"The Art of the Hamburger" & "Better Homes and Gardens Salad Book" - Tucson Turkey Burgers with Tomato Coleslaw

Date I made these recipes: Monday, May 28, 2007 – Memorial Day

The Art of the Hamburger by Elizabeth Wolf-Cohen
Published by: Chartwell Books, Inc.
ISBN 0-7858-0704-7
© 1996
Recipe: Tucson Turkey Burgers – p. 57



Better Homes and Gardens Salad Book
Published by: Meredith Press
© 1969
Recipe: Tomato Coleslaw – p. 66

Is there a better way to kick off the summer season than to grill a burger? I think not.

As we approached the Memorial Day weekend, I pulled out all my grilling, picnic and summer salad cooks and chose the two recipes listed above. Finding a burger that struck my fancy proved to be too difficult so I threw the task over to my husband (our grillmaster) who selected the Tucson Turkey Burgers.

And then there was the salad selection. I was just hell bent on cooking from one of my salad cookbooks and was pretty bent on coleslaw but the initial recipe I selected just didn’t do it for me as it had celery seed and I didn’t see that going with tomato salsa. So I put the book aside for a while and when it was time to make the grocery list, I flipped open the book to the page with the recipe I was thinking of making, saw the recipe for Tomato Coleslaw and decided that was a much better fit for the turkey burgers.

Both recipes are really easy although my husband cautions that the burgers don’t do well on the grill because the meat is too loose and the burgers wanted to slide through the grill grates. Part of the reason may have been the salsa we selected. We’re very partial to Salsa Lisa – http://www.salsalisa.com/ - a locally-produced fresh salsa available in the refrigeration department of many grocery stores—hopefully, one near you! Even “drained,” the salsa didn’t have that goopy consistency that other commercial brands do so perhaps that’s why the burgers didn’t bind together too well. He managed to get the burgers grilled but the next time around, I think we’ll use a fry pan. (Under no circumstances are we changing out the salsa. That would be a sacrilege!)

Tucson Turkey Burgers (with Salsa) – Serves 4
1 ½ pounds ground turkey
¾ cup good-quality commercial brand of tomato-chili salsa, well drained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and thinly sliced
½ cup grated cheddar or Monteray Jack cheese
Lettuce leaves
4 burger buns, split and toasted
Extra tomato-chili salsa, to serve

Tomato Coleslaw – serves 6 to 8
2 cups shredded cabbage
18 cherry tomatoes, halved
¼ cup diced cucumber
2 teaspoons minced onion
¼ cup mayonnaise/salad dressing
2 tablespoons French salad dressing
1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
Dash pepper

Combine the cabbage, tomatoes, cucumber and mixed onion. Chill. Blend together the mayonnaise, French salad dressing, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper and chill. Just before serving, toss mayonnaise mixture lightly with cabbage mixture.