Publicist Makes Hamburgers
Encouraged by the success of my recent latke experiment, I set out this past weekend to cook a more familiar, but no less noble food—the hamburger. In Hamburger: A Global History, culinary historian Andrew Smith charts the rise of the popular hamburger beginning with its first appearance on the menu of lunch wagons in the 1890s. As well, he offers a selection of recipes for a variety of burgers. Given the snow flurries and bitter wind of my Chicago Saturday, I decided on the substantial comfort offered by the Five Napkin Burger, adapted from a recipe by Andy D'Amico, Executive Chef at Nice Matin in New York City.
The Five Napkin Burger includes Comte or Gruyere cheese, caramelized onions, and aioli. While I left it to the Swiss to provide the cheese, the onions and aioli were up to me.
The caramelized onions were going to take the longest to cook (45-60 minutes over low heat so that they slowly soften and turn golden), so I got these going on the stove first.
Next, I assembled the aioli (2 egg yolks, 8 garlic cloves crushed into a paste, 1 cup of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste).
After whisking together the aioli, I checked back in on the onions.
And then I started to shape my hamburger patties. As noted in my latke posting, I have a terrible time actually shaping things into circles, but I hope the points I lose for presentation are regained in taste.
Ordinarily, I would never think of pan frying a burger, but given the inhospitable, wintry weather mix, grilling was not an option.
Here's the fully assembled final product—cheese, onions, and aioli.
I plated it with oven fries and homemade slaw. Of course, I made sure I had five napkins on hand in case the burger was indeed true to its name—though I do wonder if that's supposed to be five paper or cloth napkins.
Never intimidated by the task at hand, I stare down the burger.
Filling and delicious, the Five Napkin Burger proves that the hamburger is not just for backyard barbecues, but cold November nights.
—Carrie Olivia Adams. Photos by Taylor Adams