A Good Manchego Is Hard To Find

Episode: Late Afternoon in the Garden of Bob and Louise (S5 E10)

Favorite Moment: the song that they sing "Happy/Crappy Place"

Favorite Quote:

Bob (to Louise): "Love you,my cutie pie. Sorry, I will think of a better one than 'cutie pie'. Your my angel... dust. Sorry that's a drug."

The episode title is a play on the true crime novel and later movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" which follow the true story of a wealthy Savannah man's murder of his lover. (Starring Kevin Spacey... pause for sighs of disgust)

In this Episode, Bob wants nothing more than to have a plot in the community garden to grow his own vegetables, but he had his application rejected several times. The woman who runs the garden is Cynthia, mother to Logan.

Avid fans will recall in the third season an episode revolved around Logan stealing Louise's bunny ears causing a complete mental breakdown for her, and resulting in her enlisting the biker gang, The One-Eyed Snakes, to cut off Logan's ears.

Family histories being what they are, Cynthia will not allow Bob a garden plot, until he convinces her to let Logan work at the restaurant so he can use the experience of working at a dead end job to get into a better college.

Louise hates Logan, Linda hates Cynthia, and Bob is having the time of his life. They sing a hilarious trio called "Happy/Crappy Place"

Tensions only rise when Bob names Logan employee of the month, and Louise runs into the garden with shears to take matters into her own hands.

The burger featured in this episode "A Good Manchego Is Hard To Find" was appropriately named because I had to look everywhere for manchego. The star of the burger is manchego cheese. Manchego is a semi soft Spanish cheese made from sheep's milk.

The burger is topped with manchego cheese, caramelized shallots and fig jam.

Like I had said, I made three trips trying to find a store that had manchego, and preferably a deli that would have it sliced for me. At Fresh Thyme, where I usually go for veggies and burger oddities had some... but not sliced. I wound up purchasing some from Lunds, a fancy grocery store across the street from where I live.

(If you live in the Twin Cities and you want to make this burger... and want to go into a really-nice-fancy-ass grocery store go to Kowalski's in Uptown. They have manchego available to be sliced in the deli. It's so fancy in there I had to keep telling myself "Play it cool, act normal, they don't know that you are not rich enough to be shopping in here!" Sweat was pouring down my forehead in the check out lane.((not that it ever isn't)))

I had never cooked with shallots before. They are like cute little baby onions. I have tried more forms of onions in the last three months than I have in my entire pre-Bob's Burgers Burger Book existence.

I cut the shallots up and they were so potent that I just stood in the kitchen crying for two minutes trying to play it cool. Like I am a big strong man, and you are just a little onion. I'm way bigger than you. Don't laugh at me. I will eat you little onion.

After caramelizing the shallots, I cut up the cheese. I bought two blocks of it... and ate like almost half of one before putting some on the burgers. Manchego is very similar in texture to parmesan, but it is a bit sweeter. Like it would go great with some grapes, or wine, or fig jam.

After cooking the burgers, I assembled them: bottom bun, arugula, juicy burger covered in manchego, caramelized shallots, and a thick spread of fig jam on the top bun.

I loved this burger. I will be making this again. I honestly want to make it every week. It's sweet and savory and just freakin' wonderful. My mouth is watering just writing about it.