Savory Mushroom Burgers with Blue Cheese

I love marinated and grilled portabello mushrooms. They are meaty and juicy and carry the flavors of the marinade...usually red wine, garlic and fresh rosemary. When I serve them instead of meat burgers there are never any left. Still, I got to thinking that putting them on top of a burger and adding some good blue cheese would be even better.

We've made them twice now. The first time we scarfed them down so quickly that I didn't get any photos at all. This Sunday I managed to get a couple of photos, but I also found out that the wine you use in the marinade really makes a difference.

The first time I used a fruity light red wine and I really liked the result. This last time I used a spicy zinfandel and it wasn't as successful. Both were still delicious, but the zinfandel soaked mushroom was more assertive, so the burger and cheese were a bit overwhelmed with the strong flavor of the wine. Next time, and there will be a next time because these are that good, I'll use a milder, fruity red wine again and perhaps a bit more blue cheese. We put them on toasted hamburger buns and added nothing else. If you don't care for hamburger, just make the mushrooms, toast the buns, melt the cheese on on side of the buns, add the grilled mushroom and any fixins you like...lettuce, bacon, tomato slices, onion, etc and you will still have an awesome sandwich.

The mushrooms do well when you allow enough time to marinated them for at least 8 hours. I put them into a ziploc bag with the sliced fresh garlic and 3-4 springs fresh rosemary, then add about 1 1/2 cups red wine. I put the bag into a shallow bowl to encourage the liquid to be near the mushrooms, not out at the corners of the bag. Once about 2 hours have passed, I turn the bag over so that the other side gets marinated, then over again in 2 hours, and over again the final two hours. When you are ready to grill the mushrooms, drain them well, brush with olive oil and grill them long enough to heat them all the way through, plus to get some grill marks and char. Discard the marinade. If you like you can put the rosemary sprigs in the barbecue to create rosemary smoke, but that's optional. The mushrooms have plenty of rosemary flavor from being soaked in it.

I made these with ground beef, but you could use ground turkey or chicken, or a mixture of ground meats. For the blue cheese, use the kind you like the most and the amount you prefer. We only had a little left from the previous time we made these, so it was a little less than I like, but still gave that wonderful blue cheese flavor. For the buns, again, use the kind you like to use with burgers. If you can make your own and it will be even better!

Mushroom Blue Cheese Burger Stacks
Serves 4

4 medium portabello mushrooms, stem removed and wiped clean
3-4 stems fresh rosemary
1 clove garlic (or more if you like), peeled and sliced
about 1 1/2 cups red wine
gallon ziploc bag or large plastic bag and twist tie
flat pie plate or bowl
freshly ground black pepper to taste
olive oil
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
your preferred hamburger seasonings
2 - 4 oz gorgonzola or other blue cheese
4 hamburger buns

About 8 hours, but at least 4 hours before you plan on eating, begin to marinate the mushroom. Place the mushrooms, rosemary and garlic in the plastic bag. Add the red wine and any pepper. Seal the bag and shake to distribute the ingredients. Place the bag in the pie plate or shallow bowl so that the mushrooms are flat in it and the marinade surrounds the mushrooms as closely as possible. After 2 hours, turn the mushrooms upside down and again place the bag so the mushrooms are flat and surrounded by the marinade. Continue to marinate and turn every two hours. When you are ready to cook them, drain off the marinade and discard it. Brush the mushroom smooth side with olive oil.

Season the ground beef as you prefer for hamburgers, then shape into 4 patties. Slice the blue cheese into thin slices and put next to the patties, but not on them. Take the drained and oiled mushrooms, patties and blue cheese, plus the buns, to the barbecue. Grill the mushrooms and burgers until done, turning once half way through. Again, the burgers should be prepared the way you like burgers. Toast the buns on the grill, too. When it is almost time to remove the burgers, top them with the blue cheese, close the grill and let the cheese melt.

Stack a grilled bun bottom, mushroom, smooth side down, burger, grilled bun top. Serve at once.

What A Way To Stuff Mushrooms

Longer ago that I would like I had a visit from my older sister. I miss seeing her, but she has a wedding to help plan and produce, so this dish she inspired will have to hold me.

She is a vegan and makes the most delicious meals. She created a great stuffed mushroom dish using a Trader Joes product that combines quinoa, rice, veggies and spices and is found in the frozen food section. We had friends over for dinner last week and I decided to make the stuffing from scratch...well, almost from scratch since I used a packet of precooked quinoa...but the rest was cooked and chopped by me.

First of all, I like to use Portobello mushrooms for this. They shrink a bit during grilling, so get large ones. Remove the stems and keep those for the filling. Scrape out the gills (the dark shards under the cap). Give them a quick rinse then put them into a zip closing plastic bag with the marinade. The balsamic vinegar in the marinade is one of the crucial elements of this dish, so be sure to use decent balsamic.

The stuffing can be made while the mushrooms are marinating. It can also sit for a while at room temperature without harm while you grill the mushrooms. Sweetie grilled the mushrooms about 15 minutes before our guests arrived, I stuffed them and put them in a lightly oiled baking pan, then put the whole thing into a low oven to keep warm.

That worked very well and allowed me to enjoy some conversation and nibbles with our guests before putting the finishing touches on a broccoli, kale, brussel sprout, cabbage and red cabbage salad which was enhanced with pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries and dressed with a raspberry poppy seed dressing. Steamed asparagus, drizzled with a bit of Meyer lemon infused olive oil was our other side dish and a basket of house made focaccia bread rounded out the meal. The salad was a mix that came from Costco, but I made the bread using this recipe.

You might want to try this meal, or at least these delicious mushrooms, next time you entertain. Everyone loved all the dishes served and I had fun figuring out how to create a stuffing better than the Trader Joe version. Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients. This is really some chopped veggies sauteed with some spices and herbs and a little wine, then mixed with quinoa and brown rice, and the whole thing stuffed into marinated grilled mushrooms. Worth the chopping and marinating. Most of the ingredients are probably things you already have in your pantry. So live a little! Have fun with this. You'll be glad you did.

I only got one photo of the mushrooms, but I do have a nice photo of a winter sunset taken the day before the party.

Quinoa and Rice Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
makes 6 large stuffed mushrooms

1 medium to large Portobello mushroom per person (I made 6)
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup aged balsamic vinegar
3-4 springs each fresh thyme and oregano
1 onion, peeled and chopped medium fine
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup diced yellow bell pepper
 mushroom stems, cut in small dice
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more, to taste)
 1/4 cup dry red wine
 2 tablespoons tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup water
1 package precooked quinoa (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1-2 tablespoons minced parsley
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Prepare mushrooms by removing stems and scraping out gills. Wipe mushrooms with a damp cloth. In a gallon size zip closing plastic bag place the wine, olive oil, salt and pepper, balsamic vinegar and fresh herbs. Seal and shake to mix contents. Add mushrooms in a single layer. Seal and shake bag to coat. Let mushrooms marinate for at least two hours, up to 10 hours, turning bag over every hour so that mushrooms sit on the top of the cap one hour and on the gill side the next hour. Set aside.

In a heavy skillet, sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil, stirring often, until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and bell peppers and mushroom stems. Continue to sauté 5 minutes.

In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice and zest, dried thyme, cayenne pepper, red wine, and tomato paste. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in the water and pour over onion mixture. Stir to combine. Add the quinoa mixture and the brown rice and stir to combine well.

Drain the marinated Portobello mushrooms. Grill them on a preheated gas grill or a charcoal grill where the coals are very hot. Grill with the cap side down for 3-4 minutes. Mushrooms should still retain their shape. Sit grilled mushrooms on their caps, gills side up, on a work surface. Stuff with the quinoa mixture, mounding the filling. Place each filled mushroom in an oiled 9" x 13" baking pan. Sprinkle with Italian parsley and pine nuts.

Bake in a 300 degree F oven for 10-15 minutes to heat through. Serve hot with additional parsley and with grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.