"9.5 out of 10" Southwestern Turkey Burgers

When I first started cooking, I insisted on establishing a ten point scale for my husband to use when grading his dinner. Although he was overly generous, most meals fell in the 8-9 range. It's quite rare for my meals to score higher than a 9, but the southwestern turkey burgers I made Monday night with my sister, and sous-chef, Lauren, did just that.

These burgers, although made with lean turkey and lots of other healthy ingredients, were filling enough that I decided to omit the bun and make a platter. So, what you see above is a bed of arugula with slices of avocado, a fresh corn salad, turkey burger, grilled onions and a paprika aioli. I used a lot of the ingredients in more than one component, helping tie in the flavors. It was a lot of work but apparently "one of the best dinners I've made."

Aioli Ingredients

1/2 cup mayo (I used light mayo to trim calories)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp garlic paste

For the aioli, simply combine the above ingredients in a bowl. The spices will also go into the turkey burger batter, giving it a similar taste.

Grilled Onion Ingredients

1/2 red onion, sliced into rings

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

1 tsp sugar

Heat up some olive oil in a pan, cook your onion rings and season with salt, pepper and sugar. The rings should be well done, so as to get rid of that strong onion flavor.

The onions are to be piled on top of the burger and aioli.

Fresh Corn Salad Ingredients

4 corn ears

1/2 jalapeno, diced (remove the seeds and membrane for less spice)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup red onion, diced

1/2 cup sliced cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

3 tbsp green onion, sliced

juice of 1 lime

salt and pepper

Start by removing the husks and silk and drop in boiling water for five minutes. Remove and let cool before slicing the corn off the cob and into a bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients to the corn and mix

.

Turkey Burger Ingredients

1 lb ground lean turkey meat

1 can corn

1 can black beans

3/4 cup pre-cooked red onion and red peppers

5 tbsp cilantro

1 beaten egg

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 tbsp mexican chili powder

1 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp cumin

1 - 2 tsp cayenne pepper (depending on how much heat you like)

salt and pepper

Combine all the above ingredients into a bowl and, using your hands, mix everything well so that the corn and black beans are well incorporated into your meat.

Shape the meat into four patties. Over medium heat, warm up about 2 tbsp olive oil in and place your burgers on the pan, allowing each side to cook for four minutes before turning over. (Hint: Making the burgers somewhat thinner allows them to cook faster.)

Compose on a plate to make a platter like I did, or serve on a bun for a truer burger experience.