Piled Portobello Gouda Burgers with Roasted Garlic.

File the following under my list of current obsessions.

Perfect single serving margaritas… with lots of salt.

Creating the extra smokey [aqua] eye with a $24 dollar brush and MAC’s Talent Pool.

Surviving on toast, cheese, chocolate, avocado and butter-sauteed mushrooms while playing single lady for an entire week.

Real World. What.a.trainwreck. But I don’t watch it. That’s just what I’ve heard.

Searching for the only self tanner in the universe that doesn’t turn me 6 shades of dirty Jersey Shore orange.

Hugging it out.

Daily long walks that are triumphant to any other form of cardio.

Ice cold water studded with strawberries and cucumbers.

See also:

Trashy celeb magazines.

Blake Shelton. Huuuuuuge girl crush.

Pinterest. Still can’t stop.

Vacuuming up a 2 pound container of spilled sprinkles in the crevice of my counter.

Eating burgers off of English muffins.

Have you ever eater a burger on top of the crusty nooks and crannies? Obsessed. I can’t get over the toastiness and the crunchiness and all-around goodness.

 

My current fixation on mushrooms finally led me down the dusty and sometime-fungied path of a giant portobello burger. I’m waaay too much of a beef lover to order something like this on the reg, so I took it upon myself to create a little snack that I am now enamored with.

 

Buttery roasted garlic, creamy avocado, marinated portobello caps and syrupy balsamic. Oh, and two thick slices of gouda. What are you waiting for?

 

Imagine how much better your day is going to get after eating this. I think it’s time to drop whatever you’re doing and make one. You have my permission.

Piled Portobello Gouda Burgers with Roasted Garlic

makes 4 burgers

4 English muffins (light multigrain are our favorites)

4 portobello mushroom caps

2 heads of garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 thick slices of gouda cheese

1 small red onion

1 medium tomato, sliced

1 avocado, sliced

butter lettuce for garnish

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

for mushroom marinade:

1/3 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons cooking sherry

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced

Two hours before serving, combine the marinade ingredients in a shallow dish and add mushrooms. I let them lay on their top side in the marinade, and spoon some marinade into the bottom-up side to let it soak. Marinate for two hours.

One hour before serving, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Slice off the top of the heads of garlic and drizzle a bit of olive oil (1/2 tablespoon) on top. Wrap in foil and roast for 45 minutes. Let cool completely. Heat the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes, then turn off heat and set aside to thicken.

Slice red onion into rings and add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil into a large skillet on medium heat. Add onions and let soften and caramelize for 10-12 minutes. Set aside once finished, leaving the skillet on. Add the marinated mushrooms to the skillet top side up. Cook for 5 minutes, then flip and cook for 4 more. Turn back over, add a slice of gouda on top, and turn off heat.

Toast the English muffins. Using your fingers, squeeze roasted garlic out of the head into a bowl. Mash with a spoon. Spread on both sides of each English muffin.

Top English muffin with a portobello cap, onion rings, tomato, avocado, and butter lettuce. I recommend a light sprinkle of salt and pepper on the tomato and avocado for flavor. Finish with a drizzle of syrupy balsamic and serve.

Only made better with bacon. Duh.

Tagged as: recipes