Basil's Last Stand: Caprese-Style Hamburger

We have a real problem with basil. It seems like every time we buy it we have grand plans to eat fresh basil for a week, only to discover it brown and forgotten at the back of the fridge two weeks later. And what's worse, our rooftop garden has proven time and again to be a wholly inhospitable place to grow the stuff. The solution seemed obvious. We'd buy "the live version," which we couldn't help but notice beckoning us from our counter. Let's just say this dinner was inspired, in part, because our latest attempt at keeping fresh basil on hand was failing rapidly. We're really trying to waste as little produce as possible, so the glass of withering leaves that seemed to droop ever lower on an hourly basis was disheartening for the both of us. We donned our culinary "spin" caps and came up with this unique little number to put an end to the suffering. Ingredients: 1/2 - 3/4 lb. lean ground beef Sesame buns 2-4 slices, ripe tomato 4 slices, fresh mozzarella Fresh basil Olive oil Balsamic vinegar Salt & Pepper Season the ground beef patties with Montreal steak seasoning or salt and pepper. Cook in a cast iron skillet on medium-high heat, flipping after 2-3 minutes. After the flip, top each patty with a slice of fresh Mozzarella and cover the pan to melt. Temp the burgers to 145˚ (we usually pull them off at 135˚, but you didn't hear it from us) and remove from the heat. Meanwhile, toast the buns. Build the burger with the patty, a slice of tomato, another slice of mozz, and several basil leaves. Drizzle with olive oil and a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper, if necessary.