Creamy French Onion Soup

Hey All,


Sorry for the delay in any new posts.  This is from a guest suburban cook my sister Rachel.  Thanks for the contribution Rach!  The notes below are all hers!  Good Stuff.  Pictures to follow later.

So this is the onion soup recipe I found, it was really easy to make, and doesn't make a huge amount.  If you are looking to feed more than 4 I would say to double the recipe.  This probably makes about 6 cups. Also I thought that 2 bouillon cubes made it very salty, and so I have cut back to one... and add no additional salt, up to you though.  I also sometimes add some already boiled chunks of potato in mine if I am looking for a heartier soup that day.  Also I have used both Velveeta and american cheese...OK either way. 

Also the recipe doesn't call for it, but I usually add some sherry or brandy to mine at the end, I think it gives it a great kick.  Be careful not to overcook it at the end as it starts to separate if you do.   If you try it let me know what you think.

Prep Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 1 1/4 hr

Ingredients:

·         2 cups yellow sweet onions, thinly sliced

·         2 tablespoons butter

·         1 (15 ounce) can chicken broth

·         1/4 teaspoon salt

·         1/4 teaspoon fresh pepper, ground

·         2  chicken bouillon cubes

·         1/4 cup Velveeta Cheese cubes, diced (compressed in measuring cup)

·         1 1/2-1 3/4 cups white sauce (below)

·         cheddar cheese, shredded (for garnish)

White Sauce

·         3 tablespoons butter

·         3 tablespoons flour

·         1/4 teaspoon salt

·         1 1/2 cups whole milk

1.     Thick White Sauce:.

2.     In a 1 quart sauce pan melt butter and add flour, cook on medium heat until the flour turns thick and comes away from the sides of the sauce pan.

3.     Pour milk in flour a little at a time and stir constantly, add salt. Mixture should thicken and become like thick pudding.

Directions:

1.     1 In 2 quart sauce pan place 3 tablespoons butter and sliced onions.

2.     2 Cook at low to medium heat stirring frequently until soft and clear but not brown.

3.     3 Add chicken broth from can, chicken bouillon cubes, salt, pepper, and stir until completely heated through.

4.     4 Add white sauce and Velveeta cheese. White sauce will be thick because it has been removed from the heat. Simmer on medium low heat until the cheese is melted and all ingredients are blended, stirring constantly.

5.     5 Turn temperature to warm and let cook for additional 30 to 45 minutes.

6.     6 Serve with a garnish of shredded cheddar cheese, and a couple of slices of warm dark Russian Bread.

7.     7 Remember to stir constantly taking care not to let mixture lump, set aside off from heat until ready to use for the soup

Chicken Fried Codfish With Brussel Kraut Part #2

So this was an astounding success and was my first attempt to make a dish that has been de-constructed.  Everyone loved this dish and no portions were left.  After the jalapeno popper appetizer this dish was a great way to finish the evening.  I made several alterations to make this easier to make at home.  First instead of chipotles, I used serranno peppers roasted for better heat in the sauce.  This reduced the smokiness of the sauce but better heat was a well received changed.  The second change was I used Swanson's Beef Stock instead of making Veal Stock.  This saved a considerable amount of time and while I think the Veal stock would have been a slightly better flavor this was all about adding a little ease to a pretty complicated recipe.

So now on to the actual meal.  This was great.  The brussel sprout kraut was a sweet de-constructed sauer kraut that had a fantastic flavor and mixed with the reduction glaze was unbelievable.  I can see why this was a Top Chef winning meal.  Just awesome.

So now onto the good nitty-gritty.  This was not the easiest meal I have ever made.  The prep work took close to an hour and the cook time was over an hour.  While the actual technique was not overly difficult from a cooking perspective the timing was difficult and the plating was not pretty (this was user error as I am not great at presentation).

Difficulty:  Not So Easy

Taste: Exceptional

Cost: Moderately Expensive

Ingredients Purchased:  

Fish: Whole Foods

Veg: Whole Foods

All Other Ingredients: Supermarket

Enjoy this dish and thanks Richard Blais for a kick-ass recipe.  The actual recipe is in the blog post from a few days ago.  

Jalapeno Poppers Wrapped In Bacon

So I am doing this as two separate posts.  We had an awesome dinner last night and I made two dishes.  The first was bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers. These were awesome and the dish was goine in about 10 minutes. These are quick to make and anyone looking for a unique twist on poppers (which I typically find are too fried or not very well made) will love these.  Additionally a little heat is good although by removing the seeds they become more universally edible and my three year old nephew was even able to enjoy one.


I hope everyone likes this one and thanks to my sister-in-law Christie for the recommendation and recipe.

Not the Prettiest Picture but the flavor should make up for this.

Ingredients

·         6 jalapeno peppers

·         4 ounces cream cheese, softened

·         2 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese

·         6 bacon strips, halved widthwise

·         1/4 cup packed brown sugar

·         1 tablespoon chili seasoning

Directions:

1.  Cut jalapenos in half lengthwise and remove seeds; set aside. In a small bowl, beat cheeses until blended. Spoon into pepper halves. Wrap a half-strip of bacon around each pepper half.

2.  Combine brown sugar and chili seasoning; coat peppers with sugar mixture. Place in a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan.


3.  Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes or until bacon is firm.


Difficulty:  Easy
Taste:  Very Good
Cost: Cheap (All Ingredients Can be purchased at grocery store)

Chicken Fried Codfish With Brussel Kraut

This was the winning recipe from Richard Blais on Top Chef and I will be attempting to make this tonight.  Fingers crossed:


Chicked Fried Codfish with Brussel Kraut
and Ginger Beer
by Richard Blais
COD:
4 codfish fillets, 4 ounces each
1 cup eggs, scrambled
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1 cup Panko, pulverized
2 tablespoons Parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Method:
1. Season flour and add hot sauce to eggs. Dredge cod and fry until golden.
BRUSSEL KRAUT:
1/4 cup bacon, small dice
2 cups brussel sprout cores, shredded
small knob butter
1 tablespoon dill
1 tablespoon ginger
1 lime, juiced
1 tablespoon parsley
1/2 cup potato, small diced
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup tomato, small diced
Method:
1. Sweat bacon and ginger and potato.
2. Add shredded cores and soften.
3. Finish with tomato, herbs, lime, and butter.
GINGER BEER SAUCE:
1 knob fresh ginger
6 pack ginger beer
1/2 cup honey
1 cup soy
2 cups veal glaze
2 chipotle peppers
Method:
1. Reduce everything until a glaze is achieved.

Plan of Attack for In-Laws and Appetites

So this week I am going to be delving deeper into some more complicated food.  First I will be attempting Richard Blais' Panko Fried Cod with Ginger Beer Sauce and Brussel Sprout Kraut.  I will also be doing a Veal Saltimobocca as this is one of my mother-in-laws favorites and I know she will love it.  My sister-in-law has also requested seafood so I am thinking Maryland Crab Cakes with Tiger Sauce or from Scratch Clams Linguine.  I know crab is out of season but screw it... Crab is always good.  In the immortal words of Homer Simpson... I will have your finest food stuffed with your second finest food!  Very good sir.  Lobster stuffed with Tacos.

Any suggestions....  Let me know....

PS-  Sofie daddy loves you!

Beans and Rice

This is a quick easy one. A traditional Hispanic dish that we eat a lot.  This one has a Cajun twist

Ingredients:

1. Large can of black beans (I like Goya)
2. 1/2 medium yellow onion (Diced/chopped)
3. 1 clove garlic (use garlic press)
4. 1 red bell pepper (Chop Rustic)
5. 3 tblspoons olive oil
6. 1/2 lb chorizo (optional) (cook ground)
7. 2 cups white rice
8. SLAP YO MAMA (Louisiana Cajun Spice Mix)
9. Home made hot sauce (recipe coming soon until then use you favorite hot sauce)

1. In large pan heat oil.
2. Dice onion small
3. Add onion to oil and allow to cook untel soft.
4. When onion is  soft add pressed garlic
5. Add Red Bell Pepper

6. Add black beans and chorizo.  Do not drain
7.  Cover allow mix to simmer for 20 minutes.
8.  At same time bean dish is simmering prepare rice following instructions for type of rice on bag.
9.  After 20 minutes add Slap Yo Mama or cajun spice to mix and allow to simmer for 10 additional minutes
10. Server hot over rice.  Avoid open flames for several hours after meal.

Ingredients Purchased:

All Ingredients Except Chorizo: Giant
Chorizo: Bodega near my house I can't pronounce properly.

Difficulty: Easy
Flavor:  Kick Butt
Time to Make: Easy
Cost:  Super Cheap
Gas Danger: High

Zupa de Pesce

For my first trick.....

This is the dish that started it all.  My first real job in high school was working at a local Italian restaurant and while the quality of the food was variable, depending on who was on the line, the variety of food and the dishes I was exposed to began my passion for food.  The dish that really epitomized this was Zupa de Pesce.  Like most Italian dishes this can be made a number of different ways and even has many names including Cioppino. Mine is a simple variation.  So I hope you enjoy this tasty Italian treat and please let me know what you think.  Buon Appetito.

Ingredients:
1. 1 lb Fresh Calamari

mmmmm.......

2. 1 lb Fresh Scallops (bay is also fine)
3. 2 Dozen clams in the shell.
4. 2 dozen mussels (optional)
5. 1 lb shrimp (optional)
6. 1 large can crushed tomatoes
7. 1 small can diced tomatoes
8. Fresh Basil leaves
9. tablespoon oregano
10. 3 tablespoons olive oil
11. 1 large yellow or Vidalia onion
12. 3-4 cloves fresh garlic
13. 1 cup red wine (I prefer dry but any will do)
14. Salt, Pepper and Sugar to taste
15. 1 lb fettuccine or linguine.  (Angel Hair is also good)

Steps:
1. In a large skillet heat olive oil.
2. Dice onion and when oil is hot begin sautee of onion.  onion should be slightly golden.
3. Add garlic allowing to cook for a few minutes
4. Add diced tomatoes allowing to soften and mixing with onion and garlic.  Do not drain tomatoes.
5. Add crushed tomatoes.
6 Add oregano, Basil, wine and sugar to taste.
7. Allow sauce to cook for 30-45 minutes or until flavor is where you like it.  Should be sweet and well combined.
8. Add clams (make sure you clean them well) with easy view to see when they open.  Clams should be submerged.  Allow clams to cook for 15 - 20 minutes
9.  Cut fresh calamari into rings.  Include tentacles.  They are delicious.
10.  Add scallops and calamari to dish.  Allow to cook for 20-30 minutes.
11. Prepare pasta al dente (this is difficult to achieve if you are me but try try again)
12. Place prepared pasta into middle of plate and with tongs place clams around edge.  Add calamari and scallop mix on top of pasta.
13.  Eat whole dish ignoring obvious food coma that is inevitable.
14. ENJOY!!!!

I hope you enjoy this dish.  This dish can also be made adding a nice harissa.  While simple, this dish is excellent and for a seafood lover gets a lot of the delicious crustacean goodies I love into the dish.  Please let me know what you think once you have had a chance to try it.

Where did I buy my ingredients:

Seafood- Whole Foods
Spices, Pasta- Giant
Canned Tomatoes- Costco

Cooking Difficulty- Easy
Time for Cooking- Not So Easy  (especially if you are freaking starving like I was when i made this)

See you next time.

Introduction

To All My New Friends (hopefully),

Let me begin by thanking you for joining me on my blog.  This is the first blog I have ever written and I chose to do it on a subject that is near and dear to my heart, food and its preparation.  For those of you who know me, and my expanding waist line, this is a subject which I take seriously.  As part of this blog I will attempt to create a variety of dishes that will not only satisfy the palate but also the soul.  Or in some cases the sole :)

The purpose of this blog is to recreate some of the recipes I see on cooking shows, Top Chef, Hell's Kitchen, Iron Chef etc... to take recipes submitted by those who may be following the blog, and to recreate those dishes from my past that have led to my passion for food.  Additionally each recipe will include a difficulty rating.  Easy, Not So Easy, Hard and Holy Moly I need  Degree to Cook this as well as reviews on flavor, texture and potential changes I will make in the future to improve the dish.  I will also include the cost per dish and the availability of the ingredients that I used.

As a last note the name of this blog is suburban cooking.  This is intended for the amateur chef that may get one or two nights a week to try new things.  While I understand my fellow foodies will most likely be better chefs and or have more time, please make your comments positive and remember this is for fun.

Thank you in advance for any interest you show in this blog and please comment early and often!

Best Regards,

RJB