Sprucing it up

A good friend and I were talking over dinner the other night at Spruce in San Francisco about social media and life in general. It’s always great to get caught up with a friend after working all day.

As we sat at our cozy bar-side table, it occurred to me that that sitting there and enjoying the Spruce burger (with fries, of course, and a glass of wine) over good conversation has to be a favorite after work treat. We got to talking about how I am passionate about so many things and how it would be fun to share moments like this with you out there that read this blog.

Testing, testing 123, is anyone out there? Just checking.

So I guess the point of this post is to tell you that, in addition to my regular weekly post, I’m going to start sharing more frequent bits of what really inspires me in my life. This week, I was inspired by a burger, fries and glass of wine. (Thank goodness that this isn’t my inspiration every day, but it really makes for a delightful treat at the end of a long day).

I am excited to share more of these thoughts with you. It might be a fabric that inspires me on a client project or paint color that I just can’t stop thinking about.

I am so lucky to be in a career that I have always dreamed up. Inspiration is around every corner.

This is going to be me just being me. Come back often to see what I am up to.

Oh and sorry if I have you craving a burger right about now.

In case you can’t make it to Spruce and are up for making it at home. Here is the recipe below:

SPRUCE burger

Patties

3 pounds (20 percent fat) ground chuck

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil

Divide the hamburger meat into six equal balls. Pat them down so they are around 3/4- inch thick. Season with salt and pepper.

Place a iron skillet over high heat for 10 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium- low, and add the grapeseed oil to the pan and cook the burgers for around three minutes each side (more if you like it more than medium rare).

Buns

2 cups water

1 cup scalded milk

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons salt

1/2 tablespoon, plus 1/2 teaspoon dry yeast, dissolved in 2 tablespoons warm water

8 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup melted butter

Grapeseed oil, enough to coat a skillet with a ¼ inch layer of oil

Semolina flour, enough to sprinkle over the buns

Whisk the water, scalded milk, sugar, and salt. Add the dissolved yeast. Thoroughly mix in 4 cups of the flour. Cover and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Mix in melted butter and the rest of the flour and mix for 5 minutes.

Cover and allow to rest for another 30 minutes.

Place the dough on a floured surface and roll the dough out flat (1/2 inch thick). Cover again for 30 minutes.

Cut out 3 inch rings to form individual bungs. Lightly coat them in the semolina flour and pan-fry over medium heat (cooking each side for about 5 minutes, or golden brown.

Serve the patty over the toasted bun. They serve it at the restaurant with aioli and pickled zucchini and red onions.