Try a Portabella Burger for a Juicy, Smoky Change By Barb Ford

Grills are heating up all over town this week. There’s an abundance of flowers in gardens everywhere, what with the recent days of alternating rain and sun.

Backyards are fresh and green, temperatures haven’t quite reached that level where folks are driven indoors. Kids are happy to be out of school and running through sprinklers—they’re not bored yet and Moms can relax a bit about that.  

I don’t know about you, but all of this puts me in a really relaxed mood. So relaxed, I often find myself at a loss for the energy to worry too much about cooking.  

In fact, the start of summer always makes me ready and willing to fire up the old barbecue grill. One thing I have to be careful of is using the grill so much I forget there’s a stove in the house.  

 Some of the old favorites—marinated chicken breasts, steaks and chops—just taste so great off the grill, it makes no sense to worry about cooking indoors this time of year.  And those big Portabella mushrooms provide a great alternative for vegetarians or dieters using a grill.  

Yesterday we went to a great dinner which was very delicious, relaxed and fun because it was done so easily between the grill and a large bowl of fresh mixed fruit. They had meaty mushrooms cooked on the grill, those who loved fruit had all that fresh melon, pineapple and berries for salad.  

The mushrooms were marinated lightly in Italian dressing and then grilled like burgers, making them taste meaty and rich with just the right smoke flavor. The hostess was relaxed, the host was proud of her new grill and the guests were stuffed and happy as clams at high tide!

Try it sometime.  

Nobody has to work too hard on the meal, and everybody can contribute something. Give a simple grill dinner party and don’t worry about being fancy. It’s the perfect time to use those fun paper plates you’ve bought. You can have a complete dinner party in less than an hour if you get a bit creative.  

The hardest thing would be cutting up the fruit for the fruit salad—or maybe coming up with one surprise for the grill. Dishes are a snap if you use disposables (except for silverware—cutting grilled food with plastic rarely works.)   

Here’s how you can get it all done pretty easily. Call your friends and invite them.  Go to the store, and buy Portabella mushrooms, burger buns and fixings, a salad or fruit already cut up, some garlic bread or hamburger buns and a pre-made dessert (Edward’s Key Lime Pie is a great cheat.)  

Pull out a bottle of your favorite spicy salad dressing—ours is Good Seasons Italian.  Use it as a marinade.  Set the table while things are marinating. Greet your friends. Heat up the grill while you chat on the patio. Grill the mushrooms and any other veggies you like while you heat the bread in foil on top of the grill.

Serve dinner and accept those compliments! Even my meat loving husband loves it, and it’s just as juicy as any burger you’ll ever have.

Grilled Portabella Burgers

4 Homemade-style Kaiser rolls
4 large Portabella Mushrooms
4 Slices Provolone cheese
½ cup Italian Salad Dressing
Lettuce, Tomato, Pickles, Mayonnaise and Ketchup  

Remove the stems from the mushroom caps. Toss the mushroom caps in the salad dressing and let rest. Start the grill, heating it to medium. Place the mushroom caps on the grill, fin side down. Grill for three to five minutes and turn them over. Place the provolone cheese slices over the mushrooms, and toast the buns while the mushrooms cook another three to five minutes. Serve the mushrooms on the buns, with lettuce, tomatoes and condiments on the side.  

Barb Ford is a food columnist and former chef who also consults with restaurants and other organizations on strategic planning and marketing.