Renee is in town this weekend, so we had her and Jay for dinner. We haven’t seen Renee for over a year, so it was a nice night of catching up.
– I hadn’t made these mushroom burgers for a year, but I really should make them more often. They can be made ahead of time and are really good. I like them even though I really don’t like mushrooms. Tonight I didn’t make them with the garlic aioli and basil pesto like I usually do – we just had sautéed red onions, arugula and the regular condiments. They’re not your typical mushroom “burgers”, which is usually just a grilled portabella mushroom. These are a mixture of chopped and sliced mushrooms, with cream cheese and bread crumbs to help hold them together. They’re very meaty.
– Jay really liked the zucchini salad, although he said it had too much pepper. Larry wasn’t overly enthusiastic but still said he’d want it again (he especially liked the corn). I liked it because it didn’t taste like zucchini.

• Wild Mushroom “Burgers” (Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook, Cindy Pawlcyn, p. 151)
• Zucchini, Tomato and Corn Salad (Gourmet, August 2002)
• Grilled Cherry Tomato Pasta with Crisp Breadcrumbs and Basil (Fine Cooking #46, September 2001, p, 51)

Wine: Rafanelli 1999 Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley, California). Great wine – excellent with the burgers, bright fruit just like I expect from a Zinfandel.