Deciding what recipe to post for the first time in this blog was not an easy task. I wanted to have a killer recipe, but at the same time, I wanted a recipe that was easy to make and with ingredients that were easy to find. I did not want to scare people away. After several hours of thinking, I found the answer to my question at the most unexpected time and place: while exercising. For whatever reason, I like to watch cooking shows when I am exercising on the treadmill. I guess I am a masochist. Yesterday, I was watching TV while running and guess who was on TV? The great Julia Child. Cook TV was broadcasting an episode from her old cooking show. Eureka! Right then I decided that my first post should be a recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, a classic book that is used by trained chefs as well as home cooks. And, who doesn’t love Julia Child? The funny voice, the smile on her face (even when she was burning food in the oven), her love for butter. You know what mean.
Although I’ve had her book for about a year now, I’ve only made one recipe: Onion Soup. And you know what? Even if I never make any other recipe from that book, I would always be glad to have it around just for this one recipe. I made, for the first time, onion soup for Christmas dinner. The process was surprisingly easy. The only step that bothered me was slicing so many onions. It was the first time that I wished I had onion goggles…yes they exist and you can find them at www.delight.com. I cried my eyes out. At some point, I had to take a break and let my eyes get fresh air. But the tears were worth it! The soup was delicious. My husband’s grandfather said that it was the best onion soup he had ever eaten. And he doesn’t like onions! In my opinion, my onion soup was better than ones I had in Paris.
Don’t wait until Christmas to make this soup. The weather is cold and there is nothing better that eating a hot bowl of soup after work. So get your onion goggles and start cooking!
Soupe A L’oignon – adapted from “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” by Julia Child
For 6-8 servings
Comments: According to the book, the recipe serves 6 to 8 people. I doubled the recipe and it was just enough for nine people. I did not have white wine so I used red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon) instead. Instead of cognac I used Scotch (Laphroaig www.laphroaig.com ). Also, I had to add about 1-2 cups of water because the soup was way too thick for my taste.
1 ½ lbs. or about 5 cups of thinly sliced yellow onions
3 Tb. Butter
1 Tb. Oil
A heavy-bottomed, 4 quart covered saucepan
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. sugar (helps the onions to brown)
3 Tb. Flour
2 quarts boiling brown stock, canned beef bouillon or 1 quart of stock boullion.
½ cup dry white wine or dry white vermouth.
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 Tb. Cognac
Rounds of hard-toasted French bread.
1 to 2 cups grated Swiss or Parmesan cheese
1. Cook the onions slowly with the butter and oil in the covered saucepan for 15 minutes.
2. Uncover, raise heat to moderate, and stir in the salt and sugar. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes stirring frequently, until the onions have turned an even deep golden brown.
3. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for three minutes.
4. Off heat, blend the boiling liquid. Add the wine, and season to taste. Simmer partially covered for 30 to 40 minutes or more, skimming occasionally. Correct seasoning.
5. Set aside uncovered until ready to serve.
6. Just before serving, stir in the cognac. Pour into a soup tureen or soup cups over the rounds of bread and pass the cheese separately.
If you have any questions or comments, you can email me at goodsazon@gmail.com
