Red, Wine and Blue Burgers with Baked Jalapeno Poppers

This is one serious burger.

I mean you better be ready for it's awesomeness!! Ready for the heat of the poppers - Hubby thought they were fabulous!

Ready to be totally blown away by the Best Burger you have ever eaten!

I had to make a few changes - fresh spinach for watercress and Parmesan cheese for manchego - in rural OK - I am just not able to find things ingredients.

Only one thing left to be said - 5 spoons - hands down!

Red, Wine and Blue Burgers
Rachael Ray
Just In Time Cookbook

Ingredients:

12 large jalapenos
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 ounces manchego cheese, grated
2 to 3 Tbsp green olives with pimientos, finely chopped
2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley or cilantro
Salt and Pepper
2 lbs Ground sirloin
3 scallions, white and green parts, chopped
2 tsp grill seasoning, such as McCormick;s Montreal Steak Seasoning, 1/2 palmful
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 Tbsp EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil), 2 times around the pan
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup blue cheese, crumbled
1 tsp hot sauce
4 kaiser rolls, split
2 bunches watercress, trimmed of any thick stems
Fancy potato chips, such as rosemary flavor
6 ribs celery, cut into 3-inch sticks

Preheat oven to 425.

Working lengthwise, slice off the top quarter of each jalapeno and set aside. Use a small spoon or paring knife to scrape the seeds out of each jalapeno, making little canoes.

Finely chop the reserved pepper trimmings and place in a mixing bowl. Add the cream cheese, manchego, olives, parsley, salt and pepper and combine thoroughly. Use a small spoon to fill the canoes or transfer the mixture to a resealable plastic bag, snip off a corner, and squeeze the mixture into the hulls of your jalapeno canoes. Arrange the poppers on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

While the poppers bake, make the burgers. Combine the ground sirloin, scallions, grill seasoning, Worcestershire, and red wine in a bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined. Using the side of your hand score the meat into 4 equal portions, then form each portion into a large 1-inch-thick patty. Make and indentation at the center o each patty so that as the burgers cook and plump the tops will remain flat and even.

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat with the EVOO. Once you see ripples in the oil add the patties and cook for 4 to 5 minutes on each side for medium, or until they reach your desired doneness.

While burgers are cooking, put together the blue dressing. In a mixing bowl combine the buttermilk, blue cheese, hot sauce and a little salt and pepper. Blend until thoroughly combined. Toast split rolls in the oven until lightly golden.

Place a burger on top of each toasted roll bottom. Top the burgers with some watercress and a couple of dollops of the blue cheese sauce. Serve with the poppers, fancy chips and celery sticks.