Friday, February 4, 2011

Mushroom Burgers

I've mentioned on here while ago about getting a few cookbooks for review.
One of the books happens to be 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know  by the editors at Glamour Magazine. 
I tried a variation of their mushroom burger. 

Meatless Monday Portobello Burger  as found on page 187

1 garlic clove
2 ounces roasted red peppers from jar drained
1/2 c mayo
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 c freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing
Four  4 inch diameter portobello caps
Four 1/4 inch thick slices red onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 thick slices good Italian bread
4 loosely packed cups baby arugula

In blender puree garlic, red pepper, mayo, mustard, lemon juice, cayenne, and cheese until smooth. Add 1/4 c olive oil until blended and thick   set aside.

Preheat broiler. line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil.  Arrange mushrooms on baking sheet side by side with onion. Brush top with rest of olive oil and use salt and pepper.
Broil for 10 minutes until tender and lightly charred in spots.

Lightly brush the bread slices on one side only with the rest of the olive oil, then broil, without turning, about 1 minute until lightly golden on the oiled sides.

Arrange the bread on work surface, top with the mushrooms, onion, arugula, spread the roasted red pepper sauce on the top slices of bread.

serves 4



My version:
Well, for me that's just too spicy.  I simply used the oil, mayo and mustard. 
I also had a flat style bun instead of the bread.

I also have to say, that our local store here packages the mushroom caps in twos.  At at $4.79 a package, this is not something I would be making too often.

Personally, I find that doing mushroom burgers are better on an outdoor grill during BBQ season.
I much prefer to do eggplant as a burger paddy replacement when doing veggie burger items on a stove.


 You can catch what else I had to say about the cookbook here on my book blog

My Thoughts on the Book....

Cleaving by Julie Powell.
I finished reading it last night.  And have posted it to my book club blog.  Which you can check out here 

Let me know what you think of it, if you read it or if you are going to read it.
I liked this book.  Not as much as the first one -Julie/Julia-  but I did like this book.

It surprised me on a few levels, one of which was the stark honesty of the butchery scenes and how the author translates those scenes into her emotions. Or I should say, how she translates and connects her emotions to the slicing of the meat.