I finally did it. I broke the spell and actually cooked. I don't mean reheated, or cold poached or relied on default memories of pastas long loved. I mean sat down, thought it out and created a completely original recipe using all of my faculties.

I had my synapses working in both directions. And we all know that synapses are essential to neuronal function, and without neuronal function there would be no such thing as really good cooking. Because neurons are specialized cells that pass signals to individual target cells. And neurons use synapses as the means by which they pass along pertinent information.

Information such as: "Gosh these pork loin chops look fabulous". And because the neurons I was using to view those loin chops at the meat counter this morning were able to share that information with other neurons in my brain the inkling of a recipe was born.

And I want you to know that without synapses the information I gleened by staring at those beautifull loin chops would have just sat in the receiving neuron never actually meeting its destiny. And in this case the destiny of that information may have started with a mere visual cue, but that cue was able to travel back and forth between neurons, telling my body what actions to take to transform those fabulous pork loins into the luscious, delicious, (if I say so myself) recipe that required all my cognitive skills to bring to you today! I think I even spelled it all correctly...

The flavors of Viet Nam speak out loud and strong in this next burger. They were indeed the jumping off point for me in building this Asian influenced burger. You knew I had to do one, right?

After my love affair with the banh mi blossomed in San Francisco recently. I immediately began planning this burger. In fact it is where the whole idea of a week of burgers began. It was an excuse to make this burger. Hey! If Spud can do it with potatoes, then this is not such a far reach for Sup!

I used pork, which was an easy choice for me. I love pig in all forms. I also added several of the classic ingredients you find in banh mi. But that is where the similarities end.

While, I could have placed this burger onto a crunchy baguette, and called it a banh mi pork burger (and I thought about that). I decided to follow another Vietnamese food tradition and wrap this burger in a big lettuce leaf.

I also tucked in a salad-like mix of traditional banh mi toppings like: carrots, daikon, and cilantro. These were simply dressed with limejuice, fish-sauce, and coriander. I also used super hot Thai bird peppers (prik chi fa) instead of jalapeno because I had them handy.

I am home! I am home! I am HOME!

I hope you noticed that Sup has been a little bit AWOL this past week. I was traveling. I wish I could say it was a vacation, but it was really mostly work stuff.

When these plans were made I had great hopes of posting from the road.  But, well… one thing led to another BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. I am great at excuses aren’t I?

In case you didn’t know. I was in San Francisco. I met The Daily Spud there too. Spud is not just a fabulous blogger, but as I can now attest, a fabulous person as well.  We had a great lunch at Zuni Café. I also met all the cool kids at FoodBuzz. Talk about a plum job!

But most importantly, I also finally experienced a proper Vietnamese banh mi (pronounced BUN-mee) sandwich. I bought one for Spud too. Which is sorta funny because we had just had a long lunch but we could not help ourselves from stopping in at Saigon Sandwiches on the way back to our hotels. There’s nothing wrong with 2 lunches is there?

Meat loaf. Meatloaf. Loaf of meat!

No matter how you say it. Now matter how much you love it. It just does not sound that good, does it?

It’s such an American staple though. Indeed, it is an American food of iconic proportions. Well worthy of the name comfort food, in my opinion.

But meatloaf? Really? Could there be a less glamorous name? Who named it any way? Ethel Mertz?

Now the French understand a good meatloaf too. But, let’s face it--- Mousse de Foies de Volaille, Pâté Maison, Torchon, Rillettes, Terrine de Campagne. These are all just fancy French ways to say meatloaf.

Well, I have to admit. I do like fancy.

But I also have to admit to limited culinary skills. So I am choosing to make the most rustic of the French meatloaves, Terrine de Campagne. Which loosely translated means: countrified meatloaf.