Spinach-Mozzarella-Stuffed Burgers

My SIL made these out of one of my magazines a couple times when I lived with her and my brother. I remembered them being really good, so it's just another reason to give them a try. It's funny how back then I didn't think to investigate the author of the recipe, Bruce Aidells. I could've learned such delicious recipes so much sooner had I just been a little bit more...conscious.

Originally written for the grill, I had a choice: broiler or skillet? Skillet. Sort of like a steak.

Spinach-Mozzarella-Stuffed Burgers
adapted from Cooking Club
click to print

1 1/2 lb. ground beef (80% lean)
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper
2 c firmly packed spinach
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese (4 oz.)
1/4 c basil pesto
4 Kaiser rolls, split
1 c loosely packed arugula

MAYONNAISE
1/3 c mayonnaise
2 tbsp chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1 tbsp grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tbsp chopped capers

Gently combine ground beef, salt and pepper in medium bowl.


Using generous 1/3 cup per patty, shape into 8 (3 1/2-inch) patties 1/2 inch thick. Place on baking sheet; refrigerate while preparing stuffing.


Place spinach in dry large saucepan. Cover and cook over medium-high heat 1 to 2 minutes or until wilted, stirring occasionally.


Drain; cool. Squeeze out any excess moisture and chop.


Place spinach in medium bowl. Stir in mozzarella cheese and pesto.


Mound about 1/4 cup packed stuffing in center of 4 patties; cover with remaining 4 patties, pressing edges firmly to seal. Gently press patties to flatten.


Combine mayonnaise ingredients in small bowl.


Heat cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Cook burgers in batches over medium heat 7-8 minutes or until thoroughly cooked and no longer pink in center, turning once.


Remove burgers from heat; let rest.


Broil buns 30 to 60 seconds or until lightly toasted.

Damn, a little darker than I prefer.

Spread buns with 2 tablespoons of the mayonnaise. Top burgers with arugula.



It looks a little plain but man, this burger kicks ASS! It's juicy, cheesy, and superbly savory. Even the mayo is excellent. The spinach and rocket are very nicely complimented by the sweet and tang of the sun-dried tomatoes and capers. Wow, wow, wow! The only thing I will do different on the other three burgers is to give them a nice sprinkling of pepper. In the future, I'll cut back on the cheese, maybe down from 4 oz to 3. Or maybe even 2. By the end of the burger I was on salt overload (is Boar's Head mozzarella always this salty?) and feeling not so great, though it has been 12 hours since I ate last. And these should be enjoyed with the oven-baked fries, so yeah, 2 oz.

One of these will be good before golfing tomorrow afternoon since prolonged sun exposure seems to expose a weird salt deficiency of mine. I start feeling a little lightheaded, then a little nauseated, and then I feel really exhausted. Eating a handful of French fries or potato chips kicks the sodium-potassium pumps immediately into gear and I'm ready to rock-n-roll. Weird.

Cost:
ground beef: $4.49
spinach: $0.89
mozzarella cheese: $1.12
basil pesto: $2.04
Kaiser rolls: $2
arugula: $0.50
mayonnaise: $0.53
oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes: $0.19
capers: $0.13

06/09/13
Putting some lick-smackin' goodness together for lunch before golfing.


06/11/13

I had the third burger tonight. Like 2 nights ago, I got weird bits stuck in my teeth and when picking it out found it wasn't spinach but burger, uh, bits. I couldn't help but wonder which part of which cow from which country it was that I'd retrieved from between my teeth. This really sucks and has me wondering if I should be more serious about getting the equipment to grind meat at home.

Paul's Famous Burgers

The location on 19th Street formerly known as TK Burgers is now Paul's.

I noticed this a couple of weeks ago. After a day trip where I tried to figure out what the heck to get my nephew for his birthday, I meandered over to Paul's to give it a whirl.


Thinking a burger would be good, I bypassed Five Guys specifically to try Paul's.


I was a little disappointed when I entered the building. It was exactly like TK burgers. Nothing had changed. No, that's not true. They swapped out paper cups for styrofoam. And paper wraps the burger now instead of foil.


The burger is ok, the fries tolerable. While I wish I dying to support Paul with more of my cash, I doubt that will happen.

Bacon cheeseburger combo: $7.48 OTD.

Carl's Jr Six-Dollar Burger Combo

I've been sick and I wanted something other than soup. I've had some Chicken Fajita Chili and some of the Black Bean Slow-Cooker Soup. I wanted something that would really kick me in the taste-buds with texture and flavor. At first I was going to get me a couple of Korean tacos, but since it was raining, I didn't want to get out of the truck. So I decided to see if it was true that Carl's went from the thick-cut to thin-cut fries. My fingers were crossed that the fries would still be "natural" with skin-on.

Arriving home, I opened the burger. And there it is, a $6 original in an open box.

And here's the fries, certainly thinner than they used to be, but not like shoestrings, thank Corporate Carl's Food Scientists. Maybe it's because I'm sick, but I couldn't really tell the difference between the old fries and the new, thinner fries. I am happy they still show some skin.

And here's the burger I was hoping to kick my tastebuds in their teeth. I got the textures, but no flavors. What a waste of fat and more fat.

Original Six Dollar Burger Combo, small, with a Coke: $7.06.

Bill's Burgers

I missed my exit on the way home from work. Then I missed the appropriate turn. And that's when I saw a little place called Bill's Burgers. I pulled into the drive-through and placed an order for a cheeseburger combo with Coke.

While the guys inside were preparing my food, I took the time to look around the place through the drive-thru window. It seemed clean, the employees busy and efficient. Within a few minutes, the nicest drive-thru guy in the world offered my bag of dinner and well wishes for the evening.

At home, I peered into the non-descript bag and saw a huge pile of fries. It made sense to tear the bag open rather than try to fish my paper-wrapped burger from the bag.


Opening the burger, I was stunned by how large the burger was. When I started eating it, it reminded me of...Burger King.


The burger was decent and the fries lacked salt. I don't know that I'll make it a point to visit Bill's Burgers again, but would not be against it if I just happened to miss my exit and the subsequent turn.

Bill's Burgers cheeseburger combo, $6.80 on the Visa as they don't take Amex.

TK Burgers

TK Burgers was voted OC's Best Burger so I had to try it for the first time. While I dicked around Sunday locating this place on 19th just to find it was closed, tonight was the night!

This TK Burgers location does not have a drive-thru, so you must park in the darkish lot behind the building or in the limited number of spaces in front of the Little Ceasar's adjacent. And TK Burgers is Cash Only, so be prepared if you decide to try it for yourself, though an ATM is available on-site.

Walking in, it felt like a Wahoo's, what with all the stickers on the bright green-blue painted walls. What is it with Orange County and the stickers? The joint is small, with ample table-seating for a Tuesday night. There were only three people seated when I came in, a couple of girls in a booth enjoying their meal over conversation and one guy at a table, waiting for his to-go order. I went straight through to the counter, which is located directly in front of the cooking arena. You can watch the cook make your food if you are not interested in what is playing on the two TV's (Spiderman tonight).

A quick perusal of the over-head menu showed me that the TK Burger and Fries combo was the special. Directly below that was the option of a Mini TK Burger. I asked what the size difference was; the high school-aged girl behind the counter showed me a bag of each size of buns. Opting for the Mini, which was just slightly smaller than the regular, I requested fries and Coke to accompany. Soda's come in two sizes, a 16 and 32-oz. I got the large.

I poured my soda, noting TK has worm-like ice, which I don't particularly care for as it waters down so quickly, and sat down to check out the ceiling which is covered in album covers; the joint between walls and ceiling bordered with skateboards, the walls with other typical OC adornment. Within a few minutes chow was ready and bagged.

Driving my dinner home, I couldn't help but notice the distinct pepper smell in the truck. I wondered if the fries were salted AND peppered - now that would be a treat! Sneaking a fry while driving, I found that peppered fries were not the case. More than that, the fries are not that good. The pepper must be on the burger. Hmm, this burger could be really good.

Pulling the good from the bag, I had a foil-wrapped Mini and fries alongside my Coke.

Opening the foil, the Mini Burger was wrapped in paper, the exposed side all gooey with once-molten cheese. Taking a bite, I found fresh ingredients, particularly thick tomatoes and plenty of red onions and a few layers of lettuce.

And, well, the burger was ok. I liked the fresh vegetables the best, followed by soft texture of the bun, and then the burger patty itself. I didn't realize when asking for a mini burger that the patty itself would be toward miniscule. And where did that pepper smell I smelled on the way home come from? I'm not even sure.

While disappointed, I'm not writing this place off yet. I must try the regular TK burger. I hope the beef in that sucker is worthy of forgoing the not-so-great fries.

Mini-Bargain combo with large Coke: $7.16 -- cash only, though ATM is available on-site.

BC Broiler

I wanted to try a new place today. Well, what I really wanted was a big, juicy burger from a new place. I had beef on the palate and I wanted something good to satisfy. OC voted TK Burgers the Best Burger this year. While I tried finding the joint and finally succeeded, what I found was that TK Burger is closed on Sundays. At least the location on 19th is.

Dicking around, trying to figure out where I wanted a burger from, I wound up driving by BC Broiler on Newport. Flames from within observable from the street brought me in. I parked in the small lot and walked in through the back door to be overcome with the delightful aroma of BBQ. Mmm!

I perused the menu quickly and decided to stick with what I was craving, a burger. Yes, a dumb choice in a BBQ place. I should've gone with the ribs.

Nevertheless, the extremely quiet and to-the-point guy behind the counter took my order and then prepared it. Frozen patty on an open broiler. At least he gently toasted the bun.

This is exactly what Anthony Bourdain is talking about when he says to order whatever the place specialty is. I should've gone with the flame-broiled chicken on mechanical-spit. Or at the least the friggin' ribs! And they were beef ribs even! Insert image of myself kicking my own ass here.

Here's photos of my meal:



While not great, the burger and fries were edible. I need to go back and try the chicken and ribs.

$7.06 on the AmEx, a couple of cash bucks in the toke jar.