Cinco de Mayo Burgers

There is nothing authentic about my Mexican cheese burger but it sure is a simple recipe and would be great for a crowd if you decide to celebrate Cinco de Mayo and do some grilling. I started with the guacamole. I bought one ripe avocado and a package of Holy Guacamole.

I diced the avocodo into bite sized pieces and squeezed a lime over it. I just love the combo of lime and avocado. Then I added the packaged guac, a sliced scallion and chopped cilantro leaves.

I put this into the fridge for a bit and went on to my hamburger. I only made one hamburger tonight because I was testing this recipe. So I formed a 1/4 pound hamburger and didn't fuss with it much. I sprinkled kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and Mrs Dash's Southwest Chipotle Seasoning on both sides.

While I was enjoying the aroma of the meat cooking on my indoor grill (3-4 minutes per side) I coated 1 side of each of 2 tortillas with sriracha sauce. If you don't have sriracha, use Pete's or Frank's. They'll work fine I'm sure.

 

I then added a slice of processed cheese to each corn tortilla. When I do this again, I'll go for a good Colby or Cheddar or something even more exotic, but the processed cheese was very doable.

Okay, so the burger is done and now needs to be nestled into the cheese covered tortillas. Let's put this together.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and add a tsp of butter (it really adds some good flavor) and a few tsps of canola oil in a sauce pan. Cook tortillas for a few minutes on both sides until cheese is melted and you can't wait to dig in.

And then top with the guac, and any other condiments you desire. I would have liked some olives and tomatoes, sour cream and maybe a spoonfool of refried beans. I know Dan Clark would probably add some crushed bacon, I would have too. But it's Friday night and shopping day is tomorrow.

It's a little messy so I cut mine in half but did end up eating it with my hands- guac sliding down my arms and beef juice as well. Messy or not it's a great little burger I know you'll love.

Cilantro Burgers

Since this weekend is the unofficial start of summer and barbeque season, I thought it would be appropriate to share a new burger recipe I came up with. It's not a burger for everyone- it's for those who can't get enough cilantro in their lives. Cilantro is the plant (herb) that grows from the coriander seed. It's amazing how the population is so split on this herb. It seems you either like it or hate it. So for you cilantro lovers, this burger's for you.

Cilantro Burgers

1 T finely chopped scallions (whites only)

1/2 cup bread crumbs- I used 1 slice Italian bread ground in my spice mill

1T Gourmet Garden Cilantro Herb Blend

2 tsp Sambal Olek (Chinese Chili Paste)

2 pinches curry powder (optional)

4 pinches paprika

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 egg slightly beaten

1 pound ground beef

Combine all ingredients (except beef) in a large bowl. Now add ground beef, and with fingertips mix gently until incorporated. Don't over mix. Make 4 patties . **TIP**When making the patties, indent your thumb in the center of each patty to make a small well. This will ensure the burgers will cook flat and not puff up.

Prepare grill. I cook my burgers on a stove top grill and heat it to high, then lower the temp to medium. Spray grill with PAM or lightly grease with canola oil. Add burgers. Cook 5 minutes on the first side, then 4 minutes on the second. Your burgers will be medium to well done.

These burgers are ever-so moist and tender, with the fresh flavor of cilantro and hint of heat from the Sambal. The texture is perfect. You won't be disappointed. I served this batch with a dollop of mayo and Dijon mustard, with Bibb lettuce on grilled Italian bread. As with all burgers, add the condiments that YOU like. Anything goes.

Happy Grilling!

Hamburgers 101

Fran (the gardner) and I discovered the burger joint 5 Guys last summer and fell in love with it. The burgers were pretty good, but the fries were heavenly. They were too good. Out of this world good. So we had to stop going. It's been about 6 months since I've had a hamburger and I needed a fix. Yesterday I discovered a site on the internet that's all about burgers and decided to follow Brian's tips on making the Basic Burger. Since we're cooking our burgers medium to well done these days, a few extra ingredients seem to be necessary to keep the meat moist, juicy and flavorful. Here's Brian's recipe.


The Basic Burger

1 pound ground beef
1/2 onion grated
4 pinches of ground coriander
4 pinches ground paprika
fresh ground black pepper (I used 1/4 tsp)
salt (I used 1/2 tsp)
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs (I used one slice of Italian bread ground in my spice mill)
1 egg slightly beaten
1 quarter beef bouillion cube dissolved in 2-3 T water (I don't keep this in my pantry, so I used 1/2 tsp of the seasoning packet from Near East Rice Pilaf mix)


And I finally got to use these little measuring spoons that I received as a give-away from a now defunct cooking club.

Mix all ingredients together and form into 4 pattys. Since I didn't have any hamburger buns I decided to grill a pita bread and serve myself an open-faced burger salad sandwich. I heated the grill pan to high and waited for some grill marks to appear before I turned the bread over.

Then I lowered the heat to medium (Brian's instructions), sprayed the pan with cooking spray and added my burger. I cooked it 4 minutes on each side.

To my pita bread I added some Bibb lettuce, mayo, ketchup and mustard and waited for the burger to be done.

And then a few pickles made their way to the party and dinner was served.

I must say, this was delicious. And filling. And I didn't miss the fries. Hah! Who am I kidding? Fries would have been great, but I was not going to attempt to make perfect fries when I'd already made the perfect burger.