What You Should Have Eaten #56

Super Marsala Burgers

There’s quite a bit going on here, things I changed and/or added to the recipe/meal.

First off, I had a coupon for Johnsonville Italian Sausages, and they were on sale, so I decided to pick up a pack. The kids are a little iffy about burgers sometimes, so I figured some good “hot dogs” on the grill would go over well. I wasn’t wrong.

My local Kroger Marketplace had neither ground chicken or veal, so I opted for turkey. I never have a problem with it until I eat the leftovers later in the week, then my stomach seems to disagree with various choices I’ve made.

I cut out the shallots and onions, and I went with dry herbs/spices that I’ve already got in my pantry. I actually did have a McCormick’s grill seasoning in there, but it was for chicken, not steak. I thought it would work well since I was using ground turkey, not beef. I also didn’t buy any Fontina cheese since I had some perfectly good Sargento (bought on sale with a coupon) in the fridge.

The marsala was the biggest expenditure. The liquor store I frequent had two bottles, both by the same maker. One was sweet and the other was dry. The guy at the counter suggested I go with the dry since I was cooking with it. At $15/bottle, I was planning on enjoying a glass or two while cooking and eating this grilling feast. After the first sip, though, I knew the first glass would be my only one. I did not like it. The dry was too sweet, so I can’t even imagine what the sweet would have tasted like. The bottle is in my fridge waiting to be used in a recipe again. I can’t bear to just get rid of it. Maybe I’ll have a glass on the rare occasion when there isn’t any beer in the fridge.

For the sausages, I boiled them in beer (one bottle of Blue Moon Agave Blonde Ale, one bottle of Blue Moon Belgian-Style Pale Ale, and a bottle of water) then put them on the grill with the burgers. The burgers were good, but these were damn tasty. For the fries, I dumped them on a cookie sheet, sprinkled some Lawry’s Seasoned Salt on them, and popped them in the oven.

I forgot, again, to take a picture of the recipe, so click on the title and you’ll be taken to another blog with the recipe. In the book, there’s also an arugula-tomato salad that the link doesn’t provide. If I remember correctly, it’s just arugula, plum tomatoes and some olive oil.

This dinner was a winner. Really, how can you go wrong with burgers and dogs on the grill with fries and salad? Sure, the marsala was a bit of a stumble, but a bottle of Blue Moon set me straight, and it complemented the sausages!