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.

Long time coming

Wow! It has been a long time since I last posted a blog.  I started a new job and was really involved in what I was doing.  But I did not stop cooking.  In fact the recipe I am describing today was one I made the first week of October.

Do you ever wish for a recipe that looks like a million bucks but is so easy, you almost feel guilty.  That would be this main dish/salad dish.  It is good for potluck dinners and banquets because it can be fixed in advance and is very attractive.  I like it especially for the Christmas holiday parties  because it is so easy and colorful.

It is all red and green in this picture as I usually use tricolor end pasta but you could use plain pasta and it would still taste great and be photogenic.

Tortellini salad

1 9oz. Package refrigerated cheese tortellini (I like the tri-color, five cheese variety)

8 oz. sugar snap peas ( you can use frozen but fresh is better)

1pint grape tomatoes (I like to mix yellow and red)

1/4 cup grated Romano and Parmesan cheese

1/2 bottle Girard's Light Champagne Dressing

Cook tortellini according to package directions.  Put the sugar snap peas in a colander and pour the boiling water/ tortellini into the colander. This will blanch the snap peas.  Rinse under cold water, drain and put into a 2.5 quart or larger mixing bowl. Add the salad dressing. Cover.  Refrigerate. When the tortellini and peas are chilled, cut each tomato in half lengthwise and toss into the mixture.  Add the shredded cheese and mix. Usually, I double or triple the recipe.

This is really attractive served in a clear glass bowl. Stand back and enjoy the complements.

Salmon Burgers with Lemon Caper Mayo

Younger daughter here! Tonight Wisehubby and I made this recipe with just a few tweaks to ingredients, and it was a big 'ole hit in our house.

I used 1 tbsp. of lemon juice from a bottle and 1 tsp. of lemon peel out of a can because I didn't buy a lemon on accident. Plus, grating your own lemon peel? Ain't nobody got time for that!

I used two 7 oz. individually frozen salmon fillets because that's what I had. I just had to defrost those puppies.

I used Italian bread crumbs because that is what I had and I was too lazy to toast up some wheat bread and food process it.

I ended up using salt and pepper on the outside of the burgers because I forgot to mix the salt in the salmon to begin with.

I accidently used too much Italian bread crumbs in the patties because I didn't catch that you put half in the blend and half on the outside. It was ok. I just sprinkled a little on the outside before we grilled it.

We grilled on some foil because I had a suspicion that the patties might fall apart. They didn't, but rest assured, had we not used foil they would have.

Finally, we used one white bread bun and two slices of sourdough instead of wheat buns. Again, it was a situation driven by what was available and defrosted.

Any day is a good day for Tex-Mex

On Sunday, the Grillmaster and I went to lunch at a local Mexican Restaurant and sampled the brisket fajitas.  Well the servings were enormous so we ended up bringing just under 1 pound of brisket fajita meat home.  Tonight, the Grillmaster and I wanted to eat the leftovers but didn't want it to feel like leftovers.  So this is what I came up with.  It is a recipe that I modified from a Sunset, Cooking Light and Easy cookbook so it also has the benefits of being calorie controlled.

Brisket with Fiesta Rice 

1 lb prepared (cooked) brisket (I only had 15 oz.)

1/2 cup grilled sliced yellow onions and bell peppers

( This is what  came home in my food container from the restaurant.)

Rice Recipe

1 cup uncooked long grain rice

1 cup water

1 14.4 oz can diced tomatoes in tomato juice

1 10 oz can Rotel brand or Pace brand diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 Tablespoon chili powder

Combine in a medium sized Dutch oven.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.

Add one 15 oz can of black beans, drained but not rinsed.

Return to low heat. Stir in the beans.

Layer the brisket meat on top of the rice and beans.

Top with 2oz Queso Fresco (Mexican white cheese) crumbles

Cover until the cheese starts to melt then you are ready to serve.

Notice, there are NO added fats or oils.  It still tastes pretty amazing.

This serves 8 about 250 calories per serving.  Since it was dinner time, the Grillmaster had 2 servings and he was stuffed.  I served a side salad with salsa ranch dressing.  Since I substituted non-fat Greek yogurt for the sour cream in my Ranch dressing and then mixed it 50-50 with salsa, the salad dressing was non-fat and full of flavor as well.

Enjoy!

Sorry for the picture but it didn't look like much until we served some.