Last fall I reconnected with a second cousin who remembers coming to my grandmother's house every Memorial Day for the big family picnic. Her mother always brought potato salad. I can't remember what my mother brought, maybe baked beans made from scratch. But for the life of us, Gail and I can't remember what the entree was. My grandmother didn't own a charcoal grill - I think that was before you could buy charcoal for home grilling, so I'm guessing she baked some big beef roast or maybe a ham in the oven. The other option might have been cold cuts from the butcher, not baloney, more likely cold ham.

Until I hear back from my Uncle Rufus as to what he remembers about those family picnics, let's pretend it was hamburgers cooked on the stove.

This morning I was reading about using different cuts of meat in your hamburgers to give them more flavor. The upscale Las Vegas chefs who were interviewed said they use chuck roast because it has a 20 to 22 fat percentage plus trimmings from aged steak and prime rib. You need the fat content for juiciness, and the steak adds flavor.

They recommend grinding your own meat, using the food processor if you don't have a meat grinder, and grind it a little coarse. I would never admit to being a food purist, but I usually grind my own beef. Part of the reason is because it's more flexible to buy roasts and then decide what to do with them, and the other is ground beef, especially those patties, is always getting recalled for health reasons.

The really high-end guy, Bradley Ogden, makes all his condiments from scratch, and bastes the meat with red onion butter.

This first recipe, from Bon Appetit, breaks the chuck roast rule, and is probably lower in fat than the 20 percent. But the meat is no doubt flavorful. The last recipe, for tomato catsup, is from Gourmet Magazine, and I like the sound of it because it calls for canned tomatoes and tomato paste rather than a lot of fresh tomatoes that need to be cooked down a lot before you can get the ball rolling.

THE ULTIMATE BURGER

2½ pounds skirt steak or sirloin flap steak
1½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Accompaniments: homemade burger buns, homemade ketchup, homemade mustard, homemade pickle relish, lettuce and tomato.

Cut steak into 1½-inch pieces and season with 1½ teaspoons salt. Chill in a sealable bag 4 to 6 hours.

Rinse steak under cold water, then pat dry. Grind using a meat grinder with a 3/8- or ¼-inch die, or finely chop in a food processor. Form into 6 balls and flatten into patties about 1 inch thick and 4 inches in diameter. Chill until ready to grill.

Prepare grill for direct-heat cooking over medium-hot charcoal (medium-high heat for gas).

Season burgers with ¼ teaspoon pepper (total). Lightly oil grill rack. Grill burgers, covered only if using a gas grill, turning once, about 5 minutes total for rare or 6 minutes for medium-rare. (Burgers will continue to cook slightly once removed from grill.)

Serve in buns with lettuce, tomato and condiments.

Serves 6.

-- Recipe from Bon Appetit magazine

Here are recipes for condiments you can use with your custom burgers.

RED WINE BUTTER

2 cups ¼-inch diced red onions
2½ cups red wine
2 cups balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
12 ounces unsalted butter

Place the onions, wine and balsamic vinegar in a 2-quart heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cook until reduced by three-quarters. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Add the mustard, salt and pepper to the reduction. Place the butter in an electric mixer and, using the paddle attachment, mix until smooth. Gradually add reduction and blend very well. Place in a container, cover and refrigerate until needed.

Use for basting steaks or burgers.

Makes 2 cups.

-- Recipe from Bradley Ogden

PEACH MUSTARD

About 3 peaches (enough to make 1½ cups peach puree)
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon mustard seeds, toasted and ground
½ cup Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
½ cup fresh peaches, cut in ¼-inch dice

Rinse peaches under cold water, then cut in half and discard the pit. Put the peaches (skin and all) through a food mill, using a fine grated setting, or puree in food processor.

Place the puree in a wide, heavy-bottom, noncorrosive saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and dry mustard and reduce to low. Cook slowly until puree reduces by half, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the rest of the ingredients except the diced peaches and cook for 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool immediately over an ice bath. Fold in the diced peaches. Refrigerate until needed.

Makes 2 cups.

-- Recipe from Bradley Ogden

BREAD AND BUTTER SWEET PICKLE CHIPS

2 pounds pickling cucumbers
1 medium yellow Spanish onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cups apple cider vinegar
3 cups water
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon celery seed
2 whole red chilies
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon pickling spices
1 ounce fresh ginger, peeled, cut into 4 thin bias pieces

Wash pickling cucumbers and then soak in ice water for two hours. Slice ¼-inch thick and place in a large bowl.

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a heavy-duty stainless-steel sauce pan. Bring to a boil, turn heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour over the cucumbers and let cool at room temperature (place a weight over pickles so they stay totally immersed in the liquid). Refrigerate for three days before serving. Store refrigerated.

Makes 5 cups.

-- Recipe from Bradley Ogden

DILL PICKLES

2 pounds pickling cucumbers
2 cups apple cider vinegar
3 cups water
¾ cup sugar, granulated
1½ tablespoons kosher salt
20 garlic cloves, peeled
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
3 tablespoons pickling spice
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
2 small dry red chilies
1 bunch fresh dill
1 medium white onion, peeled and quartered

Rinse cucumbers in cold water, then soak in ice water for two hours. Cut into long slices, approximately 8 per cucumber.

Combine the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, garlic cloves and spices and place in a heavy-duty stainless-steel saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Lay out the cucumber pieces, onion wedges and dill sprigs in a large stainless-steel bowl. Pour the hot liquid over the cucumbers and let cool at room temperature. (Place a heavy weight over the pickles to keep them totally immersed in the liquid.) Refrigerate for three days before serving, then store refrigerated.

Makes 1 quart.

-- Recipe from Bradley Ogden

HOMEMADE KETCHUP

1 can (28 to 32 ounces) whole tomatoes in juice
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon tomato paste
½ cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup cider vinegar

Puree tomatoes with juice in a blender until smooth.

Cook onion and garlic in oil with ¼ teaspoon salt in a 4-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 8 minutes. Add spices and ½ teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring frequently, 1 minute.

Add pureed tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar and vinegar and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until very thick, 45 to 55 minutes (stir more frequently toward end of cooking to prevent scorching).

Puree ketchup in blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Chill at least 2 hours for flavors to develop. Keeps, chilled, 1 month.

Makes about 2¾ cups.

-- Recipe from Gourmet magazine

Me and my girl cousins, probably taken in August because there is corn on the cob. Everyone is dressed up because Aunt Jane was in town from the east coast. Her daughter is Alison, there in the blue dress looking at her corn like she doesn't know what to do with it. I have the crown on my head, and it might have been my birthday.