Kent’s Mark Pyne earns People’s Choice award at Sutter Homes Better Burger Contest

The dishes in the sink may have bothered Susan Pyne, but the trip she took with husband Mark Pyne to Miami certainly didn’t.

That’s because Mark was a finalist in the Sutter Homes Better Burger Contest, and all that experimentation in the kitchen of their Kent home had a happy ending – a free trip to Florida.

Mark was named the winner in the People’s Choice category of the Sutter Homes’ cook-off Sept. 21-23 at Miami Beach. He took third place in the judges’ review. It was an outcome that yielded him a $2,075 cash prize and a handcrafted pottery trophy of a hamburger, in addition to bragging rights at future family barbecues.

“I laughed at him for years because he never won anything,” Susan said of Mark, an inveterate tinkerer who kept submitting recipes to cooking contests over the years, hoping for that big win.

“And when he actually did win,” Susan said of herself and their two sons, “we didn’t believe him.”

Mark, an avid watcher of the Food Channel, said he’d been trying for the past five years to become a finalist in a cooking contest.

“I wanted to prove to myself that I could,” he said, noting that he came upon his winning recipe when he woke up one morning.

“It was one morning and I said to my wife, ‘I’ve got an idea for a recipe,’” Mark said.

That recipe, Cranberry Ultimate Pork Burgers with Garlic Cherry Mayonnaise, Smoked Ham, Bacon, and Gruyere Cheese, needed just a little refinement, and then Mark knew he had a winner.

First off, it passed muster with Susan.

“I thought it was really good,” she said. “I think what makes it work is the cherry-garlic mayonnaise.”

Mark’s brother and sister also wound up making the burger for their families, drawing raves.

But the real test came for Mark when Sutter Home invited him to its Better Burger Cook-Off at Miami Beach.

For three days, Mark and Susan were pampered at a beachside hotel with all the amenities – someone to give them their towels at poolside, sumptuous meals and some down time to relax and enjoy the area.

“It was a great vacation – I can’t complain,” Mark said. “It was just fabulous.”

The real test came Sept. 23, with an added challenge from Mother Nature.

The weather, which had been so balmy and cooperative the previous two days, took a menacing turn.

By the time the cook-off was in full gear, Miami Beach was in the midst of a torrential downpour.

Due to fire codes, all the cooking had to be done outside. So with assistants holding umbrellas over them, the contestants by turns cooked – and got soaked.

“Have you ever cooked bacon in the rain?” Mark asked, noting the splattering of the grease when it was hit by raindrops. “I kept thinking, ‘oh my goodness, if I was doing this at home my wife would kill me.’”

In spite of the umbrellas, the contestants finished the cook-off soaked to the bone. But it was all in good fun.

“I had a great time, enjoying the moment,” Mark said. “

The contestants then went up on stage, to hear the results of the judging. Mark was thrilled to learn his burger was voted “People’s Choice.”

“The people I was cooking against, they’d been on the circuit before,” Pyne said. “I was the rookie. To me, the ‘People’s Choice’ was a winner. I was just so thankful for that.”

Mark credits his mom Barbara Pyne with inspiring him to experiment in the kitchen.

“My mom should have been the next Martha Stewart,” he said, noting that in addition to being a great experimenter and cook, the woman had a throwing arm that could have netted her a softball career, if his dad had allowed her to be recruited by the St. Louis Hummers softball team.

So between the batting cages and the kitchen, Mark got a full education from the first woman in his life.

“My mom was ahead of her time,” he said.

Today, Susan, to whom Mark has been married for 23 years, is happy to let him cook for her. In fact, she said, he bugs her when she’s trying to get things done in the kitchen.

“I can’t cook without him trying to put his two cents in,” she said. “But it’s nice, because I don’t always have to do the cooking. He enjoys cooking, and I don’t so much.

“But he uses every pot and pan and all the bowls.”

THE RECIPE

Cranberry Ultimate Pork Burgers with Garlic Cherry Mayonnaise, Smoked Ham, Bacon, and Gruyere Cheese

Drunken Cranberries

1/2 cup dried cranberries

2 cups Sutter Home Merlot, at room temperature

Garlic Cherry Mayonnaise

1 1/4 cups mayonnaise

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons sour cream

4 tablespoons black cherry jam

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

12 slices bacon

Patties

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons Merlot liquid (reserved from the Drunken

Cranberries

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne

2 pounds ground pork

Drunken Cranberries (from above)

2 tablespoons minced sweet cherry peppers

2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Colavita extra virgin olive oil, for brushing on the grill rack and buns

6 thin slices smoked ham

6 slices (1/4 inch thick) Gruyere cheese

6 potato buns, split

6 pieces green leaf lettuce

To prepare the cranberries, place the cranberries and Merlot in a large fire-proof skillet and cook on a gas grill over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the cranberries are softened and rehydrated, 15 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature, then drain and reserve 2 tablespoons of the Merlot liquid. Set the cranberries and reserved liquid aside to be used in the patty preparation.

To make the mayonnaise, combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate until assembling the burgers.

To cook the bacon, place a large cast iron skillet on the grill over medium-high heat to preheat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes per side. Remove and drain on paper towels. Cover with aluminum foil and keep warm.

To prepare the patties, whisk together the mustard, reserved Merlot liquid, black pepper, and cayenne in a large bowl. Add the pork,

drunken cranberries, cherry peppers, rosemary, and salt and gently mix together, using a large spoon and handling the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting it. Form into 6 patties and refrigerate until grilling.

Heat the grill to medium-high. When the grill is ready, brush the grill rack with olive oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the patties, cover, and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. During the last 2 to 3 minutes of grilling, place a slice of ham and then a slice of cheese on top of each patty. Brush the buns with olive oil and place, cut side down, on the outer edges of the rack to toast lightly to golden brown. To assemble the burgers, slather the toasted side of the bun bottoms with some of the mayonnaise. Place one leaf of lettuce on each bun bottom and add the patties. On top of each patty, place 2 slices of bacon and a large dollop of the mayonnaise. Add the toasted bun tops and wooden skewers, and serve immediately.

Makes 6 burgers