All the wonderful flavors of Italy

Ingredients:

10 tablespoon olive oil, divided

2 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoon fresh chopped basil

½ teaspoon coarse salt

¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

6 ½ slices of ripe tomato

2 pounds ground chuck

1 small red onion finely chopped

½ teaspoon coarse salt

¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 tablespoon finely chopped flat leaf parsley

4 ounces fontina cheese divided into 6 portions

6 4″ pieces cut from a loaf of Italian bread, then halved

12 thin slices prosciutto, lightly grilled

Instructions:

Place 6 tablespoon olive oil, vinegar, basil, salt and pepper in medium bowl and mix well with whisk. Add tomatoes tossing gently to cover well. Set aside for 20 to 30 minutes. Prepare grill or grill pan to medium high heat. Meanwhile mix in large mixing bowl, beef, onion, salt, pepper and parsley. Shape into 12 patties. Place even portions of fontina on each of 6 patties and then top each with the remaining 6 patties and seal well. Brush grill with 2 tablespoon olive oil. Cook burgers 4 minutes each side or until desired doneness. One minute before burgers done, brush each bread piece with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and toast lightly on grill, along with prosciutto. Remove rolls and prosciutto. Top each bottom with 1 burger, 2 slices of Prosciutto and a marinated tomato and top each with bread tops and serve.

Ingredients

3 tbl. olive oil, divided
3 tbl. basil pesto sauce, divided
1 tbl. Colavita balsamic vinegar
3 plum tomatoes, sliced thin black pepper to taste
1 1/2 pb. 90-95% lean ground beef
2 links (1/4 lb. each) mild Italian sausage
1 small sweet onion, chopped small
2 small loaves Italian bread
6 slices provolone cheese
1/2-1 cup spinach leaves salt to taste

Instructions

1. Mix together 1 tbl. olive oil, 1 tbl. pesto, and 1 tbl. balsamic vinegar. Drizzle over sliced tomatoes, top with pepper to taste, and set aside. 2. Remove Italian sausage from casing. With hands mix sausage, beef, 1 tbl. pesto, and chopped onions. Shape with hands into 6 patties. Set aside. 3. Cut loaves of bread in half length-wise. Mix 2 tbl. olive oil and 1 tbl. pesto together and use the mixture to baste the cut sides of bread. Set aside. 4. Heat grill to a medium-high heat. Grill burgers for about 10-15 minutes on one side. Flip and cook until done (5-10 minutes). NOTE: Cook done because of the pork. When you flip the burger, place the bread on the grill and toast both sides. Just before removing from the grill, place one slice of provolone cheese on each burger. 5. To dress the burgers, remove the bread from the grill and reassemble into two loaves. Cut both loaves cross-wise into thirds. You will have 6 "buns." Place a burger on each of the six "bottoms" of bread. Top each burger with 2-3 slices of tomato. Top tomatoes with spinach leaves and add the top piece of bread. 6. Enjoy a taste of Italy!