Hail Caesar Burger

I have spent many years and lots of money eating at restaurants in search of the perfect meal – a great burger and an awesome Caesar salad.
When I found your contest, I was inspired to create that perfect meal myself! !

Ingredients:

Texas Toast Croutons

12 slices Texas Toast
¾ cup Colavita Extra Virgin Olive oil
½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Caesar Vinaigrette

2 – 2 ounce cans anchovies in oil
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ cup Dijon mustard
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon TABASCO Chipotle Pepper Sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Hamburger Patties
1 ¼ pound ground sirloin
1 ¼ pound ground chuck
1/3 cup pine nuts

Caesar Salad

2 cups very thinly sliced Romaine lettuce (white and light green parts only)
1 cup very thinly sliced radicchio lettuce
1 large ripe avocado – skinned, cored and sliced in 1/8 inch slices

Vegetable oil for brushing on the grill rack

Instructions:

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover, or preheat a gas grill to medium high.
To make the croutons: Lay the Texas Toast on a 12 inch by 18 inch baking sheet. Use a 2 inch paint brush and “paint” each piece of bread with Colavita extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle the parsley evenly over the croutons. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese evenly over the croutons. Place the baking sheet on the grill rack. Cover and bake 17 minutes, checking occasionally to ensure even baking. Remove croutons pan from grill and set off to the side near the grill.
To make the Caesar Vinaigrette: Place the anchovies, garlic cloves, lemon juice, parmesan cheese, Dijon mustard, black pepper, TABASCO chipotle sauce and kosher salt in a blender. Place lid on blender unit and turn blender on medium speed. Lift the clear plastic middle part of the lid slightly and very slowly add the Colavita extra virgin olive oil. Immediately turn off blender and scrape down the top and sides of the blender with a spatula. Remove vinaigrette to a 2 cup glass measuring cup.
To make hamburger patties: Place the ground chuck and ground sirloin in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the pine nuts over the beef. Pour ¾ cup of Caesar vinaigrette over beef; set aside the remainder for the salad greens. Gently fold vinaigrette into beef just enough to evenly distribute the pine nuts and the vinaigrette– knead as little as possible to avoid making the burgers too dense. Form the beef into 6 equal sized patties approximately the same diameter as the Texas Toast croutons.
Brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the hamburger patties on the rack, cover and cook 4 – 6 minutes per side until desired doneness is reached. When burgers are done, immediately remove each burger to a Texas Toast crouton.
Make the salad by gently tossing the white and light green romaine pieces, radicchio and avocado slices with the remaining Caesar vinaigrette. Set aside.
To assemble the burgers, place the Texas Toast crouton with the burger on a plate. Top each with an equal portion of Caesar salad. Top with another Texas Toast crouton. Flip the burger over and let sit another minute to let the juices redistribute in the meat and flow down into the crouton. Annihilate immediately.