Joe’s Special Burger

This recipe was inspired by a dish that my favorite, and unfortunately out of business, Italian restaurant used to make. My roommate didn't like the original dish of Italian spiced scrambled eggs and beef so in order to get the same flavors in a meal he would eat I turned it into a burger, he didn't like cooked spinach but he liked raw spinach so I made it work. There are several layers of flavor in this recipe: on the top and bottom is a good crusty French bread cut into slices which has homemade garlic mayonnaise on it, a high quality ground beef hamburger and a mushroom and Parmesan cheese omelet layer with onion slices and fresh spinach leaves. This has all of the ingredients from the original Italian ground beef scramble recipe (that I really like still) in a form that even a picky eater can’t resist, and because of the way this burger is layered if someone doesn't like a layer they can leave it off.

1 pound  ground beef
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 pound  mushrooms sliced
1/2 cup  Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano
3 eggs , lightly beaten
1 egg, separated
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cloves  garlic
1 onion sliced
1 bunch Fresh spinach leaves
1 loaf French bread

1. Make Garlic Mayonnaise. Cut a thick crusty loaf of French bread into burger sized slices. Cut up whatever kind of onion you like into slices. Melt ½ tablespoon butter and cook mushrooms, remove and drain liquid from pan. Mix the mushrooms into the 3 eggs and add the white from the 4th egg along with 1 teaspoon salt, the nutmeg, ½ teaspoon pepper, the oregano and the parmesan. Add the rest of the butter to the pan and pour the egg mixture into the pan and cook until it is set and remove it and cut it into 4 pieces. Form the beef into patties and cook them your favorite way. Assemble the burgers and enjoy.

2. Garlic Mayonnaise: Peel and chop garlic and place in a blender with the egg yolk, vinegar and ½ teaspoon salt. Blend together and with the blender running very slowly pour in the oil. Process this for a few minutes or until thick and creamy.

Servings: 4