Italian Caprese Sliders – how many can one college student eat?
When I was growing up my father was a true grill man – charcoal only and whatever he was making, there was one beer to splash on the food and one for him! I on the other hand, love my gas grill (and I think dad has one now too) mostly because I’m lazy and don’t want to mess with the charcoal. Of course, dad would probably not been caught making “wimpy” sliders and I am generally prone to enormous burgers stuffed with cheese but as I mentioned in a previous recipe for the Bacon Sliders, my husband brought home a “slider” pan which I determined wasn’t worth much, but I did like the sliders so here’s another variation. If you have the time, it is well worth it to make fresh rolls from either your own or the frozen dough.
1 1/2 lb ground beef
1 lb hot Italian sausage
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1 med onion finely chopped
1 bell pepper finely chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
18 White Dinner Rolls
8 oz fresh Mozzarella cheese sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 large Roma tomatoes sliced in 1/4 in thick slices
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves stems removed
freshly-ground black pepper
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 Gently but thoroughly mix together the ground beef and ground Italian sausage (removing from the casings if any), along with the Italian spices, chopped onion, chopped Bell pepper and 2 cloves of minced garlic.
2 Press the mixture into a jelly roll pan using a rolling pin to make a flat even layer. Cut the meat into 2″ squares.
3 Grill 2-3 minutes on each side or until cooked through to a temperature of at least 160.
4 Wrap the rolls in foil and warm on the top rack of the grill while the burgers are cooking on their second side.
5 When the burgers are done, place a slice of Mozzerella on each burger and tent with foil while preparing the buns.
6 Whisk together olive oil, balsamic and remaining 1 clove minced garlic
7 Place the burger with cheese on the bottom of the bun, add a slice of tomato and two good sized basil leaves and drizzle each burger with 1 teaspoon of the balsamic/olive oil dressing.
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