Caramelized Onions

Whenever I am getting ready to go on my bi-annual cleanse I allow myself one binge day and of course that includes my “last meal.” (It’s not really a last meal per say, but my last “bad” meal for 11 days.) This round I knew I needed something completely indulgent. I decided on one of my favorite types of burgers, a classic patty melt. A juicy ground beef patty smothered in cheddar and Swiss cheeses, some caramelized onions, and of course some 1000 island dressing. Heaven between two toasted slices of buttered sourdough toast. Go big or go home right? Well if you are looking for one of the best burger recipes ever give this a try. It is totally basic and completely wonderful!

INGREDIENTS
1 lb ground beef
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
4 tbsp butter, divided
1 large yellow onion thinly sliced
4 slices cheddar cheese
4 slices Swiss cheese
8 slices sourdough bread
1000 island dressing

STEPS

Mix together the ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper.
Form the meet into four thin patties.
Melt two tablespoons of the butter in a skillet over medium high heat.
Add the sliced onions and cook stirring frequently until they are a nice golden brown color, about 15 minutes.
While the onions are cooking heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the patties.
Cook the patties for 5 minutes and then flip over.
Add a slice of Swiss and a slice of cheddar to each patty.
Continue cooking the burgers for another 5 minutes or until cooked through.
Toast the slices of sourdough bread and spread one side of each slice with butter.
Spread the opposite side of each slice with a generous amount of 1000 island and keep them dressing side up.
Place a heap of the caramelized onions on 4 slices of the bread.
Add the cooked patty to the piles of onions and place the remaining slices of bread on top, dressing side down.
Binge!

I recently received a cookbook with 50 different grilled cheese sandwiches. Eventually I will try them all! The sandwiches were not named; they were just referenced as Grilled Cheese #1 and so on. I told my husband to pick any one of them out for me to cook and he picked one that had roast beef, Dijon mustard, caramelized onions, and Brie. Go figure, a man picked one that was made with beef. Brie is a fairly elegant cheese so I decided to name this one the Fancy Man Grilled Cheese. Suiting right?

This sandwich turned out to be absolutely delicious! The Brie was lovely and it melted to be just the perfect amount of gooey. It was a very nice pairing with the sweet caramelized onions and the heartiness of the roast beef. I really want to try this sandwich again but substitute the roast beef for some green apple slices. I love apples with Brie and think it would be a delicious pairing as well. The sandwich was a hit with the whole family and we will most certainly be making it again. It truly is ooey gooey goodness!

Note: I found spreadable Brie by Président that worked fabulously. I didn’t have to deal with the white rind so it was very quick and easy to work with. I’m sure regular Brie would work just as well. This recipe is written for two large sandwiches.

INGREDIENTS
1 yellow onion, sliced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 large slices of sourdough bread
2 tbs butter, softened
Dijon mustard
spreadable Brie (I used most of a 4.4. oz container)
1/2 lb of sliced roast beef

STEPS

Heat a heavy nonstick frying pan over medium heat and add the oil.
Once the oil is nice and hot add the sliced onions and stir them immediately so each onion slice is coated in the oil.
Allow the onions to cook stirring every 30 seconds or so. Once the browning begins, lower the heat to decrease your risk of burning the onions.
Continue to stir the onions every couple of minutes until they are a golden or deep brown. This will take at least 10–20 minutes.
Remove the onions from the pan and place in a bowl to the side.
Carefully wipe out your skillet with a paper towel to remove any residual bits.
Spread one side of each piece of the bread with butter.
On two on the pieces of bread spread the opposite sides with Dijon mustard and then a thin layer of the Brie.
Place the bread butter side down in the pan and cook over medium high–heat.
Top the bread in the pan with the sliced roast beef and add your caramelized onions. Spread the dry sides of your two reaming pieces of bread with a layer of Brie and top your sandwich with them butter side out.
Cook for approximately 3 minutes or until the bread is a toasty brown.
Turn and repeat.