Showing posts with label french. Show all posts
Showing posts with label french. Show all posts
Sunday, March 16, 2014
French Onion Soup
I spent a delightful Saturday decorating the house for fall; changing table clothes, swapping white airy curtains for heavy warm winter ones, pumpkins galore, etc., etc. At the end of busy yet very satisfying autumn afternoon, I could think of no better evening meal than a bowl of body and soul warming French Onion Soup. Honestly, I really did have the thought in the back of my mind that I would be able to whip up some homemade beef stock, as a base for this satisfying soup, in the same amount of time it takes to make chicken stock. However, I was in for a rude awakening when I found that beef stock is indeed an all day affair. The roasting of the bones, the hours upon hours of sloooowwww simmering, the straining, refrigerating, defatting and on and on it goes. That, my friends, may (or may not) be a project for a deeply frigid snowy winter day. Instead, I opted for the much simpler version which did not disappoint in the least!
French Onion Soup
2 large onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
fresh thyme
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon cognac
1/2 cup white wine
4 cups beef stock (I used Kitchen Basics)
salt and pepper
In a large heavy bottomed dutch oven, melt butter and olive oil together over medium heat. Add onions and stir to combine. Cover and let onions caramelize for approximately 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so to prevent onions from scorching on the bottom of the pan. Once the onions have caramelized to a golden brown, add 1 tablespoon of flour and combine with the onions. Add cognac and white wine, bring to a simmer and let reduce for about 5 minutes. Add beef stock and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover and let flavors gently combine for about 20 minutes. Serve hot in crocks with croutons and melted gruyere.
sliced french baguette
shredded Gruyere
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place sliced french baguette on a baking sheet and toast for 5 minutes on each side. Turn oven to the broil setting and place croutons in each crock of soup and cover with shredded Gruyere cheese. Place crock on a baking sheet and toast under the broiler under cheese is melted and bubbly and bread is nicely charred. Serve immediately.
Monday, February 10, 2014
French Onion Soup
Wonderfully aromatic and a great depth of taste, this soup is a delight on a cold evening. Loads of onions in the soup, served with a loaf of warm toasted garlic bread, would readily make it a meal by itself
Ingredients
4 large onions- thinly sliced
6 large pods of garlic- peeled and chopped very fine
1 tsp Butter / Margarine
½ tsp sugar
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
Salt to taste
1 tsp pepper powder
Vegetable / chicken stock ( optional)
Grated cheese ( preferably mozzarella) to garnish if desired
Place a large pot to heat. Place the butter / Nutralite margarine in a large pot. Throw in the garlic and sliced onions with a bit of sugar. Sugar helps caramelize the onions, ie browns them as they are cooking. Keep the flame on SIM and let the onions become dark brown, taking care to stir them around occasionally to prevent burning.
Once onions turn dark brown, which will take around 15 min on a low flame, add 6 cups of water or stock. Vegetable / chicken stock gives a further depth of flavour and a slow cooked taste to the soup. However, water is a convenient alternative, without much compromise in taste.
Let the soup come to a boil. Add the dark soy sauce and salt to taste. You may add a mixture of 1 tbsp wheat flour dissolved in water, to the soup, if you want to thicken it. Allow it to boil for another 5 minutes.
Serve the soup piping hot in bowls, garnished with pepper and grated cheese.
Note:
Traditionally French onion soup, is served with slices of toasted bread covered with grated cheese, that are floated over the soup and baked for a few minutes in a hot oven, to melt the cheese.
You could serve the warm bread by the side too !
Sunday, February 9, 2014
French Dip Venison Sandwiches
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: about 5-6 hours
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs. venison roast
- 1 onion, sliced
- 3 cloves of garlic, slightly crushed
- 1 (10.5 oz) can of beef broth (keep an extra can on hand, in case if the liquid doesnt cover the roast completely)
- 1 (10.5 oz) can of condensed French onion soup
- 1 (12 fl. oz) can of dark beer
- 5-7 splashes of Worcestershire sauce
- 1 loaf of French Bread, or equivalent
- provolone cheese slices
- optional seasonings: 1/4 tsp. thyme, 1/4 tsp. rosemary
- kosher/sea salt, to taste
- freshly cracked black pepper
2. Trim venison roast of all fat and silver skin. Sprinkle freshly crushed black pepper all over roast.
And the onion, garlic, Worcestershire, any other desired seasonings and then the roast itself. The meat should be covered completely with liquid; add more broth if needed. It depends on the size of your crock pot. As you can see, we had to add more.
Doh-dee-doh-dee-doh.... we had a lot of time to kill...
So please enjoy some random pictures from out back while we wait.
A vase that Rick doesnt remember making in high school.
I have a thing for garden gnomes. I dont know why. I just like them. Perhaps its because theyre strange. And that speaks to me. :-)
Ricks mom loves donkeys.
Ok! Back to business... 5 hours later.
5. Once the venison is tender, ladle some au jus into a saucepan (as much as you think youll need for dipping) and reduce the liquid by about a quarter to half over medium-high heat. This may take a few minutes. This will allow the flavors to deepen. Add salt and pepper, as necessary.
6. Shred the venison roast with a fork and return it to the crock pot with remaining juices. This will allow the venison to soak up the juices.
7. Slice French rolls in half, lengthwise. Lay Provolone slices on the bottom half... Place the bread on a cookie sheet.
And broil until cheese is melted. Watch closely because its super easy to burn under the broiler.
Stack sandwiches with shredded venison and cooked onion. Ladle reduced au jus in into dipping bowls. Dip your sandwich in au jus with every bite. Serve hot. Yum!
Thanks for looking!
Follow Us on Twitter
Follow @FoodForHunters
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)