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the lowly and basic hamburger. Recently I was discussing my
love for ground beef with a friend and we were bemoaning the
fact that even good restaurants commonly fail to produce a
decent burger even when they are charging a 10 spot for it.
It was decided that the restaurant cook or chef did not
place the importance on the meal because it was “hamburger.”
That said, we agreed that the best place for a quality
burger was when it was produced in our own home.
While my wife is an admirer of any of
my cooking, (Hey, if I am cooking, she doesn’t have too!)
her meal of choice is “Weiser Burgers.” My concoction is
ground beef, various seasonings and a bit of sauce. I make
them thick, cooked medium rare and topped with a slab of
cheddar. But why stop there?
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The days of just tossing some
burgers on the grill are long gone. Today, outdoor
dining has heated up like never before. Zesty
sauces, sweet salsas, exotic mustards and fruity
preserves have changed the way we think about
grilling. Simple but innovative takes on old
favorites mean everything from appetizers to
desserts can be made more delicious, more elegant
and more special on the grill.
How about ground sirloin topped
with a dollop of garlic cactus salsa? Try your
turkey burger with smoked mustard and sharp cheddar.
My favorite is to blacken my burger, (You can do a
true blackening with a cast-iron or blacken-steel
skillet or you can use Chef Prudhomme’s Blackened
Seasoning) and then top it off with crumbled Blue.
(I’ll place |
| it on the burger and put a dome over it for 30
seconds to steam and melt the cheese.) |
Don’t stop with just meat, there are
the veggies too that taste so wonderful coming from the
grill. From the standard corn on the cob to broccoli to even
sweet potato pie are all better when cooked outside. Let’s
take the “standard” corn on the cob and see what can be done
with the following recipe:
1 ¼ stick of butter, room temperature
2 tsp of your favorite chile powder Ancho, Cayenne, Poblano
¼ teaspoon of black pepper
2 ¼ tablespoons of salt
2 tablespoons of Rothschild’s Onion Blossom Horseradish Dip
4-6 ears of corn
Grated Parmesan cheese
Grated Asiago cheese
Minced Cilantro
Blend in your food processor the
butter, chile powders, pepper, ¼ tsp. salt and Onion Blossom
Dip. Mix until smooth. In a large pot, bring water to boil.
Add 2 tablespoons of salt and cooked husked corn until
tender. (About 20 minutes.) Remove husks and place cooked
corn on grill pan and grill to brown slightly and add
flavor. Remove and spread flavored butter on corn. Sprinkle
graded cheeses and cilantro.
For more ideas and recipes, drop into
the Artistic Gourmet, 117 W. Marion Avenue, downtown Punta
Gorda or listen each Wednesday to 1480 AM on your radio dial
right after the news at 11:00 AM. 
Chef Mark
Weiser, The Artistic Gourmet
117 W. Marion Ave., Punta Gorda, Fl 33950
941-575-6666
Coming Soon!
www.artisticgourmet.com
Please click
here for additional information or if you
would like to contact the author of this article,
Chef Mark Weiser. Thank you!
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fire
to cook my food. Rain, shine and blustery weather
will find me throwing some kind of meat over the
conflagration in a modern day re-enactment of my
caveman ancestors.
