Cheeseburger with Caramelized Onions, Bacon, and White Wine Dijon Pan Sauce

I just made the most ah-mazing cheeseburger. I would have taken a picture for you, but I ate it too fast. And I'm lazy.

First, you must make:

Caramelized Onions
1 white onion (preferably Vidalia), sliced very thinly
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tablespoon butter
salt & pepper & sugar

Heat a pan (preferably stainless steel; nonstick just doesn't work for caramelizing onions, based on my experience) with the oil and butter over medium-high heat. Add onions after pan is hot; quickly add salt, pepper and a dash of sugar. Stir frequently and cook until the onions are a dark golden brown, anywhere from 25-45 minutes. There will be lots of brown bits on the bottom. This is ok. Leave them, and make the pan sauce, as follows:

White Wine Dijon Pan Sauce
Start out with the brown bits leftover from the caramelized onions. If a few of the onion bits are still there, all the better. Immediately after removing the caramelized onions, pour about 1/2 cup of white wine into the pan, and scrape up the brown bits. Toss in 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, and 1 tablespoon heavy cream. Simmer slowly until sauce has reduced by about half. Serve at room temperature on top of grilled burger, or marinate the burger in the sauce before grilling.

To assemble the burger:
Start out with a pound of ground beef. Take a cue from Ina Garten and, before making patties, add salt, pepper, about a tablespoon of mustard, and couple tablespoons of olive oil to the meat. Grill the patties like that, or marinate them in the pan sauce above (this was delicious).

Grill burgers on direct high heat for 8-12 minutes. The last minute of grilling, throw the buns on the grill to warm them, and put cheese on the burgers. What kind of cheese? All I had tonight was Kraft American 2% singles. I ate a tiny corner of one of the pieces by itself, and it tasted like chemicals. Yuck. So, if you have something gourmet and sliced, by all means go for it. I think a nice, sharp cheddar would be fantastic on these burgers.

Top with ketchup, mustard, caramelized onions, and bacon. Drizzle the cooked burger with the remaining pan sauce.

Trust me: it's amazing.