cover image Burgers Every Way: 100 Recipes Using Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Lamb, Fish, and Vegetables

Burgers Every Way: 100 Recipes Using Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Lamb, Fish, and Vegetables

Emily Haft Bloom. Stewart, Tabori, & Chang, $19.95 (95pp) ISBN 978-1-58479-352-6

Just in time for summer eating, Bloom, a contributor to Parents magazine, takes to the grill this refreshingly simple and varied selection of burger recipes. After giving a brief history of the burger (White Castle Hamburgers was founded in 1921, and is""the oldest continuously operating burger chain""), she prepares the home cook with instructions on food safety (""don't use sauce that was used to marinate raw meat"";""cook ground meat to at least 160F"") and essential equipment (basically a grill or a heavy steel pan and mixing bowls). Bloom serves up Pesto Burgers with Chopped Arugula and Yellow Tomato Salad. But it's her non-beef burgers that truly inspire. She offers recipes for turkey (Curry in a Hurry Burgers, served with a Pineapple Chutney on naan bread); pork (Pork Burgers with Smoked Cheddar and Hot Peppers; and seafood (Big Kahuna Tuna Burgers). Arguing that a burger is still a burger even if it doesn't contain meat, Bloom suggests Feijoada Black Bean Burgers or Falafel with Herbed Cucumber Yogurt. In the end, however, nothing tops Bloom's All-American Beef Burgers, served with beefsteak tomatoes, Vidalia onions, homemade ketchup and Monster Fries.