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| I love the look of this photo, even out of focus and overexposed. |
This week, my fellow
Doristas and I had the lovely task of making hamburgers. But, not just any ole plain hamburgers, no, these were fancy, schmancy french hamburgers. With ingredients like capers and cornichons (little french pickles, not miniature corn) and tarragon and sun dried tomatoes and Parmesan and onion jam. The onion jam was very simple to make (just boil chopped onions with coriander, butter and water until it's, well, jammy). Mine came out with a lot of liquid left, but I just drained it off and it was fine. For the burgers, you add all the chopped ingredients to the meat, form burgers, grill and eat. Simple, a little elegant and delicious (at least for some of us).
I made these burgers for some LA friends who came to visit us for the day. I knew some of my guests were not adventurous eaters so I made two plain patties, just in case.
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| On the grill, see the plain one? |
Turns out I should have made three as St. James did not like the french burger. In particular, he didn't like the tarragon, because he doesn't like licorice/anise flavored things. (I have a sorry confession, I guess I've only used dried tarragon before. I had no idea that tarragon was so anisey (is that even a word? Well it is now.). I love anise and all things licorice flavored. So, imagine my surprise when I start chopping the tarragon and am overwhelmed with the scent of licorice. I was so excited. I didn't really think too long about the fact that St. James might not like these (the thought did cross my mind, but then I thought...maybe he won't notice). I even mentioned it to my friend...let's see if St. James notices or just eats right through it.
After about three bites, St. James says...do these have anise in them? I coyly say no, just tarragon. He says, well, what does tarragon taste like...and then I have to spill the beans. He didn't take another bite. Too bad...Ethan LOVED them and ate the leftovers for three more days. Next time, I'll make a plain patty for St. James and Ethan and I can love these on our own.
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| I had a little ketchup and mayo on mine, couldn't help myself. |
23 comments:
I loved these too - St James is missing out. I put sauce on mine too :) You have to have sauce on a burger.
They were yummy! Thanks Steph for the wonderful food and visit. :)
Great post! I couldn't decide which version I liked better. Glad you were happy with yours!
Your burgers look great...St. James is missing out. And the corn...that looks wonderful too. Maybe someone will ship some here. I'll have to go on a hunt...I made extra burger mix and I want to be like you and make more burgers and have corn as a side.
I love it! I will definitely try this!
How can any one not love tarragon :-(
These burger posts are going to make me hungry all day long!
I really loved the flavours of these - can't wait to experiment with a meatloaf...
Anise is one of my favorite flavors in the world--St. James is missing out! I can see how it's not a flavor for everyone, though. Glad that most people enjoyed the burger. Looks great!
I don't really think of tarragon (which I love) and anise (its ok) in the same family as they are different species family entirely but I get what you are saying. To each his own. I love it. St. James does not. I would have made him one just without the tarragon as the other flavor additions were all great in their own right. So glad you and your friends liked this. SO fun.
Nice looking burgers...I really loved this burger, the flavors were just so delicious! My husband is not crazy about tarragon either but he didn't mention it in the burger. Enjoy your weekend! I'll be enjoying the hurricane!
Haha, I liked your attempt at covering up the tarragon flavor. It could've worked if St. James didn't know tarragon tasted anise-ish! Glad you liked it, though, we loved ours but then I omitted the tarragon so that's probably why ;-).
Looks delicious...I did not use tarragon ...the next time I shall try using tarragon :)
I didn't even bother making one for my hubby...he would not have enjoyed the tarragon either. What a great idea to serve these gems to company~
Anise is another one of those love-it-or-hate-it flavours. I left them out of mine and replaced with dill (still very French I think). I was giggling about your explanation of cornichons!
I really liked them , yours look yummy!
I'm with St. James ... I don't care for tarragon. I did use it, but next time, I'll find a different herb that I like better.
I should have made corn too! It's something I haven't eaten too much of this year... dunno why... Oh, and I love the look of your first photo too :)
I like the festive confetti look of the fancy french burgers.
anisey it totally a word and I used it too. I love that flavor. I made some thai basil icecream tonight and to me, the holy basil has anisey undertones...love that you grilled them!
I'm not a licorice fan myself. I cut the amount way down in the recipe, and it was just enough to add a subtle flavor without actually tasting like licorice.
I had some of the same concerns you did - my husband is not into the anise flavor. He gobbled up two of them. Phew... lucked out there! I really loved this one too. I had to add mayo, because it's not a burger for me without it, as well as a slice of tomato and a bit of arugula.
That's a lovely barbeque spread. I'm glad you're not alone in your enjoyment of this burger - it's easy enough to make plain ones for one person.
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