Open Face Chicken Burgers with Basil Mayonnaise

I've had this recipe for years and vaguely remember making it at a friends house several years ago. I remembered it being good and light. Yesterday I had PhotoGirl and the Yank for dinner. It had been a hot sunny Saturday and I wanted to make something light and a bit less heavy. So I pulled out this recipe. It's easy. It's light. And it was quite tasty.

I'm not a fan of ground chicken meat though. It gets way too mushy and feels, well, gross. The mixing of the mayo mixture with the chicken can cause the chicken to have a weird texture after cooking. So do NOT over mix. In fact, if I made this again, I'd skip that part and just cook the chicken with salt and pepper.

Open Face Chicken Burgers with Basil Mayonnaise

Recipe from Food Network.com
Serves 4:

• Olive oil
• 1 cup Mayonnaise
• 1 1/4 cups Chopped fresh basil
• 3 tablespoons Chopped, drained Cornichons or dill pickles
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Brine from pickle jar
• 2 Green onion, finely chopped
• 1 1/4 pounds Ground chicken
• 4 1/2 inch Thick slices country white bread
• 4 1/3 inch Thick slices of tomatoes

1. Brush grill with oil; prepare barbecue (medium heat). Mix mayonnaise, 1 cup chopped basil, cornichons, brine, and onions in small bowl. Season basil mayonnaise with salt and pepper.

2. Mix chicken and 1/2 cup basil mayonnaise in large bowl. Using wet hands, shape chicken mixture into four 1/2-inch-thick patties. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brush bread with oil.

3. Grill bread until crisp and golden, about 1 minute per side. Transfer bread to plates. Grill burgers until firm to touch and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.

4. Spread bread slices thickly with basil mayonnaise. Top each bread slice with tomato, 2 basil leaves, burger, and dollop of basil mayonnaise. Garnish with remaining chopped basil.