Thursday, July 31, 2008

"Le Gout de Ciel" French Onion Soup


French onion soup. It's simple yet sophisticated, easy but, complex. French onion soup is one of those things that even when it's bad, it's good. I can honestly say that I have never had a bad French onion soup, and if I have, I probably didn't realize it at the time of consumption. You folks can feel free to disagree with my synopsis, as I am most certain at least a few of you do. I have a thing for onions... it's weird I know, and probably the reason why I can't get a date, but I digress. There is one sure fire way to avoid such a profoundly heinous atrocity as consuming bad onion soup, and that is to follow this recipe.


Ingredients:

2 Large golden or white onions, sliced not diced ( red and green onions don't work to well in this recipe, if you have Walla Walla onions by all means use them)

3 Tbs ( give or take ) olive oil

2 Tbs flour

4 cups beef stock (hey just cause it's onion soup doesn't mean it's vegetarian)

2 splashes of marsala wine (one for the pot and one for me... better make it 3 splashes)

2-3 cups garlic cream cheese croûtons ( this is more involved than it sounds because your going to make your own, don't worry it's easy, and they taste so much better)

5-10 slices of Munster cheese ( true swiss is probably more traditional, but this is my recipe and I want Munster, or a really good mozzarella.)

Seasoning (you can use freshly minced garlic and coarsely ground pepper, rosemary, sage, or you can cheat and use some of that Montreal steak seasoning, it works good, just don't go over board with it.)


Preparation:

Place a shallow sauce pan over medium heat and pour in your oil. Let the oil heat up a bit ( you want it hot but not smoking, smoking oil... now there's a habit you wanna avoid, not so sure they have a twelve step program for that) you can tell it's hot by slowly adding a little bit of the onion, when it starts to sizzle the oil is hot. When the oil is hot go ahead and add the rest of your onions, be sure to stir or shake the pan fairly frequently ( the idea is to caramelize the onions not burn the crap out of them) add your seasoning. When the onions have caramelized take a whisk and your marsala wine, add a splash or two of the wine to the pan and then use your whisk to scrape the bottom of the pan to break loose anything that might be stuck down there (this is called deglazing, it's where a lot of good flavor comes from). When you've got that done next you wanna whisk in your flour, you just want a little bit, the soup is supposed to be a little on the thin side, whisking in the flour just gives it a little body. After you've got your flour whisked in then you want to add your stock slowly while stirring the pan. Let simmer.


The Croûtons:

The croûtons are less like croûtons and more like a cubed grilled cheese sandwich using cream cheese and garlic butter ( yes your right I am a genius, and you are right, that is awesome).

Service:

Place the croûtons in the bottom of your bowls ( or ramekins or coffee cups or whatever basin type dish that you have) then ladle the soup over them. Next place a slice or two of the cheese over the tops of the bowls. Place the bowls on an UNGREASED cookie sheet then place said cookie sheet under the broiler for 1-2 minuets or until the cheese is all melted and bubbly brown. if you don't have a broiler you can put the bowls in the microwave, sans cookie sheet, the idea is to melt the cheese. Serve hot and enjoy

Monday, July 21, 2008

Consider the Donut


What is it that makes the donut so compelling? Is it the soft texture, the sweetness, the fresh baked goodness? In a word... yes. Nothing... but, nothing beats the the moment you spend with a freshly made donut. It's warm icing still dripping, its poetry in baked goods. It's amazing what a donut can do, not only to your figure, but to your disposition as well. Sure they may not be the healthiest way to go. But hey, what's more important your pants size or your happiness?

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

U-Brew Buzz


This last weekend Yours Truly was honored to "father" a lovely batch of pear, yes, pear cider at Gallagher's U-Brew in downtown Edmonds, WA. This lovely concoction of fruit and yeast is both smooth, and dry with lots of pear flavor and yet it's not overly sweet. I couldn't be happier.
T
his being my very first time brewing I have to admit that I am still a little oblivious as to how the process works, all I know is I have a shit load of cider and it tastes GOOD!!! Not to worry though, I was under the close supervision of an experienced brew mister, who was more than happy to guide me through the brewing process. This experience, as a whole, was both fun and very, VERY rewarding. I have plans to spend many a weekend brewing at Gallagher's in the future.