Brie and Scallion Burgers: Recipe Swap

I've spent the last 4 years frequenting a cooking message board, which I know, makes me sound like a total food nerd, but I've met some great ladies (and even a guy or two!) on there and it was where I first got the idea to start a food blog.  I started this blog mostly as a way to have an online recipe collection/personal cookbook.  It's great to have all our favorite recipes in one spot and have them easily accessible via internet.  I check in with my foodie friends at least once a day to talk about what's for dinner, great restaurants, new ingredients and everything in between.  They've been doing a recipe swap for awhile now, but when it started I was in a blogging lull but now that I'm back into the groove I decided to join in the fun.  

For this exchange I got A Taste of Home Cooking.  Not only is she a member of my lovely group, but she's also the organizer of the Recipe Swaps -- I immediately felt the pressure!  I spent a good hour looking through her blog and picking some recipes to chose from.  Some that were on the final list but didn't make the cut will be on my menus in the future -- Buffalo Chicken Tacos, Jalapeno Popper Chicken, and Soutzoukakia.  For this choice we went with the Brie and Scallion Burgers and we were not disappointed!  They were cheesy, juicy and delicious.  The cheese is hidden inside the burgers which is a nice surprise and the scallion paste is spicy kick to compliment the creamy brie.  We enjoyed them a lot and I'm sure we'll be enjoying them again throughout the summer grilling season.  We've already thought of other uses for the scallion paste -- tossed with pasta, on shrimp, in sandwiches, it'd probably even be good with tortilla chips!  As you can see, we served it with waffle fries and steamed broccoli.

Brie and Scallion Burgers

from A Taste of Home Cooking

serves 4

Ingredients:

4 scallions, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

freshly ground pepper

4 ounces brie, rind removed

1/4 cup mayonnaise

4 hamburger buns

Directions:

• Make the scallion paste -- combine the scallions, garlic, jalapeno, lemon zest, cayenne and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a mortar and pestle (or a small bowl).  If using the mortar and pestle, grind the ingredients into a paste.  If using a bowl, use the back of a spoon to smash everything together.  Once you have a paste, slowly add in the olive oil to loosen up the paste.  
• Preheat your grill on high.
• Start working on the burgers -- season the ground beef with salt and pepper.  Form 8 patties from the ground beef.  Measure out one ounce of brie, put it on top of one patty, then top with another patty and seal the edges.  Do this again three more times to make four burgers.  
• Cook the burgers on the grill, about 4-6 minutes per side.  Grill the burger buns.  Top burgers with scallion paste, mayo and serve!