the booneburger

Last night, my husband and I drove to the grocery store with empty stomachs and an evening stretched out before us. We wandered around aimlessly, trying to pinpoint what exact dish would hit the spot, and what resulted was the single greatest burger I’ve eaten in my life.

Seriously. I ate two.

Daniel mixed the hamburger meat with bits of uncooked bacon, one egg, salt and pepper, and fixed them on the grill with utter perfection. Then we sandwiched the meat between French bread smeared with Dijon, and one salty slice of Swiss cheese -- a true European amalgam.

But the true revelation came on a whim, with a pile of burgundy onion strings that added juiciness and richness and flavor in a way I never could have predicted. I’ve always wanted to try simmering onions in wine… tres simple, tres elegant… you simply MUST try them for yourself!

Burgundy Onions

Two yellow onions
1/2 cup of Merlot

Halve the onions and very thinly slice them into moon shapes. Cook the onions in olive oil over medium heat for 15 minutes. Slowly add the wine, turn down the heat, and let the onions simmer for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

golden chicken

There are few things that genuinely terrify me in the kitchen. One of them is whole chicken. The first time I bought one, I didn’t let it thaw properly, then found the necessity of poking and prodding the poor chicken’s… hole… completely disgusting. As in, I danced around the kitchen shrieking until my husband came in and had a go at it. Even he joined me in (manly) shrieking after a couple seconds.

So until I screw up the courage, I’ll settle for cleaned, separated chicken parts that come in a neat little package at the supermarket. My favorite are drumsticks, which are about two bucks for five and highly appealing when roasted.

I can’t take full credit for this method; the basics come from the quirky French mind of Clothilde Dusolier, blogging doyenne of Chocolate & Zucchini, the best food blog… well, ever. The best part is, it’s easy to customize and mold to your own tastebuds.

Easy Oven Chicken

Drumsticks
S&P

Prepare meat by rubbing it with S&P, or any other spice you darn well want. Or cloak it in barbecue sauce. Or Italian dressing. Or drizzle some olive oil and tuck in a few sprigs of fresh herb and garlic cloves around it. The possibilities are endless.

Lay the meat in a glass or metal baking pan (lightly grease the bottom if you’re not using oil on the chicken). Stick in a 360-degree oven, leave it in there for an hour, and presto! Perfect, juicy, crunchy-skinned chicken.