Adirondack Red Wing Burger (from Rachael Ray)

I really like hamburgers. I mean I really, really like hamburgers. So I really pay attention when they are done well, and when they are done badly (like at my job's cafeteria). Rachael Ray also apparently likes hamburgers, and this recipe is one of her's. Its really tasty, and I wish I had come up with it myself. She called it her "Adirondack Red Wing Burger", because she's from upstate New York, and the elements of the burger are pretty much the ingredients for buffalo wings, but in burger form. If you want the original recipe, here it is. I made some changes, but its her recipe. That is my picture though. :)

Ingredients
    * 2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
    * 1 carrot, finely chopped
    * 1 rib celery with leafy tops, finely chopped
    * 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
    * 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
    * 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey or chicken
    * 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
    * 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
    * Salt and pepper
    * 2 tablespoons butter
    * 1/4 cup hot sauce
    * 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
    * 4 deli-sliced cheddar cheese
    * 4 sandwich-size English muffins, toasted
    * 1/4 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
    * 1/4 cup pickle relish

 Preparation

In a small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon EVOO, 1 turn of the pan, over medium heat. Add carrot, celery, onion and garlic, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Reserve the skillet.

Mix the turkey, dill and poultry seasoning into the vegetable mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Form into 4 patties.

In the reserved skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon EVOO over medium heat. Add the patties and cook, turning once, until firm, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add the butter to the skillet to melt, then stir in the hot sauce. Add the patties back to the skillet, turning to coat in the sauce. Top each with some of the blue cheese and a slice of cheddar. Tent with foil, turn off the heat and let stand until the cheese is melted.

Top each muffin bottom with some lettuce, a patty, some relish and a muffin top.


I didn't use any lettuce, relish or english muffins, because I don't like relish, and I didn't have any lettuce or english muffins, but they were still great. So good, that a couple days later, I made them again, this time with ground beef instead of turkey, and they were still delicious.

Sake-Soaked Cherry Burgers with Garlic-Herb Cheese

Garlic-Herb Cheese

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. dried basil

2 tsp. dried oregano

2 tsp. dried sage

2 tsp. parsley

Salt to taste

White Pepper to taste

Hamburger

1 lb. Lean Ground Beef

½ cup Sake-Soaked Cherries

1 clove Garlic, minced

2 tsp. Balsamic Vinegar

1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

¼ tsp. Sea Salt

¼ tsp. Fresh Ground Pepper

2 tsp. mustard

Mix all garlic herb cheese ingredients in a bowl. Use a spatula, not a hand mixer. Set aside.

Mix all hamburger ingredients gently in a bowl. Form the meat into a ball.

Score the ball in a “cross” pattern, and separate into 4 equal parts.

Form each part into a patty, about ½ inch thick. Put a small impression in the center of each patty.

Cook burgers on a grill or frying pan, until desired temperature (I prefer well done for burgers, but that’s me.) If you fry them, be sure to use a spatula to press them down as they cook, or they round out like meatballs.

Spread the cheese onto one side of the hamburger bun, and place each burger on the cheese. Top the burger, and eat it. :)

Full Disclosure: This recipe is an adaptation I found here. I used my own soaked cherries, in place of their cherry puree, and added an herb cheese spread.