White Shadow BBQ Turkey Burgers

The best thing about going to the orthodontist's office (and the majority of the experience is financially painful for me and physically painful for the child) is reading all of the magazines in the waiting room. As a result, I have a few new recipes in my arsenal like this one. It comes courtesy of Gwenth Paltrow via Food & Wine and has pretty much replaced our routine of ground beef burgers. I use the dark meat ground turkey, as I think the ground turkey breast dries out - Gwenth does not weigh in on that issue, probably because she's too busy running around my favorite northern Michigan town of Northport with her BFF Mario Batali. The only other ingredient, beside a good bun (and I am in no way minimizing the need for nice buns, mind you), is barbecue sauce, so really it is about as simple as a recipe gets. I don't usually go in for these celebrity chefs, by which I mean celebrities who decide to cook, not chefs who become famous - those I like, but I must say Gwenth has done me a summertime solid. I like like to serve these burgers with a side of Asian broccoli slaw, which offsets the smokiness of the barbecue sauce. I suppose cheese is optional if you really need a dairy fix, but in my opinion, completely unnecessary.

Nothing says 1978 like the TV drama The White Shadow. Created by Bruce Paltrow (yes, Gwenth's father), and starring Ken Howard as retired NBA star Ken Reeves (yes, the era where certain "actors" could only have a character with the same name as their own), who takes a job as a high school coach in a tough, racially mixed L.A. neighborhood. A recipe for TV success, don't you think? Not since Room 222 had we seen a show set in an inner city high school that dealt with everyday issues like drugs, crime and social (in)justice. Only this time, there was no Karen Valentine for comic relief. In addition to Howard (Ken, that is), Kevin Hooks as Morris Thorpe and Timothy Van Patten as Salami rounded out the cast of Carver high school athletes.  And this was in the day of short shorts and tall socks, mind you. I mean this show was so good, The Harlem Globetrotters even appeared as guest stars on a very special episode when the team was on a wining streak and got too full of themselves and Coach Reeves had to bring them back down to earth ( how a visit from a world-famous basketball troupe accomplished that I am still unsure, but it happened nonetheless). Honestly, with quality like that, I am mystified how this show only lasted three seasons and 54 episodes.



The Recipe:

1 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup, plus 2 tblsp barbecue sauce
salt and pepper
4 buns

Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. In a bowl, season the turkey with salt and pepper and gently knead in 1/4 cup of the barbecue sauce. Shape the meat into four 4-inch patties, about 3/4 inch thick. Brush with oil and grill over moderate heat, turning once, until nearly cooked through, 7 minutes. Brush with the remaining 2 tablespoons of barbecue sauce and cook for 3 minutes longer, until cooked through and lightly glazed. Transfer the burgers to the buns.Serves 4. Or, a hungry one on one pick-up game.