August is bit too close to the end of the summer, so the dark clouds start to contaminate my mood, as I notice the forecast showing less and less days over 90 F and more and more below 80 F, which is the divisive line between life worth living and misery.  Meteorological troubles aside, the fourth Monday of the month brings with it Reveal Day for  The Secret Recipe Club! This month I was paired with Lynsey Lou’s, a blog I’ve already been following  for a while, so of course the assignment made me super excited… it was like getting a dear colleague from work on the Secret Santa drawing…  Lynsey has been married to Spencer since 2008, and is convinced that the way to a man’s heart involves food. They both have fond memories of a particular  batch of brownies taken to his frat house when they started dating. Too cute! If I remember correctly, Ina Garten has a similar experience with her husband of many many years, Jeffrey. Great relationships might very well start around the table. Or around a lab bench, I suppose.  😉   One of the lines I loved the most in Lynsey’s About page was this one:

Cooking, like many other things, is a learning experience that comes with a lot of trial and error.

I feel exactly the same way, and like her, love to expand my horizons trying recipes from different cuisines whenever possible. So many recipes appealed to me this month, it was tough to settle on one.  Some of my final contenders are here: White Chocolate Coconut Cookies, Red Velvet Brownies with White Chocolate Ganache (sigh), White Chocolate Toffee Crunch Cookies, and her Overnight Cinnamon Rolls (you gotta stop and check the recipe, perfect to start the day with freshly baked rolls without having to wake up at 4am).  Since so often I lean towards sweets in the Secret Recipe Club, I forced myself to do something different this time.  So, without further ado, I present you with Turkey Chorizo Burgers with Green Chile Mayo.  A mouthful of a name for a fantastic recipe that Phil and I absolutely loved!

TURKEY-CHORIZO BURGER WITH GREEN CHILE DRESSING
(slightly modified from Lynsey Lou’s blog)

for the burgers:
8 Oz fresh chorizo, casings removed
1-1 1/2 Pounds ground turkey
2 Tsp Worcestershire sauce
3/4 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp cayenne pepper
4 slices Jack cheese
hamburger buns (optional)

for the dressing:
1 Poblano chile
3/4 cup yogurt
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
Salt and pepper, to taste

Make the chile dressing: Heat oven to 400.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the cleaned chile on the prepared baking sheet and place in oven.  Roast for approximately 15 minutes, until skin is charred and blistered.  Rotating during the roasting process.  Place the roasted pepper in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to stand for 10 minutes.

Remove the pepper from the bowl and remove the skin, stem and seeds.  Finely chop the pepper.  In a food processor, combine the chile, yogurt, olive oil, and lime juice and process until the mixture is smooth.  Season, to taste with salt and pepper. Reserve.

Heat grill to medium. In a large bowl combine turkey, chorizo, Worcestershire sauce, salt and cayenne pepper.  Gently mix the ingredients together, being careful to not overwork the meat.  Divide the meat evenly into 4 pieces, approximately 8 ounces each.  Gently form each section of meat into 1-inch thick patties.

Place the prepared patties on the grill and cook to a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees, 5 to 7 minutes per side. Once burgers are cooked to desired doneness, transfer to a plate and top with cheese.

Spread a generous helping of green chile mayonnaise on the top and bottom of hamburger buns, if using.  Place the burger patties on bottom portion of each bun.  Top with lettuce, spinach or arugula and top with the top portion of the bun.  Serve immediately. If not using buns, assemble the burgers using appropriate substitutions (we went with grilled eggplant slices). Spoon the dressing on top, and serve with your favorite toppings.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments:  The main modification I made from Lynsey’s original was to skip the mayo and use yogurt and olive oil instead for the dressing. We are both very fond of turkey burgers, but this poblano-infused dressing totally stole the show! Poblano peppers are delicious in their natural form, but roasting improves their flavor and texture quite a bit. Once you process the roasted pepper with the yogurt, you are in for a very special treat…  I found myself sampling a teaspoon here, another there while the burgers were outside on the grill.  Really superb.

These days we almost never have bread with our burgers, so don’t be shocked by the absence of bread from our spread of goodies….  We like our burgers served over hearty lettuce leaves, but this time I grilled thick slices of eggplant and that worked even better.

Adding chorizo to ground turkey works great to give a little extra fat and a boost of flavor.  Grilled corn on the cob, avocado, and tomato slices were perfect as side dishes for our meal.

And, of course, I was a super happy camper next day, look at my lunch!

Who said leftovers have to be boring?
😉

Well, folks, that’s all for this Reveal Day… Lynsey, I hope you also had a ton of fun stalking your assigned blog. As usual, I invite my readers to browse the collection of goodies, the result of the hard work of my virtual friends from Group D of The Secret Recipe Club. Just poke the alien-looking frog at the end of the post and have fun!

ONE YEAR AGO: Taco Salad

TWO YEARS AGO: Semolina Sourdough Boule 

THREE YEARS AGO: Forgive me, for I have sinned

FOUR YEARS AGO: Cracked Wheat Sandwich Bread

FIVE YEARS AGO:  Au Revoir, my Bewitching Kitchen

SIX YEARS AGO:  French Bread