a new nothing with a speckled handle

the photo doesn't do this burger justice.  (remember how i lack photography skills)  it's so good.  and that's a lot coming from a girl who doesn't eat a whole lot of meat.  especially red meat.  no reason for the aversion to meat, it just doesn't tickle my fancy.  ya know? (there are a few exceptions and this is one of them)  but this burger...it's so great.  there are some very important tips to making the perfect burger and i'll share them with you. first - and this is the most important part - get the right meat.  always buy the best ground beef you can find.  preferably ground chuck.  and this is not the time for lean.  buy at least the 85/15 ground beef.  the fat is what makes a burger juicy.  you don't eat these every day, folks, so go big or go home.  second  - crispy iceberg lettuce makes all the difference.  cut the head of lettuce in half and use the iceberg heart, those crispy inne...

these are the lemon bars of your dreams.  that's really all i should say about them.  but i won't stop there.  this is a recipe that my mom has always used...for good reason.  it's perfect.  the shortbread crust is flaky and rich and the custard filling is tart and sweet.  it's the stuff dreams are made of.  i mean if you dream of food like i do.  in fact, there's a whole neighborhood who would agree with me.  there are certain people who live around my mother who would attend certain functions only because her lemon bars would be there (who's that girl getting married?  who cares, julie's lemon bars will be there!).  and, if you can believe this, i married a man who disliked lemon desserts (preposterous, if you ask me).  and i say dislik ed  because he now craves these lemon bars.  and everything lemon.  so you could say that these bars are not only the stuff dreams are made of, but maybe even life altering. ...

we've had this recipe in our family for such a long time that i don't really remember its source!  growing up, our mom was the type of cook that had a serious arsenal of recipes.  she'd clip them from newspapers and magazines, she'd gather them from friends, she'd collect recipe cards from the grocery store.  our kitchen growing up had stacks of recipes in lots of different spots.  there was even a stack on the top of the microwave!  you can still tell from just walking in her kitchen that my mom has a talent for cooking.  she values her cookbooks and recipes and has passed that on to us.  and this is one of those recipes that i can remember looking like it had been torn from one of our mother's many many cooking magazines.  it's possible that it was cooking light.  but whatever the source, this recipe is a keeper.  it's very easy to make and most of the ingredients you probably have on hand.  just a warning: it makes a large 9 x ...