Foodiva's Kitchen: French Fridays with Dorie - Café Salle Pleyel Hamburger

Friday, August 26, 2011

French Fridays with Dorie - Café Salle Pleyel Hamburger


Oh dear, you can tell we like our meat well done around here. Very well done :-). In fact, a beautiful, juicy burger lies somewhere underneath that charred-looking patty you see in the photo above. In this week's French Fridays with Dorie, we were supposed to replicate that famous hamburger served at the Café Salle Pleyel in Paris. Although, after I cooked mine, I doubt if the Café Salle Pleyel would want anything to do with it! 



Now, if you're thinking a hamburger is a rather unlikely French offering, wait till you see what ingredients make up these meaty babies - fresh tarragon, cornichons, parsley, sundried tomatoes (wave goodbye to ketchup) and the leanest cut of beef you can find. Or in my case, lots of purple basil, green olives, tons of garlic (well, it is a French burger) and a concentrated tomato paste. Oh well, at least I stuck with the parsley and meat cut as per the original recipe... 

Onion marmalade ingredients

What's great about this recipe is that Dorie also supplied the instructions for an onion marmalade that served as a condiment to the burger. To achieve this marmalade, I boiled down some chopped onions with butter and freshly ground coriander seeds. This combination of ingredients gave the marmalade a distinctive flavor that's bittersweet (onion) as well as a mix between lemon and sage (coriander). It's hard for me to explain the exact  taste, but I'm guessing you guys who made this know what I'm babbling about, right?

 There's something therapeutical about this meat-slapping process...haha. Naughty.


While I prepped the burgers, I also baked some larger-than-usual bread rolls using the same organic malted grain flour I baked my dragon tail baguettes with. They were delish! Everything was timed perfectly...the buns were still very warm and the (very well done) burgers were piping hot when I served these up to the familia. Of course I kept my portion for a quick photoshoot, hoping it would still remain warm when I took my first bite into it (it still was). We don't eat too much red meat in this house, but this burger might make an appearance again soon. Next time, I'll cook it on the grill and see if that makes much of a difference to the overall taste.


Other Doristas will be manhandling their meat in their own special way, so if you're curious to see how their burgers turned out, click here to find out.

On a final note, and nothing whatsoever to do with this burger, I wanted to share with you the idea of using technology to perform magic (below). A geeky magician, what more can you ask for? This video made me smile in wonderment.


Have a lovely weekend, and for those who are/will be affected by Hurricane Irene, keep yourselves safe!

56 comments:

Cher Rockwell said...

Those are some awesome looking buns :-) Sorry it just had to be said... Everything looks awesome. These were some pretty tasty burgers!

Three-Cookies said...

Nicely charred, interesting condiments, good meat to bread ratio...I would happily eat this. Have a good weekend also.

Ei said...

Yum! I'll definitely be adding garlic to the burger mix next time...and there WILL BE a next time. Good idea!

Velva said...

Maybe a bit well done but these flavors in your burgers rock. Awesome.

The fresh baked hamburger rolls are impressive too.

Cheers.
Velva

Gerry @Foodness Gracious said...

Yes, slapping meat can be very therapeutic...I need to stop now or I could go on and on with the smarmy jokes, forgive me! How did you make em' if you didn't grill them? I love those malted rolls, they remind me of my favorite sliced bread when living back in Scotland :(
Thanks!

Gina said...

I'll say you like well done, lol. I was thinking about you this morning and those shoes, hint, hint. Sorry been so crazy, started yet another project, but I'm hoping next week we can talk about it. Hope your week is going good.
-Gina-

Unknown said...

Cher, you know I liked your buns too..LOL! Seriously, homemade hamburgers like these are just so much more satisfying and they taste a whole lot better too.

Unknown said...

Three Cookies, I like you because you leave the most interesting comments, such as liking charred burgers and noticing meat to bread ratios, which I have never even given the slightest thought to. Your visits have made me a more intellectual foodie, so thanks!

Unknown said...

Ei, yes the garlic made all the difference, the burgers tasted wonderful!

Unknown said...

Thank you, Velva. Those still warm malted rolls went really well with the burgers. Will definitely make those again!

Unknown said...

Gerry@Foodness Gracious, haha, only a man would respond to that naughty line I sneaked in there! Those malted rolls are something else, aren't they? I could go on and on about them...
PS. I actually fried my burgers! The oil probably negated all the lean meat used to make them, but everyone here wanted theirs WELL DONE.

Unknown said...

Oh God, Gina...you and I will have to go shoe shopping together and I'll show you how it's done. I hardly go to shoe stores but when I do, I buy at least 10 pairs at a time, it's just much easier that way ;-). I'm so intrigued about your latest project, if it's anything like the last one, I bet it'll be fun!

Aarthi said...

that looks so yummy...Love the charred flavour of it...Thankyou so much for the recipe

Steph said...

Such a fun post and I love the "action" shot of you slapping that meat!!

Anonymous said...

I was all set to comment on your burgers, but then got so distracted by your last post on lemon chocolate cake... that just looks amazing!

PFx said...

This post makes me feel like a little kid again, eating burger and seeing magic.
Reminds me of a time when my dad took me to a circus in the rain.

Cakelaw said...

Cool - I love that you like your meat well done and are unafraid to say so. Your homemade buns look superb!

Mardi Michels said...

Oh my - those bread rolls!!!! What a great post Maya - fab pics!

Unknown said...

Steph, thank your lucky stars that I didn't make a video of that patty-shaping process. You would've seen me have a little TOO much fun...and that wouldn't look so good! ;-)

Unknown said...

Pierre, so the combo of my blackened burger and that techy magician reminded you of going to the circus in the rain as a child, huh? Wow, I did a much better job at this Freudian post than I thought! LOL.

Unknown said...

Cakelaw, if I had liked my meat rare (or raw), I'd be unafraid to say so as well. I just didn't wish to paint a different picture than what we actually ate :-).

Unknown said...

Mardi, thanks. You must make friends with bread in the same way you're BFF with macarons. Only then will you enjoy the joys of eating hot buns like mine. I mean, like THESE ones! Oh boy...

Trevor Sis Boom said...

Mandhandle our meat? I use a fork to keep the meet light so juices don't flow out. But it seems the real star here are your buns. I giggled only a little writing that. :)

Kathy said...

I love the way your burgers look and you didn't forget the cheese! Love your photos too! Have a great week-end..we will be hiding from the hurricane!

Unknown said...

Trevor@Sis.Boom, you sure have a way with meat...err, I mean 'words'! I guffawed a lot reading your comment, so witty and cleverly constructed. :-). I'm going to have to check out your patty now!

Unknown said...

Kathy, no I didn't forget the cheese but I forgot that well done burger = nasty looking picture, no matter how much food styling went into it. In this case, there wasn't much food styling taking place either! Tell Hurricane Irene I said 'Boo' and to leave you all alone. Be safe in its path!

Kris' Kitchen said...

I know what you mean about welldone burgers...I'm in your camp. I thought about making buns, but that was as far as I got. Your buns are beautiful.

Elin said...

Dont worry about it being over welldone as long as it taste delicious...the aromatic french seasoning blend makes me hungry again and the craving is starting again just looking at yours :)

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Oh, my...these burgers on warm, homemade buns??? You outdid yourself again!!! And what a cool video...I thought I'd just watch a few seconds and I got sucked in.

Have a fabulous weekend!!

Patty Price said...

I like what Cher said about your buns! They do look good;-)
You do like your meat on the well done side, not too French but nothing wrong with that in my book!
Looks like you made a fine meal out of FFWD for your family this week. I also agree about the therapeutic value of forming the burgers, it's the little things in life that give us so much pleasure,lol;-)

Unknown said...

Kris, I'm so happy someone else in the group also likes their burgers well done! I'm starting to think I'm not 'French' enough in this respect! Haha....

Unknown said...

Elin, thanks...it did taste delicious, despite the fact that my seasoning was more Italian and less French (ie. tomato paste, basil, olives)! Gosh, maybe I should really try to stick with the recipe next time :-).

Unknown said...

Lizzy, I've been on a bread-baking roll (haha) lately, so I thought why not make my own buns? Yes, I thought the very same thing about that video but then those magical special effects on the iPhones eventually got me!

Unknown said...

Patty, those little pleasurable things Dorie gets us to do are what makes this cooking group so worth being in! I never would've made my own burgers and buns otherwise ;-).

yvette said...

Your pics always look fab!! i'll be repeating these as well thanks for the suggestions I'll tweak them a bit next time.

Anonymous said...

An unusual combination of add-ins but sounds like it worked really really well. Kudos for baking the buns from scratch too!

Elaine said...

I am so impressed that so many group members found the time to make their own buns! Your hamburgers look so good. Mine cooked a little fast on the outside as well, but in the inside it was perfect and juicy. The olives sound like an interesting addition!

Tammy said...

If I make these again, I'll make some substitutions, too. But then, I think I can't call them Cafe Salle Pleyel, can I? Your hamburger buns look amazing!

Anonymous said...

Im definantly adding lettuce next time to mine, I love the flavor and crunch! .... I also adored the step by step pictures! : )

Unknown said...

Thank you, Doristas for all your comments. Your weekly visits are always much looked forward to! Glad that mostly everyone dug their hamburgers this week ;-).

Anonymous said...

Is it the way the burger photographs? Mine looks charred in my photo, but I know it wasn't when I ate it! Though my sweetie likes things charred; yours would be a hit at our house. Caught your dragon tail post the other day - fantastic! I don't eat bread much anymore but am very impressed by breadmaking.

Nami | Just One Cookbook said...

You are amazing.. making buns on your own!!!! The onion marmalade sounds really good. I wish I can eat this burger!

Vivian - vxdollface said...

They look so delicious!

Quay Po Cooks said...

What can be more satisfying than home made buns flavorful burgers? This truly has the WOW factor!

Adriana said...

Love your version and those buns definitely transfer this burger from the decadent to the healthy food category. Great job, Maya!

Jocie's Mom said...

I think your well done Dorie burgers look lovely :) I'd certainly snarf one of those perfectly seasoned puppies, fo sho!

Isn't TED the coolest!?

Anonymous said...

I like the ingredients you added in the burgers especially purple basil and green olives, nice!

Welcome to 5 Star Makeover Cooking Group! We are very happy to have you onboard! I will be sending an email this weekend to announce the theme for next month :)

Nana said...

I will not make another comment about your buns...
except to say they look delicious. Actually, everything
looks great. We enjoyed these too.

Betsy said...

Though your burgers are way too cooked for me, I loved your variations on the mix-ins. And those rolls look tasty too. Nice job, Maya, as always.

Unknown said...

Natasha, thanks. Looking forward to cooking with you guys next month!

Unknown said...

Nana, everything you say about my buns (and burger), I will graciously accept. Thank you for visiting, Nana!

Unknown said...

Betsy, this is the way we like 'em around here... Unfortunately, overcooked burgers don't photograph so well!

Anonymous said...

It's so impressive that you made your own buns to go with the burgers. I also like the flavours you chose for the patties. Visiting your site always makes me want to try harder with my own photos.

Anonymous said...

Your burgers look terrific altogether. Great ideas about your additions. You can never go wrong with garlic!

Magic of Spice said...

Your buns look fantastic! And love all of the goodies this burger is loaded with, wow! And love the sound of the onion marmalade as well.
Hope you have a fantastic week Maya,
Hugs

Unknown said...

Alisha, I think that malted grain flour is one of the best foodie investments I've made in a while. We use it for all our breads now and next will be pizza crusts...you've inspired me with your pizza creation!

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