Economic Stimulus Burger

Ingredients:

Wine Reduction Sauce:
2 tablespoons Colavita Olive Oil
1 shallot
1/3 cup beef stock
1 cup of Sutter Home Cabernet Sauvignon
2 sprigs of thyme
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Juice of ½ lemon

Crabmeat Filling:
1 can of crabmeat (when money is tight I often reach for a less expensive brand)
1 egg
½ cup of crushed Town House crackers
¼ cup of fresh minced parsley
2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
¼ cup of chili sauce
½ teaspoon freshly ground salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Colavita Olive Oil for frying

Mushrooms:
¼ cup of Colavita Olive Oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
6 large Portobello mushrooms, stems removed
½ teaspoon freshly ground sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Hamburger Patties:
2 pounds freshly ground chuck
¼ cup fresh, flat leaf parsley
2 cloves minced garlic
2 chopped shallots
1 teaspoon freshly ground sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
6 Ciabatta rolls, split

Instructions:

Wine Reduction Sauce:
Preheat grill to medium heat. Heat oil in a cast iron (or fireproof skillet) add chopped shallot cook until golden brown. Add 1/3 cup of beef stock, scrape caramelized shallots off of the bottom of the pan, then combine with cup of Sutter Home Cabernet Sauvignon.
Add sprigs of thyme. Simmer until sauce has reduced to about half the original amount.
Strain out thyme and shallots. Stir in butter and squeeze lemon into sauce.
While the sauce is simmering, start mixing beef and crabmeat.

Crabmeat Filling:
Combine crab, egg, crackers, parsley, mayonnaise and chili sauce. Use a fork to minimize handling (do not over mix).
Form 6 cakes that will fit into the portabella mushroom caps (after the crab and mushrooms are cooked). Top with salt and pepper, rest for 30 minutes in refrigerator.
Heat oil in cast iron fry pan to medium high heat, add crabcakes to oil and cook for about 2 minutes on each side (until golden brown). Remove from heat, place onto a brown paper bag to drain excess oil.
Place to side until mushrooms are prepared and cooked, at which time place cakes in mushrooms.

Mushrooms:
Marinate mushrooms in Colavita Olive Oil and garlic for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle mushrooms with salt and pepper (on both sides). Place mushrooms on medium high grill for about 5 minutes on each side.

Hamburger Patties:
To make patties, combine ground chuck, parsley, garlic, shallots, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Use a large fork to mix the ingredients to minimize the handling of the ingredients. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions into patties to fit roll.
When grill is ready at a medium high heat, brush the grill rack with oil. Place the patties on the rack, close cover and cook for about 5-7 minutes. Turn the patties only once. Place the rolls, cut side down, on the outer edges of the rack to toast lightly during the last 2 minutes of grilling. When patties are done, (internal temperature just about 160 degrees) remove and cover to keep warm as meat settles.

To assemble burgers, place patty onto the bottom toasted roll, spoon on wine reduction sauce, place Portobello mushroom onto burger with crabcakes stuffed in mushroom, add roll top and serve.