Sunday, April 26, 2009

The Thrill Of The Grill - Gorgonzola Stuffed Horseradish Burgers

This is not really so much a recipe post as it is a post about the really cool portable grill that I found. Granted, it's not a typical BBQ Grill since it has no lid, it's pretty much for simple grilling preparations only. But I love cooking over an open pit full of glowing coals. It's a genetic predisposition due to my Y chromosome. Don't laugh. It's deep and it's real. It hearkens to a more base existence, reaching into the primal centers of the male brain...

OK, yeah, enough of that. I have been sans grill for over a year now. Truth is, I don't live in the best part of San Diego... I kind of moved back here, from Palm Springs, in a hurry for a job and, having a dog, was desperate for an apartment as the 120 mile commute was killing me. Yeah, San Diego is a very pet UN-friendly city. The point is, I did not have room for my humongous gas grill, so I gave it away to someone who would love it and use it. I bought a smaller one, as I have a small patio area off to the side of apartment, however, it is part of the walk through and some one stole it!! Grrrrrrrr.

Because of this, I have not purchased another one, due to storage issues inside my apartment. That is, until this weekend. I found a little charcoal grill that is completely portable, and includes a built in cooler. If BBQ'ing was still allowed at the beach, here, it would be completely awesome, alas it shall have to suffice as my "mini apartment grill that cannot be stolen" because it fits in my tiny "what is suppose to be a linen" closet...

This is what it looks like...... Yeah, it even has a shoulder strap... Awesome!!

The top zipper reveals a soft sided beverage (Beer) cooler.

The side zipper allows the cooler section to be folded back.

To reveal the small enameled steel charcoal pit.

With the extend-able handled press grill underneath.

All I needed was some Real Charcoal (I don't like briquets, cause I don't know what they use to hold them together)

Light 'er up.... Add Grill and Cook me up some burgers...........


BooYAH!

So, because I wanted to play with my new grill, I scoured my refrigerator and freezer, and threw these together after I finished planting... Yes, I planted stuff this weekend too... But that is another post about herbes and citrus fruits...

Blue Stuffed Horseradish Burgers on Ciabatta with Aioli

1 lb Organic Beef
1 Egg
2 TB Chopped Flat-Leaf Parsley
1 TB Prepared Horseradish
Smoked Salt
Cracked Black Pepper
2 TB Panko or Italian Bread Crumbs

Mix everything together except the panko.

Then add the Panko (it just seems to work better that way)

Divide into 4 equal portions (They will be about 5 oz each because of the additional ingredients)

Divide each one of those into two pieces and flatten, placing crumbled Blue cheese in the center of one.

Cover with the other half of the patty and press together.

Repeat... then chill while the grill is heating up...

Take them to the grill and cook em up about 3 minutes on each side.

Meanwhile, slice Ciabatta rolls and apply copious amounts of Sauce Aioli (I have some left over in a squeeze bottle from a previous recipe) Oh, yeah, I was originally going to add Brown Mustard, but no one wanted it.

Place Burger and Romaine lettuce on the roll,

I did and press together and enjoy. (Sorry, I am so use to taking pictures inside under florescent lighting, that the outside ones aren't that great cause I forgot to adjust the camera)....


Mangia!!
~~

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ok, that grill is SUPER-CUTE (as Jess would say lol) I'm totally with ya on the charcoal thing. We use those in our smoker. And yeah, whazup wit you guys and the whole grill/fire thang? Jim's chest puffs all up while he scratches his chest, rubs his belly, and grunts like Tim Allen?????

Ciao Chow Linda said...

With the hot weather we've got for a few days now, I'm ready to make your burgers. They sound and look terrific.

Bob said...

Love that grill! Where did you get it? Man do I wish I had any space at all to grill.

DD: Cmon, fire is cool! How can you even resist it? It's so... primordial. ;)

Shane T. Wingerd said...

Bob - Believe it or not, I found it at T J Max, it was only 6.99, it's made by "Totes". I was originally looking for a smaller tart pan to make Dajana's Leek Tart and came out with a BBQ... LOL

Spryte said...

YUM!!! And on ciabiatta!!! My favorite!!

Anonymous said...

Briquettes are held together with cornstarch. They are super dried sawdust, coal dust and cornstarch with a tiny amount of water to form them, then they are kiln dried to leave only the hard briquette. Just watched an episode of "How it's Marculdyade" that featured them last week.