This looks almost like a steak

[PZ]

At first when I looked at this image I thought it was a steak, but then realized that I'd elongated the ground beef to fir the bread. I think I used either New York or ribeye for the meat to grind.

[spoiler text=blue cheese steak burgers]Great grill marks on the burgers
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The tops were filled with onion, and the bottoms with blue cheese
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Caramelized onion with A1 sauce on top and blue cheese on the bottom
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[/spoiler]

[Art Blade]

I remember those pics. Ever since, I've been using the "hollow bread roll" method when making a burger

[PZ]

Glad the idea helped, AB 

There is always way too much bread filling in those small loaves.  I sometimes save the filling for a soup or sauce thickener.

[Art Blade]

Oh? I rip out that fluffy bread and stuff it in my mouth It also serves for soaking up gravy.. I like to eat those gravy-soaked bread lumps.

[PZ]

That does sound yummy - will try it next time I have sauce when I hollow out bread 

[Art Blade]

you know, I cook my patties in a pan (no other equipment here..) and sometimes I make a little gravy out of the brown stuff and pour it over the patties to make the burger even better. That's when the bread fluff comes into play.. to wipe the pan clean

[PZ]

That's a good plan - the TV chefs call the leavings in the pan "brown bits", and they are mostly used to increase the flavor if sauces or soups. 

[Art Blade]

brown bits. OK I keep forgetting to get rid of the oil first that is still in the pan. That makes the gravy a bit heavy.. but I like to pour in some Madeira or Port or Sherry, then throw in onion rings and garlic and rosemary or thyme and reduce it to some very tasty gravy. MMmmmh.

[Art Blade]

works with steak, too, obviously 

[PZ]

That sounds delicious, and is very similar to what I do with the brown bits.  De-glaze with wine and make it into a sauce, often adding other things like wild mushrooms if working with a meat of some kind that needs sauce, especially steaks.

[Art Blade]

Ah, red wine, of course that too is very good.

I just remembered something, kind of the opposite of a good sauce. When I was a teenager, I visited a friend who was just eating steak. He used mayonnaise, just mayonnaise with it. It sounds ridiculous but you should give it a try. Just a little, not drenching the steak in it Like, a dab of mayonnaise on the piece that's already on your fork.

[PZ]

I never would have thought of that - would especially make a dry steak much better.  I use mayo whenever something needs the flavor, or moisture, or both.

[Art Blade]

yes.. I also love mayonnaise on cold cut roast beef. Bread, slices of roast beef, and some mayo.. then grind fresh black pepper over it.. MMmmmmh

[PZ]

A splash is also good in mashed potatoes along with sour cream.  Add sauerkraut on the side and eat both together - one of my favorite ways to eat potatoes. 

[fragger]

It never occurred to me to hollow out the rolls, gonna try that next time I make something like this You are a true culinary artiste, PZ

And Art, nice tips from you too, buddy

Speaking of mayo, sometimes I'll buy a BBQ chicken from the local supermarket if I don't have the time (or the inclination) to cook one myself. I love chicken and the local does really good charcoal-roasted ones with nice seasoning. Naturally I always have some left over, and one thing I like to do with some of the leftovers is the following: Make a sandwich with diced-up chicken, champignons cut into quarters and asparagus spears on top, grated tasty cheese on top of that and a thin layer of mayo on the other slice of bread. Then toast it in the sandwich press until the bread is golden-brown (I like to use multigrain bread). Simple and quick to make, but rather yummy

I rarely cook a whole chicken, but I like to get 3 or 4 thigh fillets (depending on their size) for a kind of chicken casserole I came up with years ago in a rare spurt of culinary innovation.

First, I boil the fillets for about 15-20 minutes until I can stick a fork in them with no blood appearing, to get the bulk of the fat out of them (which I skim off and discard). Then I take them out and let them cool off. Once cool, I cut them up into chunks about 2cm (or 3/4 inch) square and sear them in a pan with some garlic powder and sweet basil, turning the pieces frequently, stir-fry fashion, until they're nicely golden-seared (I like to do this in a little extra-virgin olive oil). They are then allowed to cool before being thoroughly mixed into a big bowl along with diced bacon eyes (I like the eyes as they have little fat, and I use 4 - 6 eyes, once again depending on size and once again chopped into approx. 2cm square pieces once cooked), a cup of long-grain rice (I cook the rice and bacon before or while the chicken is boiling), a cup of sliced celery, a cup of unsalted cashews, one whole white onion (finely diced), a can of Cream of Chicken soup (I prefer Campbell's, but any will do), a table spoon of mayo and a half-cup of water. The mix then goes into a casserole dish. I smooth the top of the mix flat and slice up three hard-boiled eggs and arrange the slices on top of the mix, and gently press them in so they're flush with the top of the mix. Then I cover the lot with crushed plain corn chips (i.e. crushed by hand) until the top of the mix is completely covered. I then bake this for half an hour at 170° F. This will usually serve 3-4 people just by itself.

I'll try to remember to take some photos next time I make one. It's an unlikely combo of elements, but they all seem to go really well together. It's sort of halfway between being a casserole and a risotto, I guess, but it's one of my few successful cooking experiments - God knows how I came up with it (another type of "herb" may have played a part ). I've gotten good kudos for this concoction, so I decided to make it my signature dish. It doesn't really have a name as such. An ex-girlfriend once dubbed it "chicken stuff" ("Could you make some of your chicken stuff for dinner tomorrow?") but that particular label was an affront to the inchoate chef de cuisine that lurks somewhere within me. So I guess I'll call it Chicken Fraggerino here Sounds more gastronomically appealing than "chicken stuff".