Have you visited CampbellsKitchen.com yet?

I’m all for easy meals, so I took a gander. And this one really caught my eye . . .

FRENCH ONION BURGERS

1 pound ground beef

1 can (10 1/2 ounces) Campbell’s® Condensed French Onion Soup

4 slice cheese

4 Pepperidge Farm® Classic Sandwich Buns with Sesame Seeds, split

Shape the beef into 4 (1/2-inch-thick) burgers.

Heat a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the burgers and cook until well browned on both sides. Remove the burgers from the skillet. Pour off any fat.

Stir the soup in the skillet and heat to a boil. Return the burgers to the skillet. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until desired doneness. Top the burgers with the cheese and cook until the cheese is melted. Serve the burgers on the buns with the soup mixture for dipping.

Serving Suggestion: Serve with romaine salad tossed with fresh basil and Italian salad dressing. For dessert, serve orange slices.

RECIPE TIPS

Tip: You can also serve these burgers in a bowl atop a mound of hot mashed potatoes, with some of the onion gravy poured over.

Photo and recipe courtesy of CampbellsKitchen.com.

I truly love Salisbury Steak. The rich flavor of the gravy gets me every time.

But the ONE TIME I tried to make it (early in my marriage) was a disaster. Read about it here. We STILL talk about it 11 years later.

But it hasn’t soured me on the meal altogether. I just need a new recipe.

Or someone else to cook it.

So today we’re in luck because here is a fantastic recipe for Salisbury Steak and the photos were taken after someone else cooked it. Hooray!

Ingredients:

Salisbury steak-

1 lb ground beef
1/3 cup minced onions
¼ cup cracker crumbs (or bread crumbs)
1 egg (slightly beaten)
1 ½ tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3-4 tablespoons butter

Gravy-

1 onion (sliced into rings)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon garlic (minced)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 tablespoons flour
¼ cup dry red wine
Parmesan Cheese (for garnish)
Minced parsley (for garnish)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Combine ground beef, minced onions, cracker or bread crumbs, egg, horseradish, and salt and pepper. Shape into oval patties.

Step 2: Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet. Cook patties until they are no longer pink inside, about 7-8 minutes on each side. Remove from pan.  (Or if you want, you can grill them.)

Step 3: Add onions and sugar to the pan and sauté for about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and tomato paste. Sauté for 60 seconds or until paste is browned. Sprinkle the onions with flour and cook for 60 seconds. Stir in beef broth, wine, salt and thyme. Return your patties to the pan and simmer for 10 minutes.

Step 4: Serve patties on top of cheese toast and top with sauce, onions, fresh parsley and parmesan cheese.

Photo and recipe courtesy of BlogChef.net.

Oh, yes. Steak for Thanksgiving.

Why not? If the pilgrims had had access to a juicy ribeye you can bet your bottom dollar (or gold coin or whatever their currency was) that they would’ve jammed out on a nice, big steak.

Alas, turkey was the meat of the day. And although I do enjoy good turkey, must we always be followers?

I liked this discussion thread I read over at Chowhound.com. And if you’re considering steak for YOUR Thanksgiving meal this year, read on!

Steak for Thanksgiving

We’re going non-traditional this year with grilled rib eye; nice, fat, corn-fed, dry-aged, 1lb. steaks per person, grilled over mesquite. What do you suggest for side dishes? Only requirement is that they pair well with a big red wine. Thanks!

Reply

First off: what’s steak without potatoes? ?Baked potatoes are easy and can be left to their own designs, but they’re fairly uninteresting – although smearing them with butter, kosher salt, and cracked black pepper and then wrapping them in foil to bake sure helps. ?Smashed red potatoes with herbs and a dash of citrus zest are great; smashed gold potatoes with gobs of butter and cracked black pepper are also great; and you can’t go wrong with whipped Idahoes. ?Oven fries are good, too, roasted golden brown and covered in salt and herbs, but that might be difficult for a large group.?Corn:?A bit of a southwest twist never hurt corn. Saute some red onion and garlic on medium-ish heat until they start to soften, add in some chopped red bell pepper, throw the corn in once the pepper starts to cook through, and then pull it after a couple minutes. Toss it all in a big bowl with some salt & pepper, lime juice, a bit of cumin, and some chopped fresh cilantro. ?Sweet potatoes:?Another southwest suggestion: rather than traditional candied yams, make a hash of these with red onion, red bell pepper, some chili powder (I prefer chipotle or ancho for the smoky flavor, but guajillo is good too), cumin, and coriander, and salt and pepper. ?Green beans:?I see no reason to mess with tradition here – slow cooked with some bacon works well.?Asparagus:?As long as you’ve got the grill lit up, no reason not to toss some asparagus on. It’s easy and fast to cook, and you can gussy it up with some lemon juice and fresh grated Parmesan.?Salad:?Something bold with a strong vinaigrette is probably a good idea. I’d look for pears and red onion with red wine vinegar if you lean southwest on the above sides, or if you want something that’s a bit sweeter, head for balsamic with walnuts and feta. ?Hope some of that helps — most of it is stuff I make on a regular basis and I can vouch for pairing it with steak. 😀

Discussion thread courtesy of Chowhound.com.

Photo courtesy of Hardrock.com.