Peppered turkey burgers with tomato basil salad

Pairs well with:

Pinot Grigio

You won’t need a bouquet of flowers when you share our Pinot Grigio. This crisp wine with floral aromas is a wonderful way to make an entrance.

Ingredients:

Chipotle cheese spread
6 large green onions grilled and diced
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (about 2 Ounces)
1 pound finely shredded fontina cheese
8 ounces cream cheese
1 dash Lee & Perrins sauce
1 dash Chipotle Tabasco sauce
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 pinch garlic powder
1 pinch salt

Roma tomato basil salad

8-10 Roma tomatoes seeded and diced
1 red onion diced
1 red bell pepper diced
2 medium cloves garlic minced
4 tablespoons chopped fresh Basil
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
juice of one lime

Patties
2 pounds ground turkey
10 fire roasted green chilies diced (approximately 1 cup)
12 ounces marinated artichoke hearts with oil diced
2 teaspoons course sea salt
1 ½ teaspoons fresh cracked pepper
4 cups durkee French fried onions smashed
½ cup Colby jack cheese finely shredded
6 teaspoons essence of Emeril

6 soft whole wheat buns split

Instructions:

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover, or preheat a gas grill to medium-high.

To make the roma tomato basil salad, seed and dice tomatoes put in a plastic bowl. Chop onion and bell pepper add in to the bowl then add garlic minced to a fine consistency. To these ingredients, add the fresh basil, salt, pepper, olive oil and lime. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours.

To make the Chipotle cheese spread, first on a med high grill place the onion and grill for about 5 to 8 minutes until soft and a little charred. Once they are grilled chop the onion and add in a food processor, mix the chipotle, fontina cheese, cream cheese, Lee & Perrins sauce, chipotle tobacco sauce and mayonnaise. Season to taste with garlic powder and salt. Spoon mixture into a container large enough to hold the spread, and store in the refrigerator until later.

To make the fire roasted green chilies, oil the grill. Adjust it to a medium heat. Rinse the Anaheim or Poblano peppers under cool water and pat dry. Leave peppers whole. Place on a hot well oiled grill leaving at least 1/2 inch of space between peppers. Grill until the pepper skins have blistered and turned black in places (about 3 to 5 minutes). After the chilies have blackened, Remove from grill and place the still hot chilies in a paper or plastic bag and close the top. The hot Chile will continue to emit steam and this will help to fully loosen the skin. After the chilies have cooled enough to be handled safely, use your fingers to lift the blackened skin off of the chilies. Rinse under cold running water. Use a sharp knife to cut off the stem end of the Chile. Slice lengthwise and use your fingers to remove the seeds and membrane. Rinse any skin bits and seeds off. Coarsely chop green chilies and set aside.

To make the patties, in a large bowl mix 2 pounds ground turkey, green chilies, marinated artichoke hearts with oil, coarse sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper. Place durkee French fried onions in a freezer bag and roll or press with a rolling pin until finely mashed, add to the bowl. Then finely shred Colby jack cheese and add it into the bowl. Mix well and form into 6 equal patties. Dust the top of each with essence of Emeril.

When the grill is ready, brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover, and cook, turning once, until done to preference, 6 to 7 minutes on each side. During the last couple of minutes of cooking, place the buns, cut side down around the outer edges of the grill rack to toast lightly,

To assemble the burgers, remove the salad from refrigerator and toss. On each roll bottom, spread the chipotle cheese; add a patty then an equal portion of the salad to each. Add the bun tops and serve.