Though I think of myself as a good cook, and can find my way around the kitchen pretty well, what I like about things like French Fridays is the opportunity to make foods that are entirely outside of the realm of things I would normally tinker with. Capers and tarragon and parsley in a hamburger? With Parmesan on top? Are you serious?
She was serious.
This recipe was surprisingly non-fussy, considering all the ingredients, and I think you’ll agree that it makes an attractive burger.
Dorie wrote about this burger in 2008, if you want to read more.
I thought it was okay, but I’m not a huge fan of tarragon. The kid, who is usually suspicious of leafy green things in her food, decided to take a photo to tell you all what she thought of it.
Since I had three (and only three) gorgeous Asiago buns to use for this dinner, I made three burgers out of what was supposed to make four. These were HUMONGOUS burgers. Again, the kid was vocal in her approval of this move. I left half of mine in the fridge for later. Some elves or something must have come in the night and taken it off my hands.
The burger may have only gotten a 67% approval rate, but the onion marmalade was an unqualified hit. Silky, delicate, with a lovely texture. I’ll do it again.
I’m happy to be back in the French Fridays saddle. If you want to see other folks’ treatment of this burger recipe, check out the Leave Your Link post.
Great to have you back! I skipped the tarragon as well.
yummychunklet recently posted..ffwD: Cafe Salle Pleyel Hamburger
Thank you! I halfway wish I’d skipped it, but I usually try to make the recipes exactly, at least the first time, so I’ll know if I like it or not. This time, I would’ve liked it a lot more if I’d skipped it, but oh, well, the family liked it. :-)
Heehehhee, love that the kitchen elves got to your leftover burger before you did!
ComeUndone recently posted..Burger At Home
Apparently, elves like meat a LOT. They come in the night, and it just disappears!
(One time, I made a four-pound pot roast, thinking it would make two meals. Ha! The next morning, the leftovers were gone gone gone. I don’t make that mistake so often any more. Darn elves!) :-)
Serene, it is so wonderful to see you joining us again! Your burger looks beautiful and I agree with your kid! :) I loved the tarragon in it and it is not an herb I have ever cooked fresh before – only dried, so I really loved the smell of the fresh leaves. I am sorry you didn’t care for the burger, but it would be a fun recipe to play around with the add-ins. I hope you have a good weekend!
Elaine recently posted..French Friday with Dorie: Café Salle Pleyel Hamburger
Thank you, Elaine. You, too!
I should’ve skipped the tarragon … I think I would’ve liked it better, but overall, it wasn’t a bad burger.
Yeah. “Not bad” is about how I would describe it, too. It was fine, but I didn’t want more.
I actually liked it all, my friend said she could taste the capers, but maybe my pallete just couldnt pick it up??… oh well : ) glad you loved it! I’m thinking of going all Big Mac on it next time and doing up a double burger in one. One just leaves me hungry for another and usually one burger is enough! lol!
Alice recently posted..And The Burger That Goes With It!
Oh, my, double burger! :-)
I could definitely taste the capers, and though I like them, they just didn’t work with everything else in there. But hey, the rest of the family loved it, so it’s a win all around. :-)
Its funny that you like the onion marmalade and are so-so on the burger and I like the burger and thought the onion marmalade flavorless. Everyone’s taste really is different isn’t it? That’s one of the fun things about this project. We make the same recipes and have very different reactions to them.
Lola recently posted..FFwD – Cafe Salle Pleyel Hamburger
That’s exactly the fun part for me, too!
heehee. love the % approval rating. I also like that this pushes me to cook things I might not otherwise, use ingredients in a new way. The onion marmalade was my favorite part.
JK Tasty Mayhem recently posted..French Fridays with Dorie: Cafe Salle Pleyel Hamburger
Yes, exactly. I didn’t think it was a lot different from a pan of sauteed onions, just subtler and less greasy, so it will do a great job on something where it’s already rich food. I might try it on cheesesteak.
Welcome back!
I totally left out the tarragon :-)
Hey % approval rating is pretty important in my house – if most people won’t eat it, it doesn’t make a second appearance.
Thanks so much! Mostly, I try to stick with the recipes, though I’ve started leaving out the alcohol when she calls for it, because in my house, no one likes the taste of it. On the other hand, next time she calls for port, I’m totally leaving it in, because I still have most of a huge bottle of the stuff left from the short ribs we made a couple months back. :-)
I adore tarragon and love finding new uses for it. This got a 100% rating in our house so it will definitely make an appearance again….hopefully on buns as delicious looking as those!
Trevor Sis. boom recently posted..Café Salle Pleyel Hamburger
Those were the asiago rolls from Whole Foods. I’m going to try to recreate them at home, though — everyone LOVED them.
I love the tie-in of the Asiago buns with the Caesar salad on the side. I had to make some minor substitutions based on what I had on hand, but it was an unanimous hit at our place (with the tarragon). Glad to see you around FFwD again!
Adriana recently posted..French Weekends with Dorie – Café Salle Pleyel Hamburger
Thanks so much!
Welcome back! The Caesar salad is a great choice for a side. I liked the burger, but I did the opposite of you, made smaller burgers, which got overwhelmed by the bun. Tasty meat, though.
Betsy recently posted..French Fridays with Dorie: Café Salle Pleyel Hamburger
So glad you’re back, Serene! I mostly stuck to the recipe, but substituted Asiago for Parmesan. Asiago buns sound amazing. We had about a 90% approval rating of this recipe, mostly because my partner is a conflicted meat-eater.