fresh orange juice (or fresh from 12 oranges if you’re feeling particularly ambitious)
- 1 cup fresh lime juice (about 6 limes)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 lb small diced plum tomatoes
- 1 cup small diced radishes
- 1 cup finely sliced mushrooms (optional)
- Garnish: fresh chopped cilantro

Rinse chopped onions under cold water and drain thoroughly. Pit and peel avocados and cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Whisk together the orange juice, lime juice, olive oil, sugar, salt and black pepper until sugar is dissolved. Gently stir in onions, avocados, tomatoes, radishes and mushrooms.

Chill covered, for 1 hour before serving cold with chopped cilantro as a garnish.

Now, with our beautiful local strawberries just hitting the stores, cool off with one of my favorite cocktails:

Strawberry Tequila Mojito

- 1.5 ounces good quality white tequila ( I know mojitos are usually made with rum, but trust me on this)
- Dash of triple sec
- juice from 1/4 of a lime
- Two local BC strawberries
- 10 mint leaves
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 ounces club soda

Pour tequila in a shaker glass filled with ice. Muddle the strawberries, mint, sugar and lime juice in a glass and add to the shaker. Shake vigorously and pour into a cocktail glass, then top it up with the club soda.

There you have it, and of course, remember, when all else fails in summer time, throw a few thick bone-in ribeyes on the grill and have at ‘em!