California Burger

Make aioli. In a small bowl add mayonnaise, sun-dried tomato pesto and lemon juice, stirring until combined. Cover set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.

Form hamburger into 1/4-pound patties. Form the patties slightly bigger than the buns taking into account the shrinkage during the cooking process.

Preheat barbecue or pan to medium high heat, spray with cooking spray so the patties don't stick. Add the patties to the hot grill allowing several minutes of undisturbed cooking before flipping them. Cook until desired doneness or 160 degrees F. To ensure food safety the Federal Department of Agriculture recommends the following as minimum internal cooking temperatures: Steak and pork 145 degrees F., Seafood 145 degrees F., Chicken 165 degrees F., Ground beef 160 degrees F., Ground turkey 165 degrees F., and Ground pork 160 degrees F. Ground beef and pork have to cook longer than non-ground due to the fact that they are run through machines which might contain bacteria.

While burgers are grilling, cut avocado into slices, wash and tear the lettuce into burger size pieces and slice purple onions. Shred pepper jack cheese. I used about 1/4 cup of shredded cheese per burger patty. We live rural and the nearest town is 300 people so sometimes I am unable to find ingredients so I improvise, if you can find pepper jack slices, use a couple of those on each burger instead of the shredded. Just before the burgers are ready to come off the grill add the cheese and allow for it to melt slightly.

Butter all of the brioche buns and place them cut side down on the grill. Toast for a few minutes.

Spread sun-dried tomato aioli on the top buns.

Assemble burgers and enjoy!