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(ARA) - This Father’s Day, what better way to treat dad than firing up the grill and throwing a backyard feast in his honor? To really tempt his taste buds, think beyond bovine on the barbie and liven things up with a new take on the classic hamburger. Want to lighten things up? Why not try lean ostrich burgers or a chicken-apple bean burger? Or for the gourmet palate, how about a curried lamb and spinach burger? Or a buffalo burger with raisin-garlic mayonnaise? Even novice grillers can expand their menus pretty easily with just a few clicks of the computer mouse.
There are a myriad of food sites on the Internet, such as SouthernLiving.com or CookingLight.com, that can help relieve barbecue boredom. America Online’s Grill to Thrill feature, available at Keyword: Grill, not only has a collection of barbecue recipes and side dishes, but you can also enlist help from the cooking experts in pairing the perfect marinade and sauces to whatever grilled goodies are on your menu. You can also take the guesswork out of grilling with a cooking timer tool.
“If you want to go ethnic, you can easily find recipes such as Jamaican jerk turkey burgers with papaya-mango salsa and Italian sausage burgers with fennel slaw,” says Carla Wojnaroski, vice president and general manager of AOL Food, the online resource that makes cooking and meal planning easy with more than 18,000 recipes. “Or spice things up with Kaftah burgers, Mexican platter burgers, Moroccan turkey burgers and much more.”
Vegetarians looking for more than just another ho-hum veggie burger can find outrageous recipes ranging from lentil burgers with Tzatziki sauce to black bean burgers with spicy cucumber and red pepper relish.
With the Internet putting so much great grilling information at your fingertips -- like the recipe below -- throw dad a barbecue feast he’ll remember for years to come.
BALSAMIC-BLUE CHEESE PORTOBELLO BURGERS
From Southern Living magazine, March 2005; found on AOL Food
Ingredients:
2 large Portobello mushroom caps, stemmed
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese or Gorgonzola cheese
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2 whole wheat hamburger buns, split
Romaine lettuce leaves
2 tomato slices
Directions: Scrape gills from mushroom caps, if desired. Combine 3 tablespoons vinegar, oil, and next three ingredients in a shallow dish or large zip-top plastic freezer bag; add mushrooms, turning to coat. Cover or seal, and chill 1 hour, turning occasionally. Remove mushrooms from marinade, discarding marinade.
Grill mushrooms, covered with grill lid, over medium-high heat (350 degrees to 400 degrees) 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until tender. Remove mushrooms from grill, and immediately sprinkle undersides evenly with blue cheese.
Stir together mayonnaise and 1 teaspoon vinegar. Spread mixture evenly on cut sides of buns; place lettuce, mushrooms, and tomato slices on bottom halves of buns, and cover with tops. Serve immediately.
Yield: Makes 2 servings
Courtesy of ARA Content
