A (Sadly Inferior) French Onion Soup

One of the most memorable culinary experiences of my life happened in the summer of 2005. I was spending 2 weeks going around Western Europe by myself, just me, my duffel bag, and a EURail pass.

Anyway, I was in Paris, and the weather was gorgeous. Like, for serious, gorgeous. I was walking around Montmartre one gorgeous day, and felt a touch peckish. I sat down at a cute little cafe outside, looked at the menu, and ordered onion soup.

Now, let me preface this by saying that I love french onion soup, and I order it all the time. And I've had some pretty darn good ones.

But Oh. Mah. Jeebus.

This soup was astoundingly good. So good, I'm pretty sure my eyes crossed for a bit. It was perfect: salty, sweet, savory, a hint of acid... OY!

Anyway, french onion soup has been spoiled for me ever since. But I've come to realize that, though I can never equal the culinary bliss that was the first spoonful of that soup, I can still enjoy other, albeit inferior, versions. Here is my best effort:

• 5 lbs sweet onions, frenched (For instructions on how to french an onion, visit this website!)
  
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 cup white wine
• 9 cups stock, either chicken, beef, or a combination of both
• 6 sprigs thyme
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

For serving:

• Oven-safe single-serving crocks or ramekins
  
• Grated Gruyere cheese
• large croutons

1. Place olive oil in heat pot (like a dutch oven). Add onions and garlic, and cookover very low heat until the onions practically dissolve. This will take a long time (can be upwards of an hour).
2. Once onions and garlic are super soft, add butter and flour and stir to make a roux. Once the flour is absorbed, cook for 3-4 minutes, to remove raw flour flavor.
3. Pour in wine and add thyme. Increase heat to medium, bring to a boil, and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes, stirring to prevent burning.
4. Add stock, stirring to make sure stock combines with onions. Remove twigs from thyme, leaving the leaves in the soup. Bring to a boil, and season to taste.
   

To serve:

1. Preheat your oven's broiler and place the rack in your oven in the highest position it can be in and still fit the crocks.
2. Place however many crocks you will be using on a baking sheet. Fill each crock 1/3 full with croutons.
3. Ladle hot soup into crocks over croutons. Top with a lot of grated cheese. Do not neglect the edges.
4. Place baking sheet with crocks under the broiler. Watch closely. Let the cheese melt and get bubbly, but keep a close eye, and don't let the cheese burn.
5. Remove carefully and eat immediately. It will be ridiculously hot. You have been warned.**

**billysopenkitchen.blogspot.com is not responsible for any burns that may occur from overzealous slurping of this soup. Please slurp responsibly.**

Thinking Outside the Box: Chicken Stock, From Scratch!

Confession: I want to be Ina Garten.

Ostentatious fake title... Gorgeous home in a playground for the rich and famous... Appreciative husband named Geoffrey coming home to delight in my culinary ministrations every evening...

I could be the Grand Duke of Flip Flops.

I watch her show on the Food Network and drool. I read her cook books and drool. I make her recipes and drool.

Perhaps I have a drooling problem.

Nope, I don't. It is just Ina. Everything is that good.

And she always has quarts and quarts of home-made chicken stock on hand. Its thick and gelatinous out of the fridge, and gets all hot and bubbly when heated. Oh, what a life!

But wait... I am not the Grand Duke of Flip Flops. I do not live in a gorgeous home in the Hamptons. I don't have an appreciative husband named Geoffrey. At best, I have a surly brother named Jim.

And I don't have time to make stock, nor do I have the storage space to always have it around.

But sometimes... the urge to stock strikes, and I can't help myself.

Behold, the stockpot: Shining, shimmering, splendid...

So, when that urge strikes, here's how I do it.

• 1 large stock pot (mine is about 15 quarts)
• 3 roasting chickens (older than fryers; older chickens have more flavor)
• 3 stalks celery, halved to make 6 short pieces
• 2 large onions, halved
• 3 large carrots, halved (washed, not peeled)
• 2 Tbsp black peppercorns
• 1 head garlic, halved along the equator
• 15-20 sprigs thyme
• 10 sprigs rosemary
• 10 sage leaves

1. Put all ingredients into stockpot.
2. Fill with water, making sure to leave at least 3 inches between top of water and top of pot.
3. Place over medium-low heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and apply lid.
4. Let simmer for 2 hours with lid in place. Remove lid, scrape any foam off the top, and let simmer, uncovered, for another 2 hours. Remove from heat.
5. Remove as many of the large solids as you can using tongs or a slotted spoon.
6. Strain the liquid through a fine mesh and into another pot. Note: You will be lifting and pouring a significant amount of very hot liquid. Be careful! Discard the solids (the chicken could be used for making chicken salad, if you like).
7. Let cool, portion into quart-sized containers, and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 6 months.
8. Wander around your Hamptons home. Have a gin and tonic. Call for Geoffrey.
   

Note: You will notice that I did not salt my stock. I prefer to salt the final application, not the stock.

The Best Chicken Soup

So, I learned almost everything I know about cooking from my mother. She is a fantastic cook. Brilliant, even.

However, when we're making chicken soup, the rest of the family wants me to make it.

This soup is fantastic, and it couldn't be easier. You can use whatever chicken you have around. If you have a whole chicken lying about, FANTASTIC! Pop that sucker in some broth and water and cook until it falls apart, then strain the bones out of the liquid and make your soup. Have no chicken around and want a shortcut? Buy a rotisserie chicken, "disassemble", and use that.

In my house, we usually have boneless, skinless chicken breasts. These are the culinary equivalent of linoleum flooring: functional. Not pretty, not drool-inducing... Functional. But they still work, because of all the other delicious little things that get thrown into this soup!

• 4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized cubes
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 cups carrots, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups frozen peas
• 1 1/2 cups corn, either fresh or frozen
• 1 box frozen chopped spinach
• 1 large (28oz) can diced tomatos
• 3 Tbsp. dijon mustard
  
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 bottles amber beer (Sam Adams, Killians, or anything you like)
• 6 cups chicken broth or stock
  
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• 1 Tbsp. thyme leaves
  
• 1 Tbsp. rosemary leaves
  
• 2 Tbsp. tumeric (yes really)
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
  

1. Place olive oil, onions, carrots,and celery in a large soup or stock pot and saute until softened, ~5 minutes.
2. Add chicken and cook until chicken is at least partially cooked, ~5 minutes.
3. Add garlic, saute 1 minute.
4. Add thyme and rosemary.
   
5. Add wine and stir to deglaze the pot. Stir in mustard. Bring to a boil.
6. Once boiling, pour in 1 beer, chicken broth/stock, and tomatoes (including their juice).
7. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Drink the other beer, you've earned it.
8. Simmer for 20 minutes.
9. Add peas, corn, and spinach; return to a gentle boil.
10. Add tumeric. The soup should turn a pleasant yellow color. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
    

A Note Regarding Blenders and Safety

So, as you've noticed, I like blending my soups. By at least partially pureeing your soup, you get the thick, rich mouth-feel of a soup laden with cream and butter, without actually adding the cream and butter. This is great for your waistline, and especially good if you are, like me, lactose-intolerant.

I tend to use an immersion blender to puree my soups while they are still in the pot. This is a delightful gadget to have, and you can get a perfectly decent one for $25-30. That said, many people do not own an immersion blender. However, any fan of fruity drinks, milkshakes, or smoothies (or anyone who has registered for a bridal shower) has a traditional stand blender.

Here's where the safety note comes in... When blending hot liquids, you must be very careful! Don't fill your blender's vessel more than halfway at any time (i.e. blend in batches), and, when dealing with hot liquids, remove that little plastic thing in the center of your blender's lid and instead place a tea towel over it. This allows for the pressure created by steam to safely escape, as opposed to spraying you and anyone within 10 feet with boiling hot soup.

You do not want to spray your guests with soup. They won't want to come back, no matter how delicious the airborne soup may be.

Safe blending, all!


(Clip art was found on www.clipartguide.com)

Fresh Pea and Parsley Soup

It currently winter here in the Northern Hemisphere, and unless you are lucky enough to live in one of those post-card-worthy places where it is always warm and sunny, there probably isn't too much locally-grown fresh produce running about. Sure, there may be some wonky-looking rutabagas running around, hiding out in the root cellar, but as for fresh greens and the like? Yeah, they're being flown in on a plane from Chile.

Which is why, during these cold winter months, I stay cold to get many of my veggies. Really cold. Ice cold.

Yes folks, I'm talking about frozen vegetables. Vegetables flash-frozen at the peak of freshness (god bless marketing for giving me terms like flash-frozen... its so... photographic!)!

Now, you will never see a canned vegetable in my kitchen. Ever. I don't believe in them. But frozen? Sure! Many vegetables are perfectly good when frozen! Carrots, peppers, chopped spinach, peas... Oh peas... Perhaps the perfect frozen vegetable.

Which brings us to today's recipe. As I stated in yesterday's post, I recently served this Fresh Pea and Parsley soup alongside my Roasted Tomato and Pepper soup at Christmas for a festive first course. Now, let me tell you: Even though the tomato was amazing, and warm and rich and all those great things, the light, fresh taste of peas and parsley was a deliciously welcome respite from months of heavy holiday food (along with being full of vitamins, good for you, etc etc etc...).

• 2 lbs frozen peas
• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  
• Water, for steaming
  
• Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Put an inch of water in the bottom of a medium-sized pot. Using a steamer basket (or other steaming mechanism), steam the peas until just cooked. DO NOT OVERCOOK! NO ONE LIKES BROWNISH PEAS! The peas should remain bright green.
2. Once steamed, shock peas in cold water to stop the cooking process.
3. Empty water from bottom of steaming pot. Place olive oil and onion in pot and saute until softened and translucent, between 3-5 minutes.
4. Add cooked peas and 2 cups stock to the onion pot. Begin to puree with immersion blender. Add stock, as needed, and continue to puree until almost smooth.
5. Add parsley and puree further until smooth. Heat through over low flame. Add salt and pepper to taste.
   

Roast Tomato and Red Pepper Soup

Ah, tomato soup. When paired with grilled cheese, it may be the ultimate comfort food. However, unlike when I was eight, opening the condensed soup can and adding water just doesn't cut it anymore. (And, having just checked the can in the pantry, high fructose corn syrup does not a tasty soup make...)

This recipe contains no high fructose corn syrup (let the masses rejoice!), and contains no fat, either! Again, utilize our friend, fat-free chicken or vegetable broth!

I use cherry tomatoes, especially during non-tomato season, because they provide the best flavor concentration. If you are using any other type of tomato, squeeze the seeds and accompanying gook out, leaving just the flesh.

• 6 pints cherry tomatoes
• 3 large red bell peppers, seeded and quartered
• 1 white onion, peeled and quartered
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffonade
• Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a large baking sheet with nonstick spray. (There is a large amount of veggies to be roasted, so you may have to go with two medium-sized baking sheets.)
2. Spread tomatoes evenly on baking sheet. Try to get them in a single layer. Add pepper slices, onion, and garlic cloves. Spray liberally with nonstick cooking spray. Salt lightly.
3. Roast for 30-40 minutes, or until most of the tomatoes have burst and there is some color on the peppers and onion.
4. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
5. Place all vegetables in a medium-sized pot. Add ~2 cups of broth and begin to puree with immersion blender. Continue adding broth and pureeing until mostly smooth and thick.
6. Add basil chiffonade and mix. Reheat over low flame, stirring frequently.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste once heated.

**I most recently served this paired, in the same bowl, with tomorrow's soup, Fresh Pea and Parsley. With a bowl that's half red and half green, a white dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche in the center made for a perfect Christmas first course!

Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

The keys to this super-easy recipe are cooking spray (in the amounts used, it only adds a negligible amount of fat) and fat-free vegetable or chicken broth or stock, from a box, from the grocery store. While I do love homemade stocks, to assure that meat stocks are fat-free, ya gotta go with the box!

To puree this soup you can either use a traditional blender or an immersion blender, which my mother affectionately calls "the outboard motor". Both will work just fine, so whichever you've got will do!


Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

• 2 Large butternut squash, sliced from head-to-toe (lengthwise) and seeded
• 3 Granny Smith Apples (or other tart cooking apple), peeled, quartered, and seeded
• Fat-free vegetable or chicken stock or broth (whichever your taste prefers)
• 2 cloves garlic, skin removed
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 pinch yellow curry powder (optional)
• 1 pinch nutmeg (optional)
  
• Nonstick cooking spray, such as Pam
  

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
2. Place squash, cut-side up, on baking sheet, along with apples. Place garlic cloves in hollows of squash (from where you removed the seeds). This will help the garlic to roast evenly without burning.
3. Spray squash, apples, and garlic with nonstick spray. Lightly coat with salt and pepper.
   
4. Roast in oven until squash is fork-tender; anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the thickness of your squash. Remove and let cool until squash can be handled.
5. Using a large spoon, scoop the cooked squash out of its skin and place it in your blender (or, if using an immersion blender, in a pot), along with the apples and garlic. Make sure you leave all the skin out of the blender, as the skin does not taste good.
6. Add approximately 1 cup of broth or stock to your squash and begin pureeing. Add more as necessary, until a smooth, thick, and creamy soup has formed. Reheat on stove-top over low heat, stirring frequently. Add optional spices now.
7. Once hot, adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve with crusty bread.