My Grill Pan

I'm a sucker for my grill pan. It's the one pan I can use to make a panini at lunch, grill some veggies at dinner, and flip to the griddle side to make like 10 pancakes at once in the morning. In the summer when I don't want to turn on the oven or use a lot of dishes I'll often make entire meals using the grill pan. Roy is happy since it's his job to do the dishes. He's really happy if what's coming off of the grill pan is some sort of burger. He requests the "Tomatillo Burger," as he calls it, quite often so I made it the other night. I saw this recipe in Gourmet a few years ago and it has been a favorite in our house ever since. Something about a crisp, raw tomatillo is so good on this burger. You can round out this meal by throwing some corn on the cob or zucchini on the grill pan as you cook the burgers. No grill pan? No problem. You can obviously use a real grill or even a cast iron skillet. But seriously, you should get one.

Pork Burgers with Tomatillo and Avocado

1 lb ground pork
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 teaspoons minced chipotle in adobo sauce, plus 1 teaspoon of sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 slices Muenster cheese
3 medium tomatillos, husked, rinsed and sliced
1 avocado, sliced
1 bunch cilantro
1/4 cup mayonnaise
4 hamburger buns
Vegetable oil, for pan

Preheat grill pan over medium-high heat. Mix the ground pork with garlic, chipotle, salt, and pepper. Form into 4 patties. Brush grill pan with vegetable oil and grill until patties are cooked through, about 4 -5 minutes per side. During last minute or two of cooking on second side, place a piece of cheese on each to melt the cheese. Also during the end of cooking, toast the buns on the grill pan until golden.

Spread 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise on the bottom of each bun. Top with meat, tomatillo slices, avocado slices, and a few sprigs of cilantro. Place top bun on top and serve immediately.

Serves 4