Portobello Burgers with BBQ Slaw

You can take the girl out of Kansas City, but you can't take Kansas City out of the girl. I really considered trying a cartwheel for the first time in years after I took the first bite of this portobello burger tonight. I'm serious! I resisted because I know I am getting old and would likely hurt myself. Sad, but true. The biggest bummer (outside of no cheeseburgers) for me during this year of self-imposed food restrictions is the lack of BBQ sauce. I loooooooove BBQ sauce, and everything that typically is doused in it. I figured this would be a year sans BBQ sauce, which is especially hard in the summer when we usually bust out the smoker and make some ribs. I heart ribs. You can imagine my delight when my new cookbook, The Southern Vegetarian (from the authors of the Chubby Vegetarian blog) arrived and I saw a recipe for BBQ portobello burgers that are rubbed down dry rub and topped slaw that uses BBQ sauce. The fact that smoked Gouda is melted on top just pushes this little meal over the edge. I sent my husband an excited e mail at work telling him to get ready for some BBQ love. Are you ready for some BBQ love? I hope so. Of course, feel free to rub down some chicken, beef, or pork (the rub and slaw are both incredibly versatile tricks I'll tuck away), but I am telling you, the mushroom is the man of the hour in this house tonight.

BBQ Portobello Burgers with Smoked Gouda

-from The Southern Vegetarian

 Dry rub:

• Combine 1 tsp of each of the following-
• brown sugar
• chipotle chili powder
• ancho chili powder (found this at Target, by the way)
• oregano
• thyme
• garlic powder
• black pepper
• salt
• sweet paprika
• smoked paprika (also at Target)
• cumin

You can put this in a container and keep in your spice cabinet for 6 months. Nice, huh?

Portobellos:

• 4-6 large portobello caps
• 1 bottle of Italian dressing (something emulsified, meaning it doesn't separate when sitting)
• smoked Gouda slices (feel free to use another if you'd rather. cheddar or smoked mozzarella would be fine, too)
• buns

BBQ slaw:

• 5 cups thinly sliced cabbage--either color is fine. I used red. I think pre-shredded cabbage would get too soggy, so I'd take a few minutes if I were you and slice it yourself.
• 1/2 c. BBQ sauce (I prefer KC Masterpiece)
• 1/2 c. light Mayo
• 1 T. prepared yellow mustard
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• salt/pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients together and toss well to combine

Wipe the portobellos clean with a damp cloth. Remove the stem, and scrape out the gills with a spoon. Place them in a baking dish and pour the desired amount of Italian dressing over all, turning to coat. You can do this up to 24 hours ahead of time. When you are ready to eat, remove them from the marinade and use 1 T. of the rub (total) to sprinkle over both sides of each mushroom. You can grill them (a few minutes per side), adding the cheese at the end and letting it melt before removing from the grill, or if you are like me and you haven't gotten your grill out this year (for obvious reasons), then just place the mushrooms on a foil lined baking sheet and broil in the oven for 5-7 minutes on the first side (watch closely), flip, top with cheese, then broil another 2-3 or until melted. Toast your hamburger buns (if you like them that way as I do), then top with a mushroom, about 1 teaspoon of BBQ sauce, and 1/4 c. of slaw. Get messy and love it.