Random Recipe #5 - Marsala Burgers

This month, Dom's challenge was all about grabbing the latest cook book received or bought and doing a 'random open up' - well, Brenda over at Brenda's Canadian Kitchen gifted me a copy of  rachael ray's look + cook in a recent give-away drawing and I have been having fun testing some of the recipes.

This random recipe is perfect for the season ... nothing like grilling burgers on a Friday night! We're ushering in summertime with these Marsala Burgers from page 192 of the cook book. Simple, easy and really tasty! Brenda would love it that I opened the book to this recipe, as she is the queen of sandwiches and burgers ... 'tis fitting.

These burgers start out with a good mince - a combo of ground sirloin and ground veal. Add to that minced garlic, nutmeg, fresh parsley, and salt and pepper. These get grilled to your desired level of  'done'. Meanwhile sliced portabella mushrooms get browned in a skillet with some olive oil, then sprinkled with salt and black pepper and given a Marsala wine splash. The sauce gets reduced a bit and then some butter is added to thicken up the saucy juices a bit.

The burgers are placed on toasted ciabatta rolls, topped with a mound of mushrooms, and shaved Parmesan- Reggiano cheese. The only other thing that might be great would be some crisp leafy greens, but that's not in the official recipe.

Cold beer, hot burgers, side salad, maybe some sweet potato roasties ... awesome Friday! Have a great weekend, friends! Dom! Fire up the Bar-B!

Rachael Ray's Marsala Burgers

Makes 4 burgers

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground sirloin beef

1 lb. ground veal

1/4 c. chopped parsley

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

kosher salt

black pepper

4 large portabella mushrooms, stems and gills scooped out, rubbed clean, sliced into 1/2-inch slices

olive oil (about 3 tbsp.)

2 tbsp. butter

1/2 c. Marsala wine

shaved Parmesan-Reggiano cheese to cover four burgers

4 ciabatta rolls, sliced and toasted

Making the  Burgers:

1. Mix the minced meat with the parsley, garlic, nutmeg, salt and black pepper. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.

2. Slice the mushrooms and brown in 2 tbsp. olive oil until browned on both sides of the slices. Add the butter and Marsala wine and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Let the butter and wine bubble a bit until reduced a bit. Remove from the heat and set aside.

3. Slice the rolls and ready them to toast in a 400 degree F. oven.

4. Divide the meat into four equal amounts and make patties.

5. Grill to your preferred interior color ... and toast the rolls while the burgers are grilling.

6. Place burger on toasted roll, top with a mound of warm mushrooms and place a good sized pinch of shaved Parmesan-Reggiano cheese over the mushrooms. Cover and have napkins ready for the juicy drips while eating.