The Grillmaster's French Onion Soup

French Onion Soup is a real treat.  There are many "easy" or quick recipes but they do to yield the rich flavor of this recipe.  You may wonder why this is the Grillmaster's recipe and not mine.  Well that's simple, he loves to spend the time to prepare more complicated recipes.  I guarantee that this one is worth the time.

French Onion Soup

6 yellow onions, sliced

1tablespoon olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup sherry (or brandy)

8 cups beef stock

2 tablespoons dried or fresh parsley, chopped

1bay leaf

5 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 tablespoons dried

Salt and black pepper to taste (the Grillmaster doesn't add salt)

Slice the onions and add to a large pot or Dutch oven along with the olive oil. Cook over medium heat until the onions are caramelized.  Stir frequently. The onions will be dark brown.  This is the most importent part of the recipe because this is what gives the soup it's rich flavor.  It also takes about one hour.

Once the onions are cooked, add the minced garlic and the wine and sherry.  Cook until the liquid is reduced by half.

Tie the parsley, thyme and bay leaf into a bouquet garni so that it can be removed before serving.

Add the beef stock and herbs.  Simmer an additional hour. Remove the herbs.  Season to taste with pepper and salt.

Toast some bread rounds, and top with Swiss cheese or gruyere cheese.  Ladle the soup into heat resistant bowls and put a cheese round on top. (We actually skip this step because I don't like soggy bread.). Toast  until the cheese is melted and bubbly.  Serve immediately.  I like the toasted cheese toast served on the side.

This soup freezes well should you decide to make a double batch.

Sugar and Salt

Often times, I will complain that restaurant food is too salt for my palate while many other people complain that it is too bland.  There are tremendous amounts of hidden salt and sugars in pre prepared and processed foods which is why I started reading labels and cooking from scratch many years ago.  My Dad was a diabetic with high blood pressure from the time I started cooking as a teenager.  I started altering recipes at about age 20 when I could see the toll it was taking.

So often, what we perceive as moisture or richness is just fat.  Now I don't think we need to remove fat from our diets.  Quite the contrary, good fat is very beneficial.  I cook mostly with olive oil.  I like the flavor and it is beneficial.  However, there are things that just taste better in butter.  I say then, use butter.  Do not make it a daily habit.  It is a well deserved treat.  When I was younger, I would make pies with my Grandma Utesch, using lard.  They were delicious but not so healthy.  Substitute the latest version of Crisco which virtually eliminates partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and you can replicate the texture if not the taste of lard.

Salt is insidious though.  I mostly cook with coarse textured Kosher salt.  However, salt is an ingredient in most prepare armed foods.  You have to be careful.  If you use canned tomatoes, you probably do not need to add salt.  If you fix a box of macaroni and cheese, definitely skip the salt.  It is already included in abundance.  Worcestershire Sauce, fish sauce and soy sauce are naturally salty.  Think about it before you add any additional salt.

If you think your cooking is bland, consider adding basil, oregano, paprika, Cheyenne pepper, Tabasco sauce, then think about salt.  If our sweet things are bland, consider vanilla, lemons and almonds first. Then add more sugar.

Have a clean palate before you taste.  Keep an open mind.  The best flavors in this world are not sugar or salt.

Love the food you eat. 

It is time to think about Christmas Cookies

Although Christmas is still several weeks away, it is never too early to think about Christmas cookies.  I am neither a big baker or sweet eater, but these cookies are a guilty pleasure for me.  I got this recipe almost forty years ago from a friend who got it from her grandmother.  These are more of a pastry that a cookie but delicious and worth the effort. 

These cookies go by many names but we call them Christmas Snowballs

Preheat oven to 325 before baking.

Dough should be chilled for at least 1 hour before baking.

1 cup butter, slightly softened but colder than room temp.

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons water

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup chopped pecans

Cream butter and sugar, (I usually process in my food processor.) add water and vanilla and mix well. Blend in flour and nuts.

Form the dough into a ball.  It will be both stiff and sticky.  Wrap in plastic wrap. Chill. After chilling, Shape into tablespoon sized balls.  (I use a rounded tablespoon measuring spoon to get the right amount of dough and roll into balls. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 20 minutes.

Cool to room temp on a cooling rack and then roll in confectioners( powdered) sugar.

Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.

Yes, that is the entire ingredient list and there are no leavening agents.  You can place them very close together on the cookie sheet because they will not rise or expand. If you roll them in confectioner's sugar when they are too warm, the sugar will "melt", just let them cool a little longer and try again.

Greek salad is wonderfully versatile not to mention delicious.

There are many recipes for Greek Salads and I confess that I have never tried one that I didn't love.  There are versions of this salad made from cucumbers and tomatoes from all around the Mediterranean and although they are similar, this one is my favorite because with a piece of warm bread, this is a hearty lunch and add a piece of grilled chicken and you have a satisfying dinner that even the Grillmaster approves of.  Another plus for this recipe is that the dressing which is super easy, works well on a whole variety of salads. This particular salad, in Greek is called Horiatiki Salata

Dressing

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil,( Greek if possible although I like Spanish olive oil as well.)

2 tablespoons dried Greek oregano.  ( I like the wide leafed oregano that I grow and fresh makes it really great.)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 dashes Tabasco  (I know, not authentic but I prefer it anyway.  You can use 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.)

Put in a liquid tight container and shake well to mix.  If you use dried oregano, let this sit at least 30 minutes before you pour over the salad. An hour or more is better.

Salad

4 medium Roma tomatoes. Cut into wedges ( I will substitute 15 to 20 grape tomatoes. Cut in half)

1 Persian/English cucumbers cut in half length-wise and cut into thin slices

1 red bell pepper, cut length-wise, seeded and then sliced into narrow slices

1 green  bell pepper, cut same as the red

1 medium red onion quartered and then sliced paper-thin

20 Kalamata olives. ( I always cut them in half so no one is surprised by a hidden pit)

1/2 pound feta, coarsely crumbled

Combine all the salad ingredients in a very large mixing bowl.  Add the feta cheese and dressing just before serving.

This makes 6 to 8 meal sized portions.  It is also a great salad for potlucks and buffet meals.