Thursday, March 26, 2009

Mushroom-Cheddar Patty Melt

I know, I know. I take off for a week, and this is all I got to show for it (especially since the last post was a total cop-out, even though I spent hours constructing that chocolatey cave from 2lbs of chocolate truffles)? Don't worry, things will get exciting again real soon, I promise. I'll be in the field off and on every week for a few weeks, and I'm going to try earnestly to find little roadside gems for you during my travels. Until then, I make my own diner food.

Pardon my photos, I'm trying to learn to properly use this camera instead of just clicking it over to the macro setting and letting it auto-focus. Adjusting the f-stop is an embuggerance, but will be worth it once I get it right! It's a bumpy road to perfect mastery, but I'm trying to enjoy the ride.

Behold, the illustrious patty melt. A burger, for all intents and purposes, though open-faced. This one came on a thick slab of French batard (the King of Breads) with chopped green tomato pickle relish, mayo, hot mustard, a 1/3 lb patty of ground chuck and pork, grilled mushrooms and onions, and gooey, melted cheddar (hence, patty "melt").

If you're feeling conflicted about the fat and cholesterol (ha!), serve with lightly sautéed snap peas and a curry pickled okra spear. An ice-cold ginger beer wouldn't hurt, either.

27 comments:

Dewi said...

Hmmm Heather, it does sound like melt in your mouth type of dish.
Cheers,
elra

glamah16 said...

I am not conflicted at all.Give me the red meat. I need to learn CS's camera. I use the macro setting.

Brooke said...

YUM. I'll take this over easter candy any day. The snap peas are a nice touch. Wait, snap peas already? Is it spring or something?

tammy said...

No conflicts here. I will forever be a fan of the patty melt. I'm also intrigued by your pickled okra.

Brittany said...

mmmm. burgers.

Glad to see you are alive and well. I thought you OD'ed on peeps and your gastrointestinal tract exploded.
They are known to do that.

Anonymous said...

Rocking stuff. Glad to see you back. I was beginning to wonder..

The Duo Dishes said...

Yeah at this point...if you're going to go for burgers...get the crispy fried potatoes on the side!

The Short (dis)Order Cook said...

I will give you no complaints over a piece of food porn like this. I love this kind of thing. You can't build chocolates caves all of the time!

Anonymous said...

Can you really call something so gorgeous a patty melt? Isn't that kind of like calling a Michelangelo some smears of paint or a lump of clay?

Peter G | Souvlaki For The Soul said...

I always enjoy your return posts Heather! Glad to see you haven't lost any of that voodoolily spirit...the burger is just beautiful!

Alicia Foodycat said...

Ginger beer? Hell yes! That is exactly the perfect thing!

Happy weed counting. Try to eat some vegetables while you are out and about!

bb said...

feeling conflicted about aft and cholesterol?? Ha indeed! Looks gooey-licious!!

Heather said...

yum! other than the mushrooms, that sounds amazing! i've never had an open-faced burger. but i like how those sugar snapped peas make it super healthy ;)

Anonymous said...

mmmmmm... patty melt. i LIKE it.

Anonymous said...

yeah, i feel really fucking conflicted about the fat and cholesterol. realllllly conflicted.

this is so whitetrashtastic. anything w/ "patty melt"after it is a-ok in my book.

Anonymous said...

I think it needs a side of the gratin dauphinois?

Manggy said...

Hee, I am conflicted but diner food is good for the soul :) (I draw the line at topping burgers with fried eggs though.) And welcome back!

aforkfulofspaghetti said...

Ah, comfort food. How I love thee.

peter said...

You know what would go really well with that? Some puréed kale. Yup, that would sure be the perfect thing to accompany that there mushroom-cheddar patty melt.

Heather said...

Syd - I would too, but not in my kitchen.

Elra - Well, you do have to chew a little.

Courtney - The macro setting is great, but I know there's so much more this camera can do.

Brookie! - Yeah, a burger will always beat candy in my book, too.

Tammy - The okra is in a basic pickle brine, to which I added sliced turmeric and ginger, chiles and curry powder.

Brittany - Not the peeps, but I've been breaking off pieces of the cave like Gretel or someshit.

Matt - This time of year I tend to pot in and out a lot. This time, I'll be popping out a bit more. ;)

Chrystal - I know! Fries woulda ruled. Potato chips woulda worked too.

Rachel - No ma'am, I can't build chocolately caves all the time. Burgers, though, I can do.

Marc - Wow, since you put it that way, I guess I should think of a nicer name for it! :)

Petah - I sure don't feel like I've lost any of my spirit. Just some of my energy. :P

Alicia - I'm totally addicted to a brand called Reed's. Its extra snappy ginger taste and perfect amount of fizz makes me happy.

Bruce - I'm really not above eating French fries at all. The peas at New Seasons just looked gorgeous. :P

Heather - The peas make is so healthy that the burger doesn't even count!

Abracadabra - It's a little better than overt corporate shilling, yeah? ;)

Amy - Patty melts are also great because they're low-carb. See? Healthy.

KPH - Honey, everything needs some creamy, cheesy starch.

Mark - Aw, but bacon and fried eggs are delicious on a burger! What about if you eat only oatmeal and greens for the rest of the day?

Sketti - I'm feeling some mac and cheese coming again soon, too.

Jube - You could nestle the patty melt in a perfect pool of it, and then mix a little dashi into the mayo.

Brittany said...

Luckily, I am never concerned about fat...get in mah belly!

The Spiteful Chef said...

Batard---a lively combination of the words "bastard" and "retard." As in, "that bastard is retarding my efforts to get that patty melt in my mouth. What a chode." Good lookin' sammie.

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

The patty melt is a staple around here!!

michael, claudia and sierra said...

whitetrashtic! i am stealing that from amy - forever.

the kids would love this. like tonight. sans mushrooms because they're KIDS.

kyouell said...

I thought Reed's sounded familiar when you mentioned it, but had no idea that they were as anti-corn syrup as I am. I think I've found a source near my son's preschool and will be after some soon. Love me some ginger bubbly!

Sophie said...

This is definitely my kind of comfort food :)!

Jude said...

I have a new favorite word: embuggerance. imma try use it in spoken form tomorrow.