"but for one item..." ~ Jane Eyre

My Spring Break Vacation To-Do List:

Item 1: Visit Fourbucks a few times for new Blackberry Green Tea Fraps.
Item 2: Visit New York Sports Club each day as Blackberry Green Tea Fraps are sugary.
Item 3: Take extra long hot showers after New York Sports Club visits, as there is no rush to go anywhere at anytime this vacation. (will become weekend driver for vacation, too)
Item 4: Sit outside in yard after getting dressed from showering and begin to read.
Item 5: Read books on reading list including "Garlic and Sapphires" by Ruth Reichl, a New York Times food critic, a book lent to me by Nelle.
Item 6: Fantasize what it would be like to be a food critic for the Times.
Item 7: Stop fantasizing about food critic life, as one would be at NYSC every second of one's waking life as food critic.
Item 8: Try at least three new recipes this week in the kitchen, one from the Dining out section of the Times.
Item 9: Get YELLED at by D.R. for mentioning the Times so much in this post. Gah!
Item 10: Use old sections of the Times to clean up after Bruce, Chaz's pup, who I am doggiesitting one day this week.
Item 11: Make sure that Bruce has enough Frosty Paws for when he visits.
Item 12: Visit some websites about KEY WEST.
Item 13: Start planning aspects of KEY WEST vacation, schedule for the end of June.
Item 14: Start reading list for me and Pop, who are heating to KEY WEST at the end of June on a trip we are both calling "The Hemingway Homage."
Item 15: Blast Jimmy Buffett cd all week because vaca is also going to be our mecca to the original Margaritaville. (Hope one does not step on a pop top and ruin expensive flip-flops)
Item 16: Make margaritas for me and Chaz.
Item 17: Get tipsy on margaritas and start singing along to "Cheeseburger in Paradise."
Item 18: Ooooo. Make burgers on my charcoal Weber grill.
Item 19: Saute mushrooms and onions for burgers.
Item 20: Go to Super Stop and Shop to also get swiss cheese for burgers.
Item 21: Stop at Fourbucks for a Blackberry Green Tea Frap before food shopping, as one needs a little pick me up when walking around the market.

A recipe for you to enjoy, courtesy of Buffett himself:

Jimmy Buffett's "Cheeseburger in Paradise"
Recipe courtesy Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Restaurant, 2000.

28 ounces fresh USDA choice beef chuck, diced
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon garlic salt
1/2 tablespoon onion salt
1 teaspoon celery salt
8 slices American cheese - 1 slice if any other kind of cheese (so use American!)
4 sesame hamburger buns, toasted
8 leaves iceberg lettuce
4 slices tomato,
1/4-inch thick
4 slices red onion,
1/4-inch thick 4 toothpicks
4 pickle spears
2 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled, cut into fries and fried until golden brown
Using a meat grinder with a 3/8-inch plate, grind the meat. Change to a 1/8-inch plate, and grind a second time. Shape the ground meat into 4 (7-ounce) patties. In a mixing bowl, combine the kosher salt, pepper, garlic salt, onion salt and celery salt. Mix well. Place burger on a hot grill and season with the seasoning salt. Cook the burgers halfway to desired temperature and flip over and finish cooking. Place cheese on the burger when it is 3/4 of the way cooked and melt. Place bottom bun on plate. Place burger on bottom bun. Place lettuce, tomato and onion on top of the burger. Cover with top bun and secure with a toothpick. Place pickle next to the burger. Place fries on the plate.