Marzetti Blue Cheese and Wine Burgers

Summer barbecues are part of our family tradition. Fresh ingredients, spices, fruit -- and delicious burgers with savory sauces on toasted buns. I've learned long ago that a good sauce can change the aroma and flavor of the meal, so I used to shy away from store-bought salad dressing or condiments.

This changed the day I tasted Marzetti Blue Cheese salad dressing. Yes, I saw the label that promised something different, a salad dressing made with fresh basic ingredients I typically use in my own kitchen, like extra virgin olive oil or fresh lemon. But my taste buds don't have a lot of faith in labels. It was down to a sauce-to-tongue encounter. And the rest is history.

For our summer barbecues I whisked together equal portions of Marzetti Simply Dressed Blue Cheese salad dressing with red wine and cream cheese. I used 1/2 a cup of each ingredient, but this simple recipe is easy to reduce or increase in size. It also works great to replace the cream cheese with sour cream or ricotta cheese, or reduce the amount of red wine to thicken the sauce. For a sweeter version of the Marzetti wine sauce, I love to replace the red wine with late harvest sweet dessert wine.

The Marzetti blue cheese and wine sauce gave our barbecues and healthy, gourmet slant. When I serve the burgers, I skip the ketchup and mayo altogether and spread Marzetti wine sauce over the burgers and buns. On every plate I add a small dipping dish with more Marzetti wine sauce. I decorate the plate with fresh vegetables, like mini carrots and English cucumbers. And I add pecan halves, which taste heavenly when dipped in the Marzetti blue cheese and wine sauce.

When I include French fries with the burgers, I sprinkle the fries with Italian seasonings (basil, thyme and oregano) as well as a little sugar and salt. And, of course, I add a dipping plate filled with sauce on each plate.

The Marzetti blue cheese and wine sauce has no trans fats, so common in condiments. It tastes fresh and home-made and delicious enough to eat with raw vegetables. It's no surprise that ketchup and mayo are no longer welcome at our summer barbecues.

In compliance with FTC regulations, I'll add that I received this product for free and I was compensated for the article.