Wednesday, January 16, 2013

French Onion Soup and the Big Chill

It has been unbelievably cold in Southern California. Coming in at 15-20 degrees below normal temperatures for January, this cold snap has broken all previous records and has us all shivering and complaining. It's been colder here in sunny California than in Boston, Chicago, or Portland, Maine for crying out loud! Wind machines in the nearby orchards have run all night for a week now, trying to keep the frost from settling on the citrus. Inside my house, the furnace has never put in so many hours, chugging along day and night. I don't want to leave the house any more than I absolutely must because it's just too cold out there. All I want to do is snuggle up in layers of fleece and read a good book. And consume bowls of hot soup.

Just in time to keep me from freezing to death, the talented folks at America's Test Kitchen recently published a recipe that caught my interest: French onion soup. Just the ticket for living with The Big Chill. Not only is onion soup nourishing for body and soul, it takes a long time to make which fills the house with the aroma of onions slowly browning in butter then slowly simmering in stock.

When I've made soupe a l'oignon in the past, I always found the first step -- browning and stirring onions on the stove top for an hour or two -- to be really tedious. The test kitchen folks suggest it is also unnecessary. Yes, you still have to plan on a long afternoon in the kitchen, but this recipe lets the oven do much of the tedious work, so you're freed up for an hour at a time to do other things, a welcome solution to a multi-tasker like me.

French Onion Soup

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
6 Large yellow onions (about 4 pounds). Vidalia and Maui onions are too sweet.
2 Cups water, plus extra for deglazing
1/2 Cup dry sherry
4 Cups chicken broth
2 Cups beef broth
4 Sprigs fresh thyme
1 Bay leaf
1 Small baguette cut into 1/2-inch slices
8 Ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded (about 2-1/2 cups)

Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat to 400 degrees. You'll need a large Dutch oven, big enough to hold 2 quarts of liquid plus all the onions.

While the oven is heating up, peel the onions and cut each lengthwise, then place each half cut side down and slice from pole to pole into slices about 1/4 inch wide.

Tuck the herbs into a muslin bouquet garni bag, or tie them together into a tidy little bundle.

Spray the pot generously with non-stick spray, then add the butter. Add the sliced onions and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cover and cook for an hour in the oven. Remove from oven and stir. The onions will be softened and slightly reduced in volume.


Return the pot to the oven with the lid slightly ajar and cook another hour. Again, remove the pot and stir the onions which by now will be browned and very soft.

Return the pot to the oven for another 45 minutes, then remove the pot and stir, scraping down the sides and the crusty bits on the bottom. By now, the onions have spent almost 3 hours in a hot oven.


Now place the pot on medium-high heat and continue to cook the onions, stirring frequently to incorporate all the browned, crusty bits, until all the liquid evaporates. Reduce the heat if the onions start to scorch. De-glaze the pot with a small amount of water, and stir until another crust forms on the bottom of the pot. Repeat this deglazing process another 2-3 times until the onions are very dark brown. Stir in the sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until the sherry evaporates.

Stir in the two broths, 2 cups of water, the herbs and 1/2 teaspoon salt, scraping any browned bits off the sides and bottom of the pot. Increase the heat to high and when the soup starts to simmer, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Discard the herbs then season to taste with salt and pepper.

While the soup is simmering, arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet and bake in the 400-degree oven until the bread is crisp and turning golden at the edges. If you're serving the soup immediately, sprinkle the baguette slices with the cheese and brown under the broiler, then place 1-2 slices atop each bowl of soup. If you are using broiler-proof soup bowls, you can do this in one step, placing the baguettes and cheese on top of each filled soup bowl, then placing the soup bowls under the broiler. Serves 6.


The soup has a delicious, deep flavor as soon as it's cooked, but it's even better the next day. Serve with a hearty salad of greens, nuts and dried fruit and a robust red wine. Comfort food for winter.


Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Christmas Miracles

Not every holiday miracle comes wrapped in pretty paper and tied with a bow. This one happened in the kitchen.

Doug was home for the Christmas break and he and his friends were planning a New Year's Eve party. To cut costs, they decided not to pay inflated restaurant prices and after much texting back and forth, it was decided that my house would be the location of choice and the menu would be potluck. Doug scurried about tidying up the house, laid in some champagne, and then tucked into a cookbook to decide what he would make for the party.

This in itself is a minor miracle since in all his years, I have never seen Doug express any interest whatsoever in cooking. Intrigued by this new persona, I watched him study a new cookbook he'd bought for Bryn called Burma: Rivers of Flavor. Yes, that's correct: Doug The Inexperienced One was going to skip right past familiar American food and prepare a Burmese dish for his friends!

After some consideration, he chose a shrimp salad with ingredients that were easy to find in little ol' Ojai and lo and behold, he produced a beautiful dish that was the hit of the party.

Burmese Shrimp Salad

2 Tablespoons peanut oil or shallot oil
1 Pound medium or large shrimp, peeled, deveined and rinsed, then patted dry
3 Scallions, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1/2 Medium English cucumber
2 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 Serrano chile, seeded and minced
1/4 Teaspoon red chile powder
1 Teaspoon fish sauce
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt to taste

First, make the shallot oil by slicing a shallot thinly and frying in peanut oil over medium-high heat, about 10-12 minutes. When the shallot slices are golden brown, removed them from the oil, drain on a paper towel and let cool. Set aside for another use, like topping a green salad or a casserole. Set aside the shallot oil, all but 2 tablespoons, to use in salad dressings or whatever recipe calls for a onion-garlic flavored oil.


Place 2 tablespoons of the oil in a wok or wide skillet and heat until a test piece of scallion starts to sizzle when dropped in the oil, then start adding the shrimp. Stir-fry the shrimp until they turn pink, only about a minute or two. Transfer the shrimp to a cutting board and when they are cool, cut into small pieces.

Cut the cucumber into 1-1/2-inch lengths and julienne. You should wind up with about a cup. Add the scallions, cucumber, cilantro and chile to the shrimp and toss lightly. Add the fish sauce and lime juice and toss to mix well. Taste and add a little salt if necessary, toss once more and serve immediately.

To add just a bit more flavor and texture, Doug added some crushed roasted peanuts just before serving. This salad is refreshing and crunchy and very welcome on a table laden with dishes rich in cheese or cream. And, the miracle is that Doug made it!


This recipe serves 4-6, but Doug doubled the recipe to feed his group of 12, and it worked beautifully.