guacamole | The Little GSP

Most people visit their local Farmer’s Market for organic fruits and vegetables but here in Newtown Square, PA we are a little different: we go to our Farmer’s Market for freshly made sausage! The sausage is made by Maiale in nearby Wilmington, Delaware and it’s available in mouth-watering flavors like Chicken Sausage with Spinach and Sharp Provolone, Wild Boar Sausage with Apples, Caramelized Onions, and Blue Cheese, and Thai Curry Sausage with coconut milk, curry powder and cilantro. Yum! (Check out the full offering here.)

We picked up some Fire-Roasted Poblano and Corn Sausage last week and decided to do something fun to play off of the sausage’s Southwest flavors. After a little experimentation we ended up with a wonderful dinner of delicious tacos with a tangy slaw and creamy sauce that complemented the spiciness of the sausage perfectly. Here’s the recipe!

Poblano Sausage Tacos with Lime-Cilantro Slaw and Avocado Crema (serves 2)

You will need…
1 1/2 cups Bagged Cole Slaw Mix
2 tablespoons Cilantro, finely chopped
Juice from 1 Lime (for the slaw)
½ Jalapeño Pepper, seeds removed and finely chopped
½ cup Guacamole*
1/2 cup Sour Cream
Oil Spray for the grill
2 Fire-Roasted Poblano and Corn Sausages, grilled
6 Corn Tortillas
½ Red Onion, chopped

Directions:
Make the lime-cilantro slaw first by mixing the cole slaw mix, cilantro, lime juice and jalapeño in a large bowl. Cover the mixture and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. This will allow the flavors to develop while you are making the rest of the meal.

Create the avocado crema by combining the guacamole and sour cream. If your guacamole is chunky or if you are making your own from scratch, you could try combining the guacamole and sour cream in a food processor. We tried this and only succeeded in splattering the sour cream all over the inside of the food processor bowl so we ended up scraping the ingredients out of the food processor bowl and stirring the mixture together by hand instead. If desired, thin the crema with a bit of water so that it will be easier to drizzle over the tacos.

Grill the sausages until they are cooked through and then slice them into bite-sized pieces. While the sausages are grilling, oil the grill and heat the corn tortillas. Be careful not to overcook them – you still want them to be soft and pliable, not crispy! Place the heated tortillas on a warmed plate and cover with a towel to keep the heat and moisture in until you are ready to use them.

Assemble your Poblano Sausage Tacos by putting several pieces of sausage on a warmed tortilla and topping with the slaw and red onion. Drizzle a generous amount of avocado crema over the taco. Serve with a cold beer and enjoy!

*If you don’t have pre-made Guacamole you can make your own by mashing together 1 peeled avocado (pit removed), 1 clove of minced garlic, juice from ½ lime, 1 tablespoon of minced yellow onion (optional) and salt and pepper to taste.

Every January we go to Las Vegas for a week to exhibit at a big trade show. Although this sounds like a great opportunity to let loose and go wild in Vegas, the reality is that after 9 1/2 hours of standing in a booth on a concrete floor (and with another 9 1/2 hours ahead of us the next day…) we typically find ourselves just looking for a solid meal that doesn’t involve walking through too many casinos. After checking out many of the restaurants in our immediate area, we decided that our favorite place to eat was the Grand Luxe Cafe, conveniently situated right at the bottom of our hotel elevator at the Palazzo.

The Grand Luxe Cafe’s menu is practically a small novel, boasting page after page of offerings from Italian, Asian, Mexican, and American cuisine. Matt’s go-to dinner was the Avocado-Chipotle Burger which, according to the menu, is a “chop house burger topped with fresh avocado, fire-roasted poblano peppers, melted cheese, chipotle mayonnaise and cilantro.” Yum!

With this description in mind, we set out to make our own version of this delicious dinner. Judging by the look on Matt’s face as he bit into his burger tonight, I think we succeeded!

Burgers with Pepper Jack, Chipotle Mayo, Roasted Poblanos, Guacamole and Cilantro

Chipotle Mayo, Cilantro & Guacamole

You will need…
1 Poblano Chile Pepper
1/4 Cup Cilantro Leaves
1/4 Cup Guacamole
4 Slices Pepper Jack Cheese
2 Hamburger Buns, cut in half lengthwise and lightly toasted

For the Chipotle Mayonnaise…
1/3 Cup Mayonnaise
Juice from 1/2 Lime
1 Chipotle Pepper plus 1 Teaspoon Adobo Sauce (from a small can of Chipotles en Adobo)
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Poblano Peppers

For the burger patties…
3/4 – 1 pound Ground Chuck
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
Olive Oil Spray for the Grill

Directions:

Heat your grill to medium-high heat. Once hot, place the whole poblano pepper on the grill grates and allow it to roast for approximately 12 minutes, turning occasionally. When the poblano skin is charred and starting to peel remove it from heat, place it in a glass bowl, and cover with a kitchen towel. Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes. (This will loosen up the poblano skin and allow it to cool enough so that you can handle it.)

Transfer the poblano to a cutting board and peel off the outer skin with your fingers. Cut the stem off and squeeze the seeds out. Slice the pepper into 1/2″ squares and set aside.

Combine the chipotle mayonnaise ingredients in a small food processor and blend until the pepper is broken down into small pieces. Transfer the chipotle mayonnaise into a bowl and set aside.

To make your burger patties, place the ground chuck in a shallow bowl and spread out slightly. Add the salt and pepper evenly over the surface of the meat, then carefully mix the meat with your hands. The key to a good burger is not to over-mix or over-compress the ground beef so mix gently! 🙂 Split the meat mixture in half and form each section into a very loose ball by transferring the meat back and forth between your hands.

Place both burger “balls” on a plate and press down gently to flatten them ever so slightly… your finished patty should be about 3/4″ thick and 4-5 inches in diameter. Form a small indent (about 1/4″ deep) in the center of each patty.

Place the burgers, indent side up, on a preheated, oiled grill over direct high heat. Close the lid and allow to cook for 2 1/2 minutes, then flip the burgers and allow to cook for 2 minutes. Add the slices of pepper jack cheese to each burger and allow to cook (lid closed) for another minute.

While the burgers are grilling, spread some of the chipotle mayonnaise on the bottom of your hamburger bun and spread some guacamole on the top of the bun. Place the cooked burgers onto the bun and top with roasted poblano peppers and cilantro.

We enjoyed our burgers with a side of Alexia Sweet Potato Chipotle Fries and a Dill-Cucumber Salad. This was a pretty spicy meal so the cucumber had a very nice cooling effect.