Monthly Archives: November 2007

Kobe Burger “Royale” at Cafe du Soleil

For my first blog, just to show you how democratic I will be in my choice of food items, let’s talk about burgers. 

I make my burgers with freshly ground 85% lean beef, which I season with salt and pepper, then grill on a gas fired charcoal grill. I use a sesame brioche bun (lightly toasted on the grill), Boston lettuce, a nice slice of ripe tomato, and a thin slice of red onion. And I love good half sour pickles served alongside any burger.

I do use ground Kobe beef for the fancier burgers on my menu – it’s expensive, but give it a try sometime if you want to splurge. For the “Burger Royale” in the picture above I add grilled Portobello mushroom, oven-roasted plum tomatoes, frisee lettuce, and mousse of duck foie gras (available through D’Artagnan – see food purveyors links on the right side of the main page). For the Kobe beef (it’s technically called Wagyu beef after the cattle breed) I found this link online but I personally havent tried their product:

http://www.allenbrothers.com/wagyu-steak-burgers.html

At Cafe du Soleil we serve great tasting garlic “pommes frites” with the burger, and you can replicate these at home by tossing your favorite fries (you can make your own like we do, or even use (gasp!) frozen fries – preferably unseasoned shoestring) with our “secret” spice blend:

Mix 3 parts kosher salt with 1 part garlic powder and 1 part sugar, a pinch of Spanish paprika, and a pinch of chopped fresh parsley. 

 “What do you mean by one part – how much is that?”

Ok, well if you’re gonna get my recipe secrets then you’ll have to get used to hearing that term. That’s how we speak about recipe amounts in the Pro kitchens. It’s a simple and effective way to communicate recipe amounts that can be easily multiplied. And the side benefit is that you get a better picture of the ratio of the ingredients to each other.

 “OK, so I repeat the question – how much is one part?” 

OK, well it’s whatever amount you want it to be. If you’re cooking for one I would use one teaspoon as a part. If you’re feeding a family of six (or if you just want to have some leftover for next time), change that to 1 Tbsp. So the amounts, respectively, would be: 3 tsp. salt, 1 tsp garlic powder, and 1 tsp. sugar (plus paprika and parsley), or 3 Tbsp. salt, 1 Tbsp. each of garlic powder and sugar.

Get it? Got it. Good! 

So now you can toss that seasoning mixture with those frozen spuds straight out of the oven, or if you want to get closer to the real thing you can deep fry the frozen fries in a large stockpot filled 1/3 of the way with oil. But be very careful with that because it can be dangerous. Just let me know if you want to try it that way and I’ll give you the lowdown on frying at home. And if you really want to get fancy, throw in a roasted garlic clove or two (another Café du Soleil trademark).  

Enough for now, I’ve got to get back to work. I’ve got to get ready for the dinner rush. 

Note to reader:  Unlike auto racing or red zone dog training, you do not need to be a professional, and you can try this at home.  Let me know how it went, and send me your questions.  Any time, anywhere, you taste something fabulous, and wonder if you can replicate it (or at least come close) without spending all day over the proverbial hot stove, ask me.  Or if you tried one of my ideas and frankly, it sucked, tell me.  And join in the conversation by subscribing to my blog.

The best recipe for great cooking is one part knowledge and two parts fun!