"That is a tasty burger!"

Last night I had a burger craving when I came out of work so decided to make some homemade patties for dinner. I don't want this post to be teaching you all to suck eggs as my recipe's pretty basic but I thought I'd put it down here as it was the meal I cooked on my first date with Robert and it went down a treat! I use my dad's skeleton recipe and then vary the spices and herbs depending on how i feel. These used sage but I've made Jamie Oliver's Elvis burgers which use tarragon, nutmeg and parmesan etc and they're delicious.

I bought Aberdeen Angus beef mince from M&S but if it was a weekend I would go to the butcher's and buy some steak cuts and ask them to mince it for me for an even meatier bite.

Finely slice a whole red onion and crush a clove or two of garlic and fry in plenty of oil until soft. Take off the heat and mix with the uncooked mince.

Crack an egg into a bowl then slice some sage leaves and add both to the mixture along with a teaspoon of mustard. Knead into patties and season generously with salt and pepper- I was surprised how much salt I needed.

These patties took just over 10 minutes to cook, though obviously it varies according to their size and the heat of the hob. Burgers aren't burgers without cheese so I melted some Blacksticks blue on top- it's a really creamy Lancashire cheese that doesn't overpower. Other cheeses like Swiss Gruyère or Beaufort (which is similar) are good as they melt easily.

I was out of gherkins but they are really good for cutting though the flavours. Failing that a sharp relish works equally well. I sandwiched the burger between a slice of the left over Focaccia I got at the weekend- it was perhaps past it's best but it softened up ok in the oven and the tomatoes added a nice flavour.

Burgers are best washed down with a nice malty shake. Over the Christmas holidays my brothers and I tried to recreate the milkshakes they serve at The Diner in Islington. My favourites are Vanilla Nutella malt and Peanut butter and banana- they're like a coronary in a sip but soo tasty. Blend full fat milk, at least five big scoops of vanilla ice-cream, a slurp of vanilla extract and a big scoop of Nutella. Once smooth, pour into a schooner glass, then stir in a tablespoon of malt - I had to use Original Ovaltine powder as I couldn't see pure malt in the supermarkets. I leave this bit until the end as that way you're left with yummy clumps of malt when you get to the bottom of the glass. Garnish with a straw and slurp away!