---World Famous MichaelBurgers---

Main idea here is to BBQ then build tall tasty hamburgers.
Tricky to eat! since they stack up so tall.  But fun!
One MichaelBurger per person, plus a side of roasted
corn-on-the-cob, makes a meal.


Ingredients for four MichaelBurgers

    * One pound regular ground beef
    * One huge or two smaller Portobello mushrooms
    * One red onion
    * 4 oz Gouda cheese
    * One avocado
    * One big Beefsteak tomato, or two smaller tomatoes
    * One can of Ortega "Anaheim" or New Mexico chili peppers
    * Four leaves of butter lettuce
    * Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
    * sliced sourdough bread
    * fresh ground pepper
    * serving condiments: mayonnaise, salsa, Plochman's mustard


First: prepare the ingredients---

  In a bowl, crumble the ground meat and add ten shots of the
  Worcestershire sauce, and add ten cranks of pepper.  
  Mix well and form into four patties. 

  Slice and pepper the tomatoes.

  Peel, de-pit, and Slice the avocado.

  Trim, Wash and dry the lettuce leaves. 

  Slice the Gouda into large but thin slices. 

  Slice the red onion.  Try to keep the slices intact for BBQing.

  Canned peppers: drain, slit them down the side & flatten.
  Fresh peppers: halve them, remove stem & seeds, roast and peel. 

  Remove the stem from the Portobello; use the stem for something else. 
  Wipe the Portobello cap & gills with olive oil. 


Second: the cooking---

  Begin toasting successive slices of the sourdougn.

  Clean, oil, and fire up the BBQ grill.  When it is hot:

  Put the patties on, first side, go 5-7 minutes.
  Turn them over and put cheese slices on top.
  Put the red onion slices onto the grill to cook.
  Put the Portobello onto the grill to cook, 3 minutes per side. 
  Put your peppers on the grill for the final minute (quick!)
  Everything should be about finished cooking at the same time,
  so serve everything up on a big platter. If your Portobello is
  huge, cut it up so the pieces are burger size. 

Third: Let everyone stack his/her custom MichaelBurger---

  Salsa and/or mayonnaise or mustard are good spreads for the sourdough toast. 
  People find that the tomatoes are the slipperiest part of the stack.
  The cooked red onions in the stack are also a bit slidey. 
  The avocado and lettuce help keep things together.
  The cheese on the burger adds a bit of helpful grip. 
  A typical stack is too tall to eat, so you will have to push down.
  Careful! Pushing down may lead to sudden expulsion of the tomatoes.


Keep napkins handy.  Enjoy!