Mini-hamburgers

If you have children of your own or are a godparent who takes their responsibility seriously, chances are you've been to quite a few children's parties, so you might feel with me here... Don't you also think that the rubbish that is served at most kids' parties is a crime against humanity? The same people who will only pick up the best for their cat ("succulent chicken fillet with courgettes and herbes du jardin" anyone?) don't so much as blink when they prepare the food for the birthday boy/girl and their friends. You should think that through the parties I've been to in my own childhood, I should be hardened, but I am actually appalled every single time I am invited to such a do here. Some people can blame bad catering at the venue they're hiring, although I have seen plenty having difficulties performing any better when throwing the bash at their own house - most of the time what's on offer is greasy, wrinkly cocktail sausages, most likely the very cheapest they could get their hands on, full of preservatives and E-numbers, plus 100 times the RDA of salt to mask the bad taste and served luke-warm or cold, of course. This is accompanied by really soggy sandwiches containing either artificial cheese (if you're lucky) or ham raised entirely in a laboratory, or "fruit preserve" which basically means a smooth jam that's never come near a real fruit, same as the jugs of Ribena squash (diluted syrup) the kids are supposed to wash it down with.
No wonder the children stuff their faces with crisps (at least, since they're coming straight from a pack, their taste is predictable and they won't have had a gangling A-level student with greasy hair and a face full of spots who doesn't know a tomato from a nectarine messing around with them, other than cutting open a packet and helping himself with his unwashed hands before pouring the contents into massive plastic bowls). Oh, and tons of sweets, of course. As if a children's party didn't make the wee ones active enough, they'll be terrorising their poor parents long into the night with all that artificial energy pumped into them! It's a disgrace, I say, it really is!
The time has come for another blog party over at Stephanie's Dispensing Happiness and this month's theme is, you might have guessed it, Children's Party. The guestlist contains only established foodbloggers, so I expect the standards to differ greatly from your local sports' club or scouts hall - and if you're ever in need for good ideas for your offspring's birthday do, her round-up (link to follow shortly) will probably be a good source.
Now, after all that ranting, what do I have to offer? Don't worry, it's not steamed carrots and slimey aubergines on a low-fat, low-sodium wholemeal muffin - I propose hamburgers. Hamburgers? Did I say hamburgers? I did, and without blushing.
These patties use only very lean minced beef, mixed with fried onions and garlic and seasoned with fresh herbs. The hamburgers are ovenbaked, then assembled with lettuce, tomato, onion, gherkin, tomato sauce and mustard. I have found this to be a great finger food also for grown-ups, two bites of predictable food for unadventurous eaters always go down a treat, even if it's a rather upscale version using only the freshest of ingredients! Hope you'll enjoy them!

Mini-hamburgers
(makes 40)

For the hamburger patties:
400 g lean beef mince
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
2 shallots (finely chopped)
2 tbsp worcester sauce
1 large egg
4 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp dijon mustard
4 tbsp breadcrumbs

12 burger buns
small tomatoes
thick gherkins
shallots
iceberg lettuce
mild mustard
ketchup
bamboo skewers

Pre-heat oven to 200 C.
First, prepare the hamburgers. Mix all ingredients together thoroughly and season to taste. Form small patties of ca. 4 cm diameter (they will shrink a little in the oven) and max. 1 cm thickness. Place on a non-stick baking sheet in the oven and cook for 15 - 20 minutes. Make sure they are just cooked through. (You can reserve and keep them in the fridge until the next day, then re-heat before serving, if you wish.)
In the meantime, set up a little service station: using cookie cutters, make small burger buns (ca. 3 cm diameter) - with the ones I buy, I usually get three small ones out of one bun. If you like your buns crispy, toast them first.
Cut the tomatoes in thin slices, do the same with the gherkins (widthways) and shallots. Wash and thoroughly dry the lettuce, then tear into small pieces, roughly the size of the buns. Have the mustard and ketchup ready, as well as some short bamboo skewers.
When the patties are done, start assembling the burgers: spread the base with ketchup, place some lettuce, tomato, onion and gherkin on top, then add the patty with some mustard and cover with the top of the bun. (You can, of course, chose any succession of ingredients you like)
Secure with a skewer and arrange on plates. Serve immediately.

Comments

[Pille]

Well, I'll be soon 'catering' for my two nephews and their friends on a regular basis, so I'll keep this recipe in mind:)

[yoony]

those burgers are adorable! i recently made some maui sliders and employed those handy cute skewers too. the only hard thing is trying not too eat too many of em.

[Cindy]

Cute burgers. I too went to many of those parties, either you eat all of those junk foods, either you go back home with an empty stomach, your choice...

[Nicky]

Dear Johanna,
What a neat idea for a party! The regular sized burgers are always a tad too big for me, so this is the way to go. But I haven't seen these kind of bamboo skewers here in Munich so far...

[Jeanne]

Kids, schmids - how about some of those at our next grown-up party?!? They look absolutely delicious and almost too adorable to eat :o)

[Mette]

Hi,
Cute burgers. What a work!!! I have done an alike birthday party for my niece once. I supplemented the burgers with tiny hotdogs, they assembled themselves. What a succes.
Consider baking the bread - it is a tough job with all those tiny buns, but it is worth the effort.

[johanna]

many people have asked me where I get my skewers, so I'll let you into the secret: there's a company called skewers.co.uk who's got a selection of babmboo skewers and forks in various lengths and finishes. but don't tell anybody, ok?