Knife-and-Fork Burgers with Provolone Dipping Sauce

I have returned from Rachael Ray worship! The taping was awesome. Rachael was awesome. I was pretty much speechless for the entire 2 hour taping, because I am a nerd and/or stalker. Anywho, we had a great time, and when Rachael found out there was this group of us there, she went into the back of the studio and gave each of us a free copy of her new cookbook. SCORE!!!

In tribute, tonight's meal is from the latest edition of Rachael Ray Everyday magazine. :)

INGREDIENTS:

-2 lbs. lean ground beef sirloin

-2/3 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (a couple of generous handfuls)

-2 cloves garlic, grated

-2 tbsp butter

-2 tbsp flour

-1 1/2 cups milk

-1 1/2 cups shredded provolone cheese

DIRECTIONS:

-Combine the ground beef, parsley and garlic, and form into 4 patties. Press your thumb in the center of each patty to prevent it from bulging when cooking.

-In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil for you Rachael rookies!) over medium-high heat, and cook the burgers 7-8 minutes on each side for well-done.

-While the burgers cook, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, whisk the flour in and cook for 1 minute.

-Whisk the milk into the flour/butter and cook until thickened, 3-4 minutes. Add the provolone stir until combined. Season with salt and pepper.

-Serve each burger with a small bowl of cheese sauce for dipping.

COMMENTS:

-Rachael actually has this recipe paired with an arugula and roasted tomato salad. Craig's not down for roasted tomatoes, so we skipped her fancy salad and had nice, normal bagged salad instead.

-I found that the cheese sauce, once you add the milk, takes longer than 3-4 minutes to thicken. I thought it would never happen but it finally did. The sauce was realllllly good. (I used a real block of provolone cheese and grated it all myself--BIG STEP for this girl!!)

-We only used 1.75 lbs of ground beef, and still ended up with 4 huge burgers. (The pic does not do them justice.) Leftovers for tomorrow! I really loved the parsley/garlic in the burgers, awesome flavor.