Thursday, June 29, 2006

Super Tuscan Burgers

But first, my excited news; I bought a plane ticket to Michigan in September!!

Last night, I got around to making Tuesday's dinner; "Super Tuscan Burgers" or something like that. Its a Rachel Ray recipe and I think the first one of hers I have ever tried (not really a huge fan). It was a good recipe, although I have some potential changes in mind should I choose to make it again.


Super Tuscan Burgers


.75 lb ground veal
.75 lb ground pork
1/2 cup Merlot or dry Italian wine
1 med onions, finely chopped
1.5 Tbs sage
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Coarse black pepper
1 Tbs EVOO
.5 lb Cremini mushrooms (I used shiitakes, organic)
4 hamburger rolls (crusty rolls)
4 slices Fontina cheese
1 cup arugula leaves



1 Combine veal and pork in a bowl with 1/4 cup of the wine, the onions, sage, garlic and salt & pepper to taste. Form 4 large patties. (I used all of the wine and made six patties)
I ignored the directions from here on in, but I will include them for those who wish to cook their mushrooms in a big pile in the middle of their skillet.
2 Preheat a large (very large) non-stick skillet, leaving a space in the center of the pan to pile in the mushrooms. Add the sliced mushrooms to the skillet with the burgers.
3 Flip the burgers after 6 minutes and toss the mushrooms around as they brown at the center of the skillet. After the mushrooms begin to brown, season them with salt and pepper. (The color will be deeper and the mushrooms will remain firmer if you wait for them to brown before salting.)
4 Cook the burgers for 5 minutes on the second side, then remove them from the pan and place them onto bottom halves of the rolls and arronge on a flat serving plate. Place the sliced cheese on the burgers, then spoon the hot mushrooms over the cheese. Cover the plate loosely with foil to slightly melt the cheese.
5 Add the remaining ¼ cup of wine to the skillet and loosen the pan drippings. Dip the top halves of the rolls into the pan drippings to soak them up. Pile arugula on each burger, then set the top halves in place and serve.

5 comments:

Dawna said...

Rachael has plenty of good ideas but it's hard to get past the almost abrasively bubbly personality and joker-esque rictus of a smile. I've never followed any of her recipes, but I've gotten some good "jumping off points" from the ideas on her show.

Lisa said...

Yeah, Rachel is tough to watch at times, isn't she? She says "EVOO" just a little too often. (Although I thought it was cute that you used it in the ingredient list, Linda.) I've not tried any of her recipes, but I did print one out for a chicken goulash thing with gnocchi that I thought I'd try sometime.

The burger looks tasty. Nice photo...

P.S. What's in Michigan?!

Anonymous said...

Yay! Zingermans will never be the same! :) Can't wait to see you, Linda.

~Sandy~

Unknown said...

Dawna, I guess I have never tried anything of hers before because her personality grates so much, but I might be more willing to do so now.

Lisa, I just had to leave the EVOO in there!And Sandy and Zingerman's and a few other friends are in Michigan...

Hi Sandy!

Anonymous said...

Yay!!!!!

I can't wait to see you, Linda! We'll have a great time!!

Cheryl