Swiss Patty Melts

I am (a self-declared) queen of burgers. It's my favorite non-Korean food, probably because it's the one non-Korean food my mom made, and it's definitely the meal I make most come summertime because hello, grill and burger are BFF. My ultimate favorite is probably my stacked burger because it's so decadent and humongous and just gorgeous to look at but, the brioche bun is a bit of a pain to make (mostly because waiting for the dough to rise isn't a fun activity for an impatient hungry person). So, on the opposite end of the spectrum, I like to grab storebought rye bread and throw together swiss patty melts, which are technically a sandwich but not a burger (a burger is a sandwich, but a sandwich is not a burger) but they've got the beef patty and that's the most important part. They're quite quick, really delicious but simple, and because I'm me, I still manage to incorporate a grill into the mix.

Ingredients [serves 4]:
1½ lbs. ground beef
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon + 2 tablespoons butter
4 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
½ onion, sliced
8 slices rye bread
4 slices swiss cheese

Form the ground beef into oblong patties and season generously with salt and pepper. Fire up the grill and cook the patties until they're lovely and golden with beautiful grill marks.

While the beef is going, slice up some mushrooms and onions and cook them in a tablespoon of butter until they're soft and golden.

Place a slice of cheese onto each piece of bread. Melt a little more butter in the same griddle pan and toast the bread. Nestle on a patty, top with some mushrooms and onion, and then assemble the sandwich. Grill the sandwich until the bread is golden and the cheese is melty.

Normally, I'm opposed to cutting burgers in half, except maybe when I'm eating one for lunch and I'm trying to preemptively prevent myself from gorging on the entire thing and then falling asleep at my desk like some sort of toddler missing naptime. However, like I said, this is technically a sandwich and I think rye bread looks great cut at an angle.

This swiss patty melt is so simple yet it hits the spot perfectly. The patty is juicy and gorgeous, especially if it's cooked perfectly to a pink medium. The melty cheese and the sauteed mushrooms and onions amp it up a bit, but in an appropriately bare bones kind of way. The bread is golden and toasty and adds a deliciously crunchy textural contrast. It's great for lunch, it's great for dinner, heck, I'd even chow down on one for breakfast.

And of course, it's great, but the part of me that wishes I were skinny insists on having this with a big salad and maybe some roasted vegetables to adhere to the rules of the food pyramid.

Here's the recipe page: