Autumn Onion Soup

You may know it as French Onion Soup, but I really don't see what's French about it. It's been recorded as a meal since Roman times, though France's King Louis was the one who made it famous. And, the grande dame of French cooking, Julia Child, ate it shortly before she passed away. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, let's get on with my version, which I'll call Autumn Onion Soup:

This is a dish you can get going in about 15 minutes, then leave on the stove for another hour and go do something else, so forget everything you've heard about it being time-consuming.

Chop one yellow onion, one red onion and two shallots. Throw them into a large pot with two tablespoons of unsalted butter and cook on high for ten minutes, stirring frequently.

When the onions are brownish, and the edges are even darker, turn the heat to medium and add another tablespoon of unsalted butter and stir to melt.

As soon as the butter melts, add two tablespoons of flour. Stir rapidly, making sure flour is completely absorbed and that the mixture doesn't rest on the bottom of the pot for too long.

Stir in 1/2 cup milk. The mixture should be kind of gummy now. Slowly stir in 1 cup of beef broth and mix until totally blended. Add another cup of beef broth. And, one more. Mix well and turn the heat back up to high. Once it's boiling, cover it and turn the heat to low. Let it simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. About midway through, I like to chop another two shallots and toss them in. A little parsley never hurts, either. Think about layers of flavor, and aromatics.

Now, a word about the garnish. The usual thing is to put a giant crouton (i.e. big piece of toasted bread) on top, cover it with gruyere, and melt it in the oven. This results in a decadent and gooey presentation, but is just a major impediment when you try to eat it. My solution? Regular (home-made of course) croutons, topped with shaved bits of whatever melty cheese you desire. Put the bowls on a cookie sheet, slide it under the broiler for a minute, and slurp.

We had this last night with some awesome bruschetta topped with tomatoes, garlic, basil, balsamic and gorgonzola.

FINAL Puff-Pastry-Related-Post of 2008!

This post is all about laziness. My love of fancy garnishes on otherwise simple food comes from being too lazy to spend five hours on a single dish. Thusly, my love of puff pastry is directly derivative of my love of all things quick, pretty, impressive, savory and flaky. As of late, it's become my fancy-food crutch, and I promise this will be the last post about it this year.

But until then...

We're heading to a friend's party on Saturday, and she's asked me to bring an appetizer. Now, because it's going to be cold, and there will be an equal number of men and women, I need to make something semi-hearty yet pretty. That means it's time for my Carmelized Shallot/Proscuitto/Bleu Cheese Puff Pastry Squares. Name them whatever you wish, but do this:

Preheat your oven to 350.

Thaw out your puff pastry sheets (you get two per box). Roll them a bit with a dough roller, making them about 1/3 larger. Using a pizza cutter, slice bite-size squares.

Spray a couple cookie sheets with something greasy (i.e. olive oil), place the squares an inch apart and bake for ten minutes.

While the pastry bakes, thinly slice about five to ten shallots, depending on how big they are. You're going to need enough to sprinkle on all the squares. Dump them in a skillet and cook on high heat, until the edges brown.

Tear a package or two of proscuitto into very small pieces. Don't try cutting proscuitto unless you want to spend valuable cocktail time pulling the slices apart with tweezers.

Sprinkle the proscuitto and shallots on the squares and top with crumbled bleu cheese. Chop some flat-leaf parsley and put it in a zip-top bag. Cover cookie sheets with cling wrap and take them to the party! Throw them in the host's oven for 10-15 minutes, sprinkle with the parsley and serve! Accept compliments graciously.

Old-School Caesar Salad

We had a friend over for dinner last night, and at one point, he began rhapsodizing about my Caesar salad and asked if I still made it on occasion. I do, but not as much as my new favorite, Caesar's Goat (posted much earlier on this site). He asked for the recipe, and I thought I'd just make it easier on everyone by posting it here:

Using a Cuisinart, toss in 6 - 8 garlic cloves and 6 - 8 anchovy fillets.

Grind well.

Add an egg yolk (or a tablespoon of mayo if you're weird about egg yolks) and blend.

Add a tablespoon of dijon mustard and a tablespoon of red wine vinegar.

Shake in a few drops of Worcestershire sauce and blend again.

Dribble in a little olive oil and blend. Add another 1/2 cup of olive oil, a little at a time, blending well.

I like to let the dressing sit for at least a few hours in the fridge, giving the flavors a chance to marry. At the last minute, I add some freshly chopped parsley and give it a quick whirl in the cuisinart.

Toss it with crisp romaine lettuce and top with homemade croutons (buy the boxed stuff and feel my scorn!) with a little shaved pecorino or asiago.

A word of caution: This is NOT for wussie palates. There's a lot of garlic in this thing and you WILL feel it. I reccommend pairing it with wine, as beer or anything carbonated will make your tongue hurt. Trust me on this.

Curing the Blue Cheese Blues

On the topic of salad dressings yesterday I remembered that I have a great and really simple recipie for homemade blue cheese dressing that kicks the butt of any store bought brand. I think it rocks because of the amount of blue cheese that actually goes into the dressing - more of the good stuff. I am 100% certain that this simple and inexpensive freshly-made version of your favorite dressing will change your shopping habits from now on...

• 1 carton of crumbled blue cheese (no need to go with a high-end brand here, we are spicing it up with other stuff)
• 1 small container of buttermilk
• 1 cup of sour cream - I use fat-free to counteract all the blue cheese. :)
• 1/2 cup of mayo (again, low-fat is fine for this)
• 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar
• 1 pinch of garlic powder
• Salt and lots of pepper to taste

Mix one cup of loosely packed blue cheese and one cup of buttermilk together with a fork. The mixture will start to loosen up and turn an ugly shade of moldy blue/green. It will look more appetizing soon, don't worry! Mix in the remaining ingredients and be sure to add a fair amount of pepper. This is my favorite part of the dressing. Before proclaiming it finished, stick it in the fridge for a while, at least an hour, and let the flavors meld together. Retaste- you may need to add more spice. This lasts for at least a few days and is soooooooo good.

Potato Bomb

No, 'Potato Bomb' isn't the name for some awesome starchy dish stuffed with fried and fatty things. Unfortunately, it's what we had in our kitchen last night after a mishap with a couple of tubers.

In my haste to get a couple of Idaho baking potatoes into the oven, I forgot to poke them. Thusly, without a 'blow hole' to let steam out, the steam escaped via explosion. Don't let this happen to you:The blast was so loud, the husband and I were convinced someone was directly outside the house shooting skeet. From now on, no potato will go un-poked.

Precocious Pasta

I'm so glad Jen's back! Her recipes and pointers are always a fun read and leave me inspired to do things prettier, fancier and better.

The husband has been craving my homemade pasta sauce lately, so I'm going to cook it tonight. Before you roll your eyes and move on to another cooking site, WAIT! I swear, you don't have to be old, Italian and hairy to be able to make your own pasta sauce, and no, it's not going to take forever. I started making it when my brother came back from living in Italy for a year and couldn't believe I was using jar sauce. He showed me how to make it simply, easily and quickly, and I now pass it on to you:

Get out two saucepans. It's key to having your flavors and textures work. In one pan, swirl a little olive oil to coat and toss in:
About five or six ripe red tomatoes, chopped, salted and peppered.
Sautee on low to medium heat, stirring occasionally.

In the other pan, swirl a little olive oil to coat and toss in:
Three to five cloves of crushed garlic
Half a minced yellow onion
Eight to ten sliced crimini mushrooms (or not, if you're a weird mushroom-hater)
Anything else you like, such as olives or bell peppers

Sautee on medium heat for about ten minutes. Dump all of this goodness into the tomato mixture and cook on medium for about five more minutes, adding a little red wine if you'd like.

Spoon it over cooked and drained pasta, and top with asiago cheese and a basil chiffonade.

(Wanna know how to chiffonade like a pro? The word merely means "ribbons" and here's how you do it: Stack your basil leaves on top of each other, roll into a tight tube and slice. You'll have 'ribbons' of basil. Easy and pretty, just the way we like it!)

Appetizers for the Angels

I am such a faker--- sitting here watching the 12th inning (yes, for those who are not familiar with baseball, there are only supposed to be nine) of a division series game (again, for non-sports types, this game is a big deal), and I'm not actually cooking. Or doing much of anything except hanging with the dog. But let's pretend I am hosting a raging down-home cold beers and greasy chips shin-dig. Here are a few key ingredients. Different from my typical recipie post-- I'll get back to that for the next blog.

Must Have #1. Something that is totally related to the game and super cheesy. My Seal Beach crowd would be the best example of this. I remember Matt and Eddie with probably a full roll of scotch tape and two colors of streamers, and decorating the entire room with their team colors. It was football. Don't remember the team of course. But it was horrible. And fun.

Must Have #2. Cold drinks. Depending on the crowd and the vibe, this may be a cold keg (water down your ice around the keg to keep it super-cold), a fridge full of options, or a wild punch creation. Remind everyone as they are invited and again as they come into your house: those who drink do not drive.

Must Have #3. Food! This is my favorite part. The strategy: don't miss the game and don't miss the fun. Prepare things ahead. Make them accessible and easy to eat. Bring out something after the 7th inning stretch that is new. I like to ask everyone to bring something. You'll get dips and chips, mostly. So prepare a crock pot of meatballs or weiners. Kick out some chili and accessories. Just remember-- we're here for the game.

Breakfast in bed - ooh la la.

Why isn't there a company that delivers breakfast? Like Dominos but better... I was thinking about breakfast in bed this morning. I'm a fan of whole grain and low sugar breakfasts. And coffee. Lots of coffee. We rarely celebrate the 'event' of breakfast. I love breakfast in bed, or breakfast with the family before opening presents on Christmas morning. My dad likes to do "short order cook" breakfasts with pancakes and eggs hot off the grill. By the time the last set of pancakes and eggs is made, the others have gone cold. So our tradition is to eat them as they come. Informal. Good.

So how do we make breakfast special but easy? It's a tricky meal. The cook will not want to be up for hours preparing things. Here are a few easy shortcuts for making it work:

• Fruit salad. Prepare everything the night before EXCEPT the bananas and strawberries. Add those in the morning. Toss with fruit juice to freshen it up. Plop some whipped cream on top.
• Strata. If you're cooking for a big group, breakfast strata is elegant and hearty. There are so many great recipies for this traditional breakfast dish. It's like a breakfast lasagna. Layers of bread, spinach, sausage or bacon, cheese. A one-pot meal. The great thing about strata is that it must be drenched in beaten eggs overnight to soak the entire dish, and pulled out to bake in the morning. Hard to mess this dish up!!!
• Coffee bar. Spice up the morning coffee with a selection of accessories (garnish!) such as cinnamon, cocoa powder, whipped cream, or the fixin's for Irish Coffee. This also works with tea.
• Fresh squeezed anything. Carrot juice mixed with raspberries. OJ with a hint of strawberry. Mango lemonade. Anything. Unique, homemade but really quick and simple (if you have a juicer....)
• Decor. Throw on a tablecloth and dress up the table with some white roses. Pull out those funny little bowls you've never used, or the teacups your grandmother gave you. It doesn't take much!

One last sage piece of advice. Don't forget to brush your teeth. :)

What a Crock.

I know, the title is a groaner, but I'm in an old-school frame of mind.
The weather is turning cooler, and I've been getting busier. And, I like meat.
So, what to do? Bring out Ye Olde Crock Pot!

Cooking via crock pot doesn't have to be an exercise in banal/boring midwestern food. You can make it totally posh with the ingredients you use, and of course, the garnish.

Throw all of this in the pot:

A couple pounds of beef ribs
A few glugs of wine
A can of broth
Garlic gloves, salt, pepper, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce and anything else you can think of that will go with these flavors.
Put the lid on, turn it on low, and go do something else for eight to ten hours.

When you're ready to eat, place the ribs prettily on a plate, and sprinkle with cilantro.
I accompanied mine with garlic bread and blue-cheese-topped broccoli.

Don't worry, this is not a harbinger of things to come; I will NEVER encourage you to make meatloaf.