Every year for the past few years I have went to Sonoma valley for wine tasting.I love the fresh farmer’s markets, the beautiful scenery, the matching of amazing food to wine. I wanted to capture those flavors in something as simple as a burger.

Ingredients:

3 lbs of ground beef

6 ciabatta buns

6 tablespoons of butter

6 large sized figs

1 large sweet onion, finely diced

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

12 1/4 inch slices of brie cheese

1 bottle of red wine (pinot noir)

3 tablespoons minced garlic

1/2 tablespoon of onion powder

1.2 tablespoon of salt

1/2 tablespoon pepper

2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley

1 cup of parm cheese

1 egg

Instructions:

In a large bowl, mix the beef, garlic, diced onion, bread crumbs, spices, parsley and parm cheese. Crack in egg and mix together gently with hands until all ingredients are well combined. Divide into six 1/2 lb patties and set aside. Meanwhile in large pan, dump bottle of wine and bring to a gentle simmer. Once simmering, poach figs in red wine until they are very tender and have a deep red color. Once cooked, remove figs and set aside. Keep reducing wine after figs are removed to make a thick wine sauce, should coat the back of a spoon when done. Meanwhile, Preheat large gas grill to medium , put burger patties down on medium grill and grill two to three minutes on each side, flipping twice, a total of four to six minutes on each side, putting lid down inbetween flips, on last flip put two slices of brie cheese on top and cover once more to let brie melt. Meanwhile, put 1/2 tablespoon of butter on each slice of ciabatta bread and put on grill for approximatley 40 seconds to let bread get nice and toasty. Remove burgers, place on bottom side of toasted bun, melted brie should be on top. At this time, figs should be cooled, chop one fig per burger and place ontop of cheese. Drizzle burgers with reduced red wine sauce and replace top of bun. ENJOY!

Ingredients

2 teasp. of olive oil
4 shallots, diced
1 cup of red wine
1 tablespoon of honey
1 tablespoon of dijon
1 1/2 teap of fresh thyme
1 1/4 lbs. all natural ranch beef kosher salt
4 pepper blend, coarsely ground
8 oz Artisnal Blue Cheese, thinly sliced
8 slices of brioche
Quality Nonstick Spray

Instructions

Heat 2 teasp. of olive oil in a small saute pan on medium high. Add shallots and stir, saute on med for approximately ten minutes, adding a little water to the pan if it appears dry. Stir from time to time to prevent sticking. When carmelized, add the red wine. Reduce the red wine to 1/4 cup, and remove from burner. Place in large bowl to cool. Mix in dijion, honey and thyme, stir well. Place in refrig, for 10 min. to cool. Prepare Burgers: Mix beef with refrigerated Sauce. Gently form Oval Patties, placing a depression in the middle with thumb. Prepare Grill: For Charcoal use a chimmeny starter and create two heating zones, medium high and low. When all the charcoal is scattered and covered in white ash it is ready for the burgers. Season burgers genoursly with kosher salt and pepper blend. Clean grill grates and spray with nonstick oil. Place burgers on grates on med-high, 3-4 min. on each side, depending on heat intensity. Meanwhile toast brioche slices, spraying them with nonstick spray before grilling. Move burgers over to cool side of the grill, place blue cheese on top and tent burgers with foil, letting cheese melt. When melted place on brioche, let relax 3 min. and gently slice in half with a serrated knife and serve.