FFwD: Cafe Salle Pleyel Hamburger

Cafe Salle Pleyel Hamburger

Oh! My! Another French Fridays with Dorie that includes red meat. Hooray! This was…wow. I loved it! And I am not a big-big-big burger fan, normally 3-4 burgers a year at Cafe Castagna, and I’m good to go. But, that may have to change.

Notes/Things I Learned:
1. I made a half recipe. I think I didn’t quite halve the tasty what-nots (sundried tomatoes, pickles, capers, herbs) right, as my burgers fell apart a bit. But after I flipped them, they seemed to hold together okay.
2. I toasted my buns and added some Parmesan there. I melted some Reserve, Extra Sharp Tillamook Cheddar on top because that’s how I roll.
3. Beaujolais is good chilled.
4. My red onion was large. I added about 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar and 2 tbsp sugar to the onion while simmering because I didn’t quite trust the water and butter to make the onion marmalade-y. Also, instead of coriander, I added 1/2 tsp dried thyme. The onion marmalade turned out delicious!
5. I added a bunch of arugula to each bun, topped with the onion marmalade.
6. There was no garlic in this meal. I can’t believe I didn’t add any in. *Hangs head in shame*
7. Did I mention the Beaujolais? Okay. Good.
8. Totally unrelated but, yay! Going to see The Decemberists tomorrow night and I can’t wait! Updated with my pics from last night here, if you’re interested…

And here’s a link to everyone’s awesome posts.

Okay. On with the pics!

Cafe Salle Pleyel Hamburger
Onion Goggles donned and ready for danger.

Cafe Salle Pleyel Hamburger
A mountain of red onions.

Cafe Salle Pleyel Hamburger
Red onions, water, butter, thyme, balsamic and a bit of sugar.

Cafe Salle Pleyel Hamburger
All the what-not ready to get chopped up in the processor.

Cafe Salle Pleyel Hamburger
Ready for burgers to happen.

Cafe Salle Pleyel Hamburger
Patties formed, wine opened, ready for fire.

Cafe Salle Pleyel Hamburger
Toasting buns with Parmesan cheese.

Cafe Salle Pleyel Hamburger
Buns. Check. Arugula. Check. Onion Marmalade. Double-check.

Cafe Salle Pleyel Hamburger
And we have burgers, people.

Cafe Salle Pleyel Hamburger
I love how there’s a bottle of glue on the table from an earlier craft project…

18 Replies to “FFwD: Cafe Salle Pleyel Hamburger”

  1. LOL @ the glue! Quite often you can see my computer and bills in my food shots! Until you said it I didn’t think that there was no garlic in there or I would have added some too. Didn’t need it as it was full of flavor. I loved it too.

  2. You are so funny…haha with that goggles on! Great idea, I shall don that on too :p and your hamburgers looks and taste forbbiden, the illicit and subversive even ! Mine taste the same …yay , and I dont have to fly off to Paris to get a bite of it…thanks to Dorie for sharing the recipe in her AMFT 🙂

  3. your cheddar makes me swoon!… and… I wish I would have listened to my instincts on the onion jam, cuz water + onion bits = boiled onion bits. lol, maybe next time?? 🙂 glad yours turned out great!

  4. Yes. red wine needs a little chill. Your burgers look great with the cheddar. Arugula: brilliant. Tell us how the Decemberists was: they are one of my favorite live bands; they have such positive energy.

  5. Nice…I’ll join you for a time out in the corner for forgetting garlic. Shame on both of us! I need to get me some of those goggles, my daughter was very concerned that I was crying in the kitchen. I don’t think she quite believed that it was just the onions!

  6. I need onion googles STAT… those look so fun! I also used arugula in my burger. Your version of the onion marmalade sounds fantastic. I hope you had fun at the show. I saw The Decemberists once and became a little too smitten with that Colin Meloy.

  7. Steph I: Thanks!
    Liz & Cher: Thank you…yes, with reserve, extra sharp cheddar in the house, it was not possible to use Parmesan. 😉
    Eileen: Thanks! Yes, onion googles are super stylish and practical!
    Trevor: Ha, yes, unfortunately, the dining room table is sometimes a dumping ground for craft projects, bills, etc 🙂
    Elin: Thanks! And yes, super-thank you to Dorie for the recipe!
    ComeUndone: Thank you. Yeah, I just didn’t trust with the marmalade that I would end up with anything other than boiled onions :/ However, the sugar and balsamic were great!
    Confessions…: Thanks! 🙂
    Alice: Yep, exactly what I was thinking…
    JK: Thank you…we definitely loved the burgers. The Decemberists were amazing! The did a lot of old songs. Such an awesome show!
    Genkinaonna: Yeah, sometimes red onions can be brutal! Get some goggles, you’ll love them!
    Adriana: Great minds with the arugula! Show was awesome, yes, I hear you on that last point… 😉

  8. Great photos! I’m envying your onion goggles – it was like a post-tearjerker crying jag around here while I was chopping my onion. I’m not much of a burger fan, either, but I’ll definitely be revisiting this recipe.

  9. The onion marmalade didn’t work for me, but your additions of balsamic vinegar and sugar sound like they would have fixed it. If I try again, I’ll add them. Love the goggles!

  10. I have goggle envy! Also, I just plain envy you’re ability to make the recipe your own. As I was making the onion marmalade I could tell it wasn’t going to be what I wanted it to be and I just kept on because that’s what the recipe said! There are countless onion marmalade recipes on the web and none of them are like Dorie’s. I’m going to make onion marmalade today just for the heck of it! How do you light your photos? I always run outside for natural light as I don’t have a good spot indoors. Do you use artificial lighting? Thanks for any tips. I like the lighting in your photos.

  11. Teresa: Thanks! The goggles were a Christmas present a few years ago and have proven very useful!
    Betsy: Yeah, try that. I have made onion marmalade before from another recipe that used sugar and balsamic, which is why I decided to use them here. 🙂
    Lola: Thank you! I do try to use natural light but (because of the placement of the window in my kitchen), it’s always supplemented with artificial light. We have a large overhead light that is always on. And of course, in the Winter, natural light gets harder and harder to come by. I just always take images non-flash, usually macro-focused and then I add light, if needed, in photoshop afterwards.

  12. That bottle of glue reminds me of how horrified I was to see my Christmas dinner pictures (after the fact) with the broom propped up next to the french doors in the dining room!! Sheesh. No one said a word!!

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