June 8: Burly-Man-Size Chicken-Cheddar Barbecued Burgers with Spicy Coleslaw

3/4 cup mayonnaise, plain yogurt, or prepared ranch-style dressing - your pick
1 tablespoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco, or to taste
   Juice of 1 lime
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
   Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 small red cabbage, halved, cored, then thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and thinly sliced
6 scallions, thinly sliced
2 pounds ground chicken
1/2 cup of your favorite prepared barbecue sauce
1/3 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, cut into 1/4-inch dice
   Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
4 kaiser rolls, split
   Waffle-cut frozen fries, cooked to package directions, or fancy specialty chips

For the spicy coleslaw, in a bowl combine the mayonnaise, hot sauce, lime juice, parsley, cilantro, salt, and pepper.

Add the sliced cabbage, red bell peppers, and half of the scallions, stir to coat the cabbage, and reserve the spicy slaw for topping the burgers.

In a mixing bowl, combine the ground chicken, barbecue sauce, Cheddar dice, reserved scallions, salt, and pepper.

Mix thoroughly. Score the meat with your hand to mark 4 equal portions. Form each portion into a 1-inch-thick patty. Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Drizzle EVOO over the patties and place them in the hot skillet. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes per side, or until the patties are firm to the touch and cooked through.

While the burgers are cooking, toast the kaiser rolls. Transfer the burgers to the bottoms of the toasted rolls, pile some spicy coleslaw on top, and then replace the roll tops.

4 SERVINGS

Rachael Ray's tidbit is: "The colder the cheese is the easier it will be to dice. Pop it in the freezer while you prep everything else and you will find that dicing it up will be a freezer-breeze-r!" I used Mayo, just a dash of hot sauce, green bell pepper instead of red, and fries. I changed the 1 tablespoon hot sauce to make it say "to your taste." Because a whole tablespoon is way too much for me and my girls. My husband won't eat the coleslaw anyway. He hates it.

I was a little afraid that the coleslaw was too sour and needed some sugar to balance it out a little, but once I put it on the burger, the sweetness of the barbecue sauce balanced the sourness of the coleslaw. It was actually very good. Paired with the fries, this was an excellent meal!