A Burger Revelation ...

... a lightened up burger that tastes like fast food Thanksgiving ... in a good way! ...

A few years ago, my blogging friend Brenda had a cook book give away that I had the good fortune to win ... a copy of Rachael Ray's cook book called Rachael Ray's look + cook came my way and soon I was flagging recipes that looked wonderful.  I've used the cookbook a lot over the years and have never been disappointed. Usually, in fact, I really like the results of Rachael's recipes. The only thing is ... they can be pretty caloric. Rachael likes her butter and cheese and gooey sauces. This burger recipe that I found the other day is no exception, but oh, WHAT A BURGER!

Thanks Brenda!



It was like a fast food Thanksgiving dinner ... turkey, dressing, and cranberry flavours on a toasted English muffin ... absolutely killer !

Turkey Meatloaf Burgers with Cranberry Sauce and White Cheddar

a Rachael Ray recipe

Makes 4 large burgers

Ingredients:

4 tbsp. butter

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 small apple, peeled, cired, finely chopped

1 small celery stalk, finely chopped

Kosher salt and black pepper

⅓ c. Panko bread crumbs

1 – 1 ¼ lb. ground turkey

2 tsp. poultry seasoning

¼ c. fresh parsley, finely chopped

2 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 egg

4 toasted English muffins

4 small handfuls fresh arugula leaves

4 thins slices of purple onion

Cranberry mayo sauce (recipe follows)

Thin slices of white Cheddar to melt on the hot burgers

Cranberry Mayo Ingredients:

⅓ c. whole berry cranberry sauce

3 tbsp. mayo (or sour cream)

2 tbsp. fresh chopped chives

Making the Dish:

1. Heat the butter in a fry pan. Add the onion, celery, apple bits, salt and pepper, and cook until the onions glisten and the apples soften.
2. Turn the warm veg into a mixing bowl and let it cool a bit.
3. Toss the turkey, veg mix, Panko, egg,  Dijon mustard, poultry seasoning, and parsley to make a meatloaf slurry.
4. Form four burgers.
5. Heat the fry pan over medium high heat. Drizzle a bit of olive oil in the pan and place the burgers into the pan, letting them sear well before turning.
6. Cook for about 10 minutes until they are cooked through.
7. While the burgers cook, toast the English muffins and keep them warm.
8. Slice the onions and cheese.
9. Mix the Cranberry Mayo sauce in a small bowl.
10. Just before serving, place the Cheddar slices on the burgers and cover the pan to let the cheese begin to melt.
11. Place a handful of arugula and an onion slice on one half of the English muffin.
12. Plop the hot burger on top, drizzle over some cranberry mayo sauce, salt and pepper, top with the other half of the English muffin and knosh!

Hint: We poked skewers through the whole burger and used them to hold the burger together while we knoshed around the outside edges …