Burger with Mushroom and Onions

I've been eating burgers that Nick creates for more then 2 years now.  I can say with extreme confidence....that they are freaking awesome!  We like our burgers and are sad to say that most the gourmet burger joints that have popped up in Toronto in the past year or so have been very disappointing.  The only place that continue to have decent burgers is Webers (I will post review later), and that's nowhere near Toronto, and nor is it gourmet in any sense of the word.  

Nick always gets requests to make these for friends and family.  They are so popular that he get's slightly annoyed when everyone always seems to request burgers and baked potato wedges (recipe here)....but I guess that's just proof of how great his burgers are.  The addition of sauteed sweet white onions and meaty portabello just takes it over the top!  :-)

Burger with Mushroom and Onions

Serves: Makes 4 Large burgers

approx prep time: 20min

approx cook time: 15min

INGREDIENTS (Makes 4 burgers): 

- 2 1/4 lb Lean ground beef

- 6 slices of Thick Sliced Bacon (I prefer PC Old Fashioned Thick Sliced bacon), or 12 slices of the regular thin bacon.

- 1/3 of a large sweet white onion, finely diced

- 2/3 of a large sweet white onion, sliced.

-  1 large portobello mushroom, sliced

- 1/4 cup of diced sweet pickles or gherkins 

- 2 tbsp Montreal Steak Spice

-1.5 cups of shredded Cheddar Cheese (I prefer extra old)

- Toppings of choice (Pickles, Tomato, etc..)

- 4 large kaiser rolls

HOW TO MAKE IT:

- Heat up a non stick frying pan with a little dab of olive oil.

-  Add sliced onions and after a minute, add the sliced portobello mushrooms and sautee till brown, and set aside.

- Fry bacon in a cast iron pan on medium heat till crispy, set on a paper towel to drain and set aside.
- Mix ground beef, diced onion, diced pickles and steak spice thoroughly
- Shape beef mixture into 4 patties, roughly 1" thick.
- Cook patties to desired doneness in a frying pan, on an indoor grill or BBQ.
- Serve patty with bacon, shredded cheese, and topped with sauteed onion and mushrooms on a freshly sliced Kaiser of choice.

Crispy Cheesy Toast

Inspired by Ace Bakery's Cheddar mini crisps and the need to do something useful with a dry baguette...came the creation of Crispy Cheesy Toast.  They are tasty and incredibly addictive, but also simple to make.  Good as a snack or at a party.  They don't last long at home, I can barely keep myself from devouring it all right out of the oven.

CRISPY CHEESY TOAST

approx prep time: 10min

approx cook time: 10min

INGREDIENTS:

Well Aged Cheddar (I prefer 5 year old Balderson cheddar, if you are using younger cheddar that is not a strong, you may need to add a bit of sea salt to the top.)

A baguette

Olive Oil
Sea salt (optional)

HOW TO MAKE IT:

1) Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

2) Slice old baguette into 1/4 inch slice toasts

3)  Grate a mound of cheddar

3) Brush both sides of the toast with olive oil and lay flat on a baking sheet

4) Sprinkle the toasts lightly with grated cheddar cheese, sprinkle sea salt if needed.

5) Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges of the toast is slightly brown