Since 1990, cooks from all over the country have gathered at the Sutter Home Family Vineyards in California's Napa Valley to compete in the Build a Better Burger contest. Award-winning cookbook author James McNair has gathered recipes from the first 15 years of the contest and compiled them into this volume, which carries the same name as the contest. The contest defines a burger as, "any food produce that can be ground, formed into patties, grilled and served on or between a bakery product." Those loose guidelines make for some really creative burger making and the best of the recipes (both the winning ones and the judges' favorites) have been included in this book.
It's a lushly photographed book, with lots gorgeous pictures of food, panoramic scenes of the Napa countryside and maybe just a few too many shots of the Sutter Home label. It would make a great coffee table book for the individual who loves burgers and grilling. I'm not sure how conducive it is to actual cooking, but it's a good one to flip through when you're in need of inspirational ways to spice up your backyard cookout.
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