Baked Bluefish

The first time I encountered bluefish was in the Massachusetts kitchen of my friend Jill. Her famously unflappable son John was practically beside himself with anticipation of diving into one of the fillets his mom had prepared. I had never heard of bluefish, which are indeed blue, both outside and in. They're an east coast fish, we don't have them on the west coast. Their season is short and they spoil very quickly, so you have to get them fresh and eat them right away. Bluefish are considered sport fishing fish because they are so aggressive. Oddly to me, the fish isn't that popular to eat. Perhaps because if it's good it's great, and if it's off, it's really rank. In any case, it can be had cheaply. I bought this big fillet for $2.79 a pound. The bill came to $1.89, which is just unheard of for good fish where I live. The fish is an oily fish, so if you like canned tuna, sardines, mackerel, you'll be right at home with bluefish. Otherwise, stick to cod or sole.

For this preparation of bluefish, we've baked it in foil with lemon, butter, herbs, and a little white wine. The lemon is particularly important to cut the fattiness of the fish. Bluefish is also excellent grilled or smoked. Do you like bluefish? How do you prepare it?

Baked Bluefish Recipe

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 20 minutes

You can also add a layer of thinly sliced fennel to the fish.

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INGREDIENTS

• One bluefish fillet (1/2 pound to 1 pound)
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 to 5 very thin slices of fresh lemon
• 3 pats of butter (about a teaspoon each)
• Several sprigs of fresh herbs such as tarragon, thyme, fennel fronds, and/or parsley (or a teaspoon of dried herbs such as Italian seasoning or Herbes de Provence)
• 3 Tbsp dry white wine
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut a piece of foil large enough to enclose the bluefish fillet. (You can double layer the foil if you are working with thin foil). Place the foil in a roasting pan. Rinse the bluefish fillet and place it in the center of the foil, skin side down.

2 Sprinkle the fillet with salt and pepper. Lay a layer of thin lemon slices on top of the fillet. Arrange pats of butter along the top of the fillet. Lay several sprigs of fresh herbs on top of the butter and lemon slices.

3 Create a boat shape with the foil around the fish so that liquid does not leak out. Pour white wine over the fish, and sprinkle with the lemon juice. Crimp the edges of the foil together so they are relatively sealed.

4 Place in the preheated oven (or you can put the foil packet on the grill) and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or so, until the fish is cooked through and opaque. Carefully lift the fillet from the foil and place on a serving dish. Pour the cooking liquid over the fish to serve.

Yield: Serves 2 to 4.

Chicken Drumsticks, Ethiopian Style

This dish sounds a lot more exotic than it really is. It is a recipe I've been making, on and off, for 20 years, and it's nothing more than chicken drumsticks coated in oil or melted butter, dusted with a dry spice rub and baked — or slow-cooked on the barbecue.

What makes this recipe Ethiopian is the spice mix, which is called berbere (ber-BERRY). I learned how to make it from my boss at the first restaurant I ever worked at, the Horn of Africa in Madison, Wisconsin. My boss, a tough old Eritrean named Meselesh Ayele (Eritrea used to be a province of Ethiopia, and is now an independent country), told me that berbere was the original curry, that the Indians copied the Ethiopians.

That was a common refrain in the kitchen: Ethiopia invented everything, and the rest of the world just copied it. They happen to be right when it comes to coffee, but I'm not sure I believe her on the curry thing. What I can tell you is that berbere is indeed a magical spice mix: Think of the sweet aromas of Moroccan food with a muscular punch of garlic and chile. No two berbere mixtures are the same, and cooks guard their secret mixtures with as much vigor as Southerners guard their barbecue recipes.

But there are a few constants: chiles and/or paprika, lots of garlic, black pepper, salt and ginger. Meselesh's berbere always had a healthy hit of cardamom and fenugreek, too. Without those two ingredients, it just doesn't smell Ethiopian to me. Other spices not in my berbere, but which are perfectly normal, include anise seed, turmeric, cinnamon, allspice, coriander and dried herbs like oregano and rue. Tinkering is not only allowed, but encouraged.

Cook the chicken how you want. You will need to reach an internal temperature of at least 175° for it to taste right, but I like to cook them slow and low until the meat is almost falling off the bone. The longer you cook, the more you need to baste with all that chicken-y goodness that renders out of the drumsticks.

I was a line cook when I made this recipe as a part of my rotation, which means I didn't make much money. So for a cheap dinner I used to eat these drumsticks with a little white rice while watching the Wisconsin Badgers play on TV, drinking Leinenkugels or Point beer. Simple pleasures from a different time.

Chicken Drumsticks, Ethiopian Style Recipe

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 2 hours

You can do this with chicken wings or thighs, too, but don't use breasts — they will dry out.

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INGREDIENTS

• 3-4 pounds chicken legs, thighs or wings
• 2 Tbsp peanut oil, or melted butter (or ghee)
• Salt
• Lemons or limes for serving

Spice Mix:

• 2 Tbsp sweet paprika
• 1 Tbsp hot paprika, or 1-2 teaspoons cayenne
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground fenugreek
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 325°. Coat the drumsticks in the peanut oil or melted butter, then sprinkle with salt.

2 Mix all the spices together in a small bowl. In a large bowl, mix half of the spice mix with the chicken, then arrange the drumsticks in a casserole dish lined with enough foil to make a package; you will be cooking these legs covered for most of the time.

3 Sprinkle more of the spice mix over the drumsticks. You can use all of the spice mix, or stop whenever you want. The more mix, the spicier the chicken. Fold over the foil to seal up the drumsticks and bake for 90 minutes.

4 At 90 minutes, open up the foil packet to let the chicken continue to cook uncovered. Continue cooking for at least another 15 minutes, and as long as you like. I like the meat to almost fall off the bone on my drumsticks, so I cook uncovered for another 30-45 minutes.

5 To serve, baste with a little of the sauce that forms at the bottom of the pan, and use the rest to flavor some rice or flatbread. Squeeze some lemon or lime juice over the chicken right before you serve it. A green salad is a good side dish, too.

Limeade with a Touch of Mint

Limeade Recipe

After one of the best July 4ths on record (70s in Sacramento in July? unbelievable) we're gearing up for another heat wave. If the smoke clears enough for us to go outside again, I'll make another batch of this wonderful limeade. There are 3 tricks to this simple drink. The first is to make simple syrup by boiling water with the sugar first, so that the sugar is completely dissolved. The second trick is to infuse the simple syrup with some of the zest from the limes; this makes it taste even limey-er (yes, not a word, but you get my drift). Finally plop some fresh mint sprigs in the serving pitcher, and besides being half-way to a mojito, you have a cheerfully refreshing summer drink. One that my nephew Austin has mentioned 3 times in the last 2 days as being "like really good".

Infusing the sugar syrup with lime zest is a great way to bring extra lime flavor to your limeade.

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INGREDIENTS

• Grated zest of one lime (about 1 Tbsp)
• 1 cup lime juice (from about 4-6 Persian limes)
• 3/4 cup to 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 cups water
• Several sprigs of fresh mint

METHOD

1 In a small saucepan bring to a boil the sugar, one cup of water, and the lime zest. Once the sugar is dissolved (which it should be by the time the water boils), remove from heat and let cool for for a few minutes. The amount of sugar is a guideline, it depends on how sweet you like your limeade and how tart your particular limes are.

2 Place a strainer over a bowl, or wide-mouthed serving container, and pour the sugar syrup through it, straining out the lime zest. Add the lime juice and 2 cups of water. Taste for sour/sweet balance. If too sweet, add a little more lime juice. Add several sprigs of fresh mint.

Chill, or serve immediately over ice.

Makes about 1 quart.

ADD Belvedere Vodka for the Adults

Baked Stuffed Jalapeños

Baked Stuffed Jalapeños Recipe

Are you a risk taker? I think one has to be a bit adventurous to eat jalapeños. You never know if biting into one is going to yield that wonderful flavor and kick that is the basis for so much of Southwestern food, or if that one little bite will pack such a fiery punch that you'll be running around the room mouth agape and tears in your eyes, begging for something to cool it all down.

If you find that the pepper you've bit into is just too hot for your tongue, cool it off with sour cream, milk, or cream cheese. That's the trick, and the reason why cheese is so often paired with hot chiles. There's something in the milk protein that lessens the impact of the capsaicin (the molecules that give chilies their heat). Which is one very good reason why stuffed jalapeños are stuffed with cheese, among other things.

The other good reason why stuffed jalapeños are filled with cheese is they taste good that way! Hank and I decided to experiment with stuffed jalapeños this week. We stuffed them with cheddar, with jack, with pepper jack, with cream cheese, with bacon mixed with lots of other things, and we ended up with two favorites. One is stuffed with a cream cheese filling with onions, cilantro, cumin and a little bit of jack cheese. The other is similar but has more jack cheese, and bacon instead of the cream cheese. But you can really do whatever you want here. Mix it up. Try adding some shrimp, or barbecue sauce. Use queso fresco instead of the cream cheese. With the following recipes, I loved the way the cream cheese enveloped the jalapeños in my mouth. Hank likes the bacon and jack (well he would like the bacon version, no duh.)

Do you have a favorite stuffing for stuffed jalapeños? We would love to hear about it.

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 25 minutes

When working with jalapeños, it helps to wear disposable gloves. If you don't have gloves, coat your hands with some oil before working with the peppers, then once you are done, wash your hands thoroughly with warm soapy water. Do not touch your eyes for several hours after handling the peppers.

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INGREDIENTS

Cream Cheese Filling Version

• 12 jalapeño peppers*
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3/4 cup cream cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
• 2 ounces jack cheese, cut into 2 1/2-inch long batons

Bacon and Jack Cheese Filling Version

• 12 jalapeño peppers*
• 1/4 cup chopped cooked bacon
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1/2 cup shredded jack cheese, plus another 2 ounces of jack cheese cut into 2 1/2-inch long batons
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

* When buying jalapeños for this recipe, if you want mild peppers, look for peppers with smooth skins. Striations tend to indicate that the pepper has been stressed while growing, and that can mean a hotter pepper.

METHOD

1 Preheat the oven to 375°.

2 You can either slice the jalapeños in half lengthwise or you can slice off the top one-third (lengthwise) of each jalapeño to make a boat shape out of each pepper. The halved jalapeños will go further (twice as many stuffed peppers), but you can put more filling into the boat-shaped peppers. Your choice. If you choose to make the boats, you can mince the tops and add them to the filling if you want some extra heat, or save them for another recipe. Scrape out all the seeds and ribs from each jalapeño with a spoon (a grapefruit spoon works great).

3 Mix together all the filling ingredients except the jack cheese batons.

4 Pack the filling into the peppers and nestle a baton of jack cheese onto the filling of each one. Arrange the peppers on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned, and the peppers are cooked.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: Makes 12-24 servings (depending on how you've cut the jalapeños).

African Chicken Peanut Stew

African Chicken Peanut Stew Recipe

Like peanut butter? Chicken? Then this African chicken peanut stew by Hank is for you. Perfect for chilly weather. ~Elise

Chicken, sweet potatoes and peanuts are one of those magical flavor combinations that make me feel all warm and happy, especially because I never would have thought to do this 20 years ago, when I met some fellow University of Wisconsin students from Ghana who made this stew at their apartment. Chicken groundnut stew is, in various forms, common all over West Africa, and this is my version, inspired by my colleagues at UW.

The best way to make this stew is with two whole stewing hens—older chickens available at Asian and Latin markets. You start by simmering the birds to make stock, which then becomes the base of the stew, and then you use the meat from the hens. This is a bit labor-intensive for most, so I normally use pre-cut chicken parts: legs, wings and especially thighs. This stew is just made for chicken thighs.

What is a little unusual about how you make the stew is that you first brown the chicken and then stew it on the bone. You can certainly eat it off the bone in the stew, but this is messy, so I prefer to fish out the meat and shred it. Why bother with the bones and skin at all? They add a ton of flavor to the stew.

Sweet potatoes or yams are a must in the African version, but if you hate them, use regular potatoes or turnips.

The stew is supposed to be pretty spicy, so I normally use a lot of hot sauce thrown in at the end of the cooking. I only call for 1 teaspoon of cayenne here, because no matter how chile-adverse you are, it ought to have at least a faint bite of heat. If you truly can't take chiles, skip the cayenne. But someone in Ghana will cry.

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Use chicken legs, thighs or wings for this recipe. They have more flavor and will hold up better with the flavors of the stew than breast meat.

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INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 pounds chicken legs, thighs and/or wings
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 large yellow or white onion, sliced
• A 3-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
• 6-8 garlic cloves, chopped roughly
• 2-3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 15-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup roasted peanuts
• 1 Tbsp ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
• Salt and black pepper
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro

METHOD

1 Heat the vegetable oil in a large soup pot set over medium-high heat. Salt the chicken pieces well, pat them dry and brown them in the oil. Don't crowd the pot, so do this in batches. Set the chicken pieces aside as they brown.

2 Sauté the onions in the oil for 3-4 minutes, stirring often and scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté another 1-2 minutes, then add the sweet potatoes and stir well to combine.

3 Add the chicken, chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, peanut butter, peanuts, coriander and cayenne and stir well to combine. Bring to a simmer and taste for salt, adding more if needed. Cover the pot and simmer gently for 90 minutes (check after an hour), or until the chicken meat easily falls off the bone and the sweet potatoes are tender.

4 Remove the chicken pieces and set them in a bowl to cool, until cool enough to touch. Remove and discard the skin if you want, or chop it and put it back into the pot. Shred the meat off the bones and put the meat back in the pot.

5 Adjust the seasonings for salt and cayenne, then add as much black pepper as you think you can stand—the stew should be peppery. Stir in the cilantro and serve by itself, or with simple steamed rice.

Yield: Serves 6-8

Shrimp Quesadilla

Shrimp Quesadilla Recipe

Quesadillas have to be my favorite go-to food for lunch. They're just so easy to make! Especially when you have tortillas and cheese in the fridge, which we almost always do. Recently I had lunch with an old friend at Buck's of Woodside, a rather famous hang-out for Silicon Valley venture capitalists, and had a spectacular marinated shrimp and Jack cheese quesadilla, smothered in avocado and creme fresca, served on a bed of shredded iceberg lettuce. I've created my own version here, inspired by that wonderful lunch at Buck's. I could eat these all day.

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 10 minutes

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INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 pound of medium-small shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 Tbsp of lime or lemon juice
• 1/4 jalapeno or serrano chile, finely minced and/or dash of chile powder
• 1 Tbsp chopped green onion
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
• Salt and pepper
• 2 medium-sized flour tortillas
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/4 avocado, sliced
• Dollop of sour cream or crema fresca

METHOD

1 If you are starting with frozen raw shrimp, defrost them by placing them in a bowl of ice water until defrosted. Then poach the raw shrimp for 1 to 2 minutes in boiling water, remove from pan with a slotted spoon, and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. If you are starting with frozen cooked shrimp, you can defrost them in a bowl of ice water or lemon juice with ice.

2 Place strained cooked shrimp in a bowl. Add lime or lemon juice, some chopped fresh jalapeno or serrano chile and/or a dash of chile powder (can also use chipotle chiles or chipotle chili powder) to desired level of heat, green onion, and cilantro. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let marinate for 10 to 30 minutes. Strain out the juice.

3 Heat a cast iron or stick-free skillet on medium high. Add a small amount of oil (about 1/2 teaspoon) and spread it around the bottom of the pan with a spatula (you could use butter as well). Place one flour tortilla on the skillet. Flip the tortilla over a few times, 10 seconds between flips. Air pockets should begin to form within the tortilla. Remove the tortilla and repeat with the second tortilla. Leave the second tortilla in the pan and reduce the heat to medium.

4 Sprinkle the tortilla with the grated cheese. Distribute the shrimp mixture on top of the cheese. Place the other tortilla on top. Using two spatulas (one to hold the top in place) flip the quesadilla over when the bottom tortilla is nicely toasted and the cheese has begun to melt. Remove the quesadilla from the pan when the now bottom tortilla has toasted sufficiently.

You can also use just one tortilla instead of two, and fold the tortilla over itself like an omelette.

5 Cut like a pie into six pieces. A pizza wheel works well for this. Place on a serving plate. Serve with avocado slices and sour cream. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.

Serves one.

Smoked Bacon BLT with Arugula

Smoked Bacon BLT with Arugula Recipe

Do you like BLTs? (BLT=Bacon Lettuce Tomato sandwich for those of you readers not familiar with this American classic.) I've been mad for them as long as I can remember. But I never thought to sub out the lettuce for arugula (which grows like a weed around here) until my mother brought home an arugula BLT from a local bistro (Matteo's). So good! The spiciness of the arugula is wonderfully countered by the fatty smokiness of the bacon. If you don't have arugula available (also known as rocket) you can use watercress. I wilted the greens in a little bacon fat just to make it easier to pack more into the sandwich.

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INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 slices thick smoked bacon
• 1-2 thin slices of a fresh, large tomato
• 1-2 ounces (a couple handfuls) fresh baby arugula (can substitute watercress)
• 2 slices of bread
• Mayonnaise

METHOD

1 Heat a large sauté pan or cast iron pan on medium low heat. Lay the strips of bacon in a single layer on the pan. Slowly cook the bacon, rendering out the fat, until lightly browned on one side. Using a fork or tongs, turn the strips of bacon over to cook the other side. When the bacon strips are sufficiently cooked remove from pan and place on a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb the excess fat. Pour out excess fat from the pan (leaving about half a teaspoon in the pan) into a jar or a container to either dispose of or to store. (Never pour bacon grease down the sink, it will clog your pipes.)

2 In the same pan, add handfuls of fresh baby arugula or watercress. Toss in the remaining remaining fat. As soon as the greens start to wilt, remove from heat and remove from the pan to stop the cooking.

3 Toast bread slices in a toaster. Spread mayonnaise (or your favorite spread, butter will do too) over the slices. Layer the sandwich with bacon, sliced tomato, and lightly wilted arugula. Cut on the diagonal.

Eat immediately.

Makes one BLT sandwich.

Mixed Berry and Banana Fruit Salad

Red, White, and Blue healthy Salad

Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light... Happy Fourth of July! If you are thinking about ideas for something red, white, and blue to bring to a July 4th gathering, consider this simple mixed berry and banana salad. It's light and easy, with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, chopped apple, and bananas, tossed together with honey and lemon juice.

So, what are you making for Fourth of July? Grilling? Barbecuing? Please let us know in the comments, I'm always looking for ideas.

Mixed Berry and Banana Fruit Salad Recipe

• Prep time: 15 minutes

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INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups hulled, roughly chopped strawberries
• A handful of raspberries
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 apple, peeled, cored, roughly chopped
• 2 bananas, peeled and thickly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon honey

METHOD

Prep the berries before the bananas and apples, and add them to a large bowl. As soon as you add the bananas and apples, sprinkle lemon juice over them to keep them from getting brown. Add the zest and the honey and gently toss to combine.

Serve immediately. Or cover and chill for up to 2 hours before serving.

Dark and Stormy

It was a dark and stormy night... and so starts the sailor's tale, whether it be of vengeful ghosts or monster whales. Thus the aptly named "Dark 'n' Stormy" cocktail, a favorite of the sailing set from Bermuda to up and along the coast of the eastern states. It consists of rum and ginger beer, and maybe, just maybe, a splash of lime. But it can't be just any old rum. Dark rum is a necessity, and if you want to make the drink true and proper, it must be Gosling's black rum. 

If you've spent any amount of time with me, you'll know I'm not much of a drinker. (Cheap date!) But I find it very hard to turn down a Dark n Stormy. I had one for the first time several years ago visiting my friends Ann and Nick in Annisquam, Mass, a village outside of Gloucester, right on the water by Lobster cove. This is a drink for breezy days by the ocean, with sailboats and salty air.

Do you like Dark n Stormy's? If so, with lime juice or without? (I prefer it with.) And do you have a favorite brand of ginger beer to go with it?

Dark and Stormy Recipe

• Prep time: 1 minute

The official Dark 'n' Stormy uses only Gosling's black rum. If you don't have Goslings, use a dark rum.

INGREDIENTS

• Ice
• 1/4 lime, cut into two thick slices, one for garnish, one to squeeze over the ice (optional)
• 2 ounces Gosling’s Black Seal Bermuda black rum
• 4 ounces ginger beer (Gosling's makes one just for this purpose)

METHOD

Fill a highball glass with ice. If using lime, squeeze a slice over the ice. Add the Gosling's rum. Add the ginger beer and place a slice of lime on the rim of the glass for a garnish.

Grilled Beef and Mushroom Burger

Grilled Beef and Mushroom Burger Recipe

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 15 minutes

We call for fresh shiitake mushrooms, but only because they are so much more flavorful than regular button mushrooms. Feel free to use whatever mushroom you want, buttons, cremini, morels, etc. Although this recipe calls for using a grill, you can easily pan fry them on your stovetop. I would recommend using a large cast iron pan for pan frying.

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INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound ground beef
• A 1-ounce package of dried mushrooms (porcini, morels or other mushrooms)
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (add more if you like burgers a little saltier)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms (can substitute button or cremini), sliced
• 1 large onion, sliced thin (about 2 cups)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt
• 4-6 slices of Swiss cheese
• Burger buns

METHOD

1 Process the dried mushrooms in a food processor, or a clean coffee grinder (grind some raw rice to clean out coffee grinds), until ground into a powder. Remove any large mushroom pieces that didn't grind down, a few small pieces will be fine.

2 In a large bowl, use your clean hands to gently mix together the meat, salt, mushroom powder, black pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Mix just until everything is mostly combined, a minute or two. Do not overwork the meat mixture or it will become tough and meatloaf-like. Shape the meat into 3-4 patties, using about a quarter to a third of a pound per patty, creating a slight indentation at the centers of the patties (this will help keep the patties fairly flat when they cook, as the sides tend to contract more than the center).

3 Prepare your grill for high, direct heat. While the grill is heating up, heat a large sauté pan over high heat for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and dry-sauté them until they release their water, about 2-3 minutes. Add the onions and the olive oil, toss to combine and continue to sauté over high heat 1 minute. Add salt to taste and cook until the onions soften and begin to brown. Turn off the heat and place in a bowl.

4 Grill the burgers to the desired doneness, between 5-8 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the burgers and how hot your grill is.

5 When the burgers are almost done, lay the Swiss cheese over them and allow the cheese to melt. Paint the burger buns with a little olive oil and toast them on the griddle or grill grates. To assemble, put a burger on the bun and top with the sauteed onions and mushroom mixture.

Yield: Serves 3-4.