Burgers and Polenta

Sunday, March 21, 2010
We had Allen's somewhat secretive Burgers - but I finally learned the ingredients!  We had them with polenta and pickles.  We used Earthgrains whole wheat thin burger buns - I think they're new - but they're wonderful.  We didn't, but we thought they'd be excellent toasted.  We also topped our burgers with muenster cheese.  Allen and I that it was a fun and delicious meal, but our picky boy wouldn't eat anything but the polenta!

Allen's Best Burgers
1 lb lean burger
He puts a little of each of the following in our Magic Bullet: olive oil, dash of worchestershire sauce, oregano, basil, rosemary, salt & pepper, Lawry's salt
Mixed it with the burger and made patties.  YUM!

Homemade Polenta
3 cups water
1 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup fresh Parmesan cheese
we also like to add Sale Roma (an Italian spice that's not too easy to find in the US)
Bring 3 cups water to a boil in a saucepan. Slowly pour in a continuous stream of cornmeal, stirring constantly. Add the salt. Reduce the heat to low and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the polenta begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 20 minutes. Shut off the heat and stir in cheese. Working quickly, grease 13x9x2 with olive oil and pour in cornmeal mixture, spreading it out over the whole surface. Let the polenta set and cool for at least 1 hour. When the polenta has cooled completely, cut into squares. Oil both sides and arrange them on a baking sheet, leaving space around each one so that the edges can crisp. Broil on the top rack in the oven for 15 minutes, or until browned.