Just a Little Background on the Burger- In this competition the Recipe must represent your State, for me the West Side has been how people think of WA including culinary delights with little thoughts about the other treasures we have to offer so I set out to accomplish 2 things:
1. A burger that represents all WA
2. A Blended Burger different from the rest.
Blended Burgers are the new culinary golden child, even The James Beard Foundation has gotten in on the act. As per my style I wanted to be different and have been working with many non-traditional blending's (Never been one to follow the crowd).
I also made a discovery or two including WA is one of the larger producer's of Blueberries.
So here is how my Burger represents all of WA State:
Beef- Locally Sourced from Eastern, WA
Blueberries and Apple from Central WA
Mushrooms from the WA Cascades
Dungeness Crab From the Coast/Puget Sound
As Far as the cream cheese I wanted to be different then the standard fare so I came up with the Cream Cheese, Crab and Grated Apple Spread, Crab actually pairs well with Steak so it would with Burger as well (and it does) the sweetness of the apple enhances the sweetness of the crab and also downplays the saltiness of the cheese and crab, lastly the addition of Chipotle Chili powder adds a little heat and smokiness . It actually did a great job of replacing a favorite cheese with something more unique and different.
Anyway that's my story and i'm sticking to it.
