The perception has always been beer with burgers, but with gourmet foodies have been changing the image of the burger as we know it. Think bleu cheese & bacon, green chili & swiss, olives & feta, caramelized onion, mushroom stuffed, lemon & garlic Aioli with avocado, sweet potato fries, etc. With a multitude of flavors and a solid backing of red meat, why not pair with your favorite Cabernet, Zinfandel or Merlot?

Ladera Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 $ 30

Pair this one with your heartiest burger chili burger with a heavy dose of sharp cheddar cheese, Southern style BBQ sauce with caramelized onions, or splurge with a topping of sliced foie gras and truffles.

Duckhorn Merlot 2006 $ 40

The blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot make this a complex, elegant wine with intense fruits and soft tannins. Pair this with a lightly topped burger, perhaps with just a sampling of some good cheese try mild cheeses like Brie or goat cheese.

Dont eat red meat? Try:

Van Duzer Pinot Noir Rose $ 15

This dry style, fruit forward rose will pair perfectly with a chicken or ground turkey burger. Top your chicken burger with whole green chilis, Southwestern style Thousand Island, swiss cheese and guacamole. With your ground turkey try a cranberry chutney with Gorgonzola.

For more burger ideas, check out Saveur.com or just click on the link below

http://www.saveur.com/solrSearchResults.jsp?q=burger

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Simpleness may be the key to gaining,000 this year. For the 16th wedding anniversary of Sutter Home Develop a Better Hamburger Contest and Cook-Off ®, the search for America’s best hamburger, judges are trying to find access to consist of an optimum of 16 ingredients.

” In the past, there has been no limit on the variety of active ingredients,” states head judge James McNair. “We’re streamlining the competition by paring down the variety of products used.”

McNair recommends that contestants transform their preferred hamburger with brand-new as well as various toppings or reveal off their ethnic history by including conventional components from their native land.

From shiitake mushroom ketchup, Cuban pickle salsa as well as banana duck chutney to tzatziki with feta, Creole honey mustard as well as chermoula mayonnaise, winning hamburgers have included a series of exotic flavors from around the world.

So, the concern stays, can you construct a better hamburger with 16 components or much less? McNair states yes. In the past 15 years, four grand reward champions utilized 16 active ingredients or less to develop their unique hamburgers. Last year’s,000 champion, Barry Rosenstein of Elmhurst, Ill., utilized a document 35 components to develop his Dessert and also Spicy Red Fez Burgers.

” Every one of the courts were very pleased with the preference and presentation of Barry’s burgers, but the length of his dish was a bit daunting for the ordinary individual to re-create,” states Jeffrey Starr, culinary supervisor and also exec chef for Sutter Residence Winery as well as Construct a Much Better Hamburger. “For 2006, we desire hamburgers that are imaginative, yet obtainable to daily chefs.”

McNair recommends reading “Develop a Much Better Hamburger,” released by 10 Rate Press last year, to see every one of the previous winning recipes with 2004 and obtain suggestions on cooking burgers on the grill.

Construct a Better Hamburger accepts entrances from Might 15, 2006 to August 21, 2006. For full competition access rules, go to build abetterburger.com or send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Build a Much Better Burger, Sutter Residence Winery, P.O. Box 248, St. Helena, CA, 94574-0248. Develop a Much Better Hamburger is closed to citizens of California or Utah. 10 finalists will certainly be flown to the Napa Valley to contend in a burger barbecuing cook-off on September 30, which will be evaluated by a distinguished panel of chefs.

Construct a Much better Hamburger is sponsored by Sutter Residence Family Members Vineyards, National Cattlemen’s Beef Organization, the California Avocado Compensation, Colavita Olive Oil, Barbeques Galore, Grey Poupon, Snyder’s of Hanover as well as Kettle Chips.

Napa Valley Basil-Smoked Burgers

Makes 6

PESTO MAYONNAISE

2/3 mug mayo

2 tablespoons ready basil pesto

PATTIES

2 extra pounds ground sirloin

1/4 cup Zinfandel

1/4 mug diced fresh basil

1/4 cup minced red onion

1/4 cup fresh Italian bread crumbs

8 sun-dried tomatoes loaded in olive oil, finely sliced

2 tsps garlic salt

Vegetable oil, for brushing on the grill shelf

8 big fresh basil sprigs, dampened with water

6 big seeded sandwich rolls, split

6 slices Monterey Jack cheese

6 red fallen leave lettuce leaves

6 (1/4-inch-thick) big tomato slices

6 paper-thin red onion pieces, separated right into rings

6 fresh basil sprigs

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover, or pre-heat a barbecue grill to medium-high.

Combine the mayonnaise as well as pesto in a small bowl and mix well. Cover and cool until needed.

To make the patties, incorporate the sirloin, Zinfandel, basil, onion, bread crumbs, sun-dried tomatoes and also garlic salt in a huge bowl. Dealing with the meat as little as possible, mix well. Divide the combination right into 6 equal sections and form them right into patties to fit the rolls.

When the grill prepares, clean the shelf with grease. Toss basil sprigs straight onto the fire. Place patties on the rack; cover and chef 5 to 7 minutes on each side. During the last couple of mins of cooking, place rolls, reduced side down, on the external edges of the rack to salute lightly. Top each patty with a cheese slice. Cook 1 min.

Spread the mayonnaise over the cut sides of the rolls. On each roll bottom, position a lettuce fallen leave, a patty, a tomato piece, an onion piece and also a basil sprig. Include the roll tops and serve.

With 16 components, this burger took the grand reward in 1990.