French Onion Soup with Gruyère and Thyme

OK,  so I’ve had a busy few weeks.  I’m fighting a cold (and winning I must say…) and trying to wrap up a whole lot of projects at work before I leave for Prince George, family and Christmas next week, while trying to keep myself reasonably well-fed while I clean out my fridge.    Luckily, all of these things came together in  a moment of inspiration on Sunday, as I looked at a bag of cipollini onions I’d picked up at the market a few weeks ago because I liked the name, and needed to use up.

So I made French Onion Soup.  Luckily it was on Sunday, because the recipe I used rather optimistically stated that it would take just 25-30 minutes to caramelize onions – it took me well over an hour.  Anyhow, I finished the rest of my leftovers last night (pizza made with Lina’s bruschetta if you must know – it was delicious), so tonight I finished making the soup with the all-important final step of broiling it in a heatproof bowl, with ciabatta sprinkled with Gruyere on top.  Yum.

This is adapted from an Epicurious recipe, which was adapted from somewhere else.  This makes enough for two servings (which means I can eat this again tomorrow – hooray!), but you could easily double or triple for more servings.

• 1 pound yellow onions, halved and thinly cut lengthwise.  I used a combination of mostly red and yellow cipollini, with a yellow cooking onion added because one of my cipollinis had gone soft, and I wasn’t sure the cipollinis would have enough “bite” for this recipe.  Apparently the classic onion for this is a Vidalia if that helps you shop…
• 2 T unsalted butter
• 3 to 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Fresh cracked pepper
• 1 T all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 T port
• 2 cups beef stock, reduced salt or salt-free if possible.
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2-inch-thick slice of ciabatta bread cut in half (or use thick slices of baguette.)
• 1 cup grated Gruyère cheese

Melt the butter in a heavy 5 quart saucepan over low heat.  Add onions, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper.  Cook over low heat, stirring frequently until onions are a deep amber, sticky mess.    This will likely take a while – it took me over an hour to reach that stage, so plan to fold laundry or something while you are doing this. I set a timer for 5 minutes, and stirred every time it went off.  Don’t be tempted to turn the heat up – you don’t want them to burn or to fry crisp – it’s a long slow process, don’t rush it!  On my stove I used the “simmer” setting for a while, but turned it up just a tiny bit after about 30 minutes, because I wasn’t convinced they were ever going to caramelize.  Watch closely if you do this!

Sprinkle the flour over the onions, and cook for a minute or so, stirring so that the flour gets mixed in with the onions.  Ha – I just noticed that I used 2T and not the recommended 1 teaspoon here.  I’d go somewhere between the two – say 1 tablespoon – mine was bit thick, but I don’t think one tsp would be enough – I know that this soup is traditionally more like a broth, but the bread floats better when it’s a bit thicker.

Add the wine and port, and stir it in.  Let it bubble together for a minute or two.  Then add the stock and water, bring to a boil (whisking it all together so it doesn’t get lumpy), reduce to a simmer, and let it all meld together in a simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes.  Stir it once in a while so it doesn’t stick to the bottom or get lumpy.  Remove the thyme sprigs and the bay leaf, and taste it, adding more salt or pepper if necessary.  At this point, I stuck it in the fridge for a few days, but you can proceed directly to the next step if you’re not making it ahead.

Preheat your broiler.  Ladle the  hot soup into two ovenproof soup bowls.  Toast the bread either in your toaster or under the broiler, and float the bread on top of the soup – you should have most of the surface covered with 1 1/2 inch thick slices of bread.  Sprinkle half of the Gruyère over each bowl, and broil for a minute or two until the cheese melts.

Can’t wait to eat this again tomorrow night!

Maybe if you’re lucky I’ll have a picture tomorrow.  The lack of daylight is seriously hindering my ability to take decent pictures of food – everything looks like it’s straight out of a 70′ Better Homes and Gardens…

A lesson in recipe interpretation

I don’t have a recipe tonight, just an observation.

When attempting a new recipe that appears in a photocopied recipe book from a country like Thailand, it is probably quite authentically Thai, and I would be well-advised to remember that, unlike the creators of these recipes, I am of Irish descent, and hence anything more spicy than potatoes will singe my eyebrows.  And that two Thai chilies is probably about 1.5 chilies too many in this particular case.

Once I determine the correct spice level for my sensitive Irish palate, I’ll share what I’m sure will be an excellent Thai Coconut Soup recipe.

Lisa

 

 

Joe and Shelley’s Chocolate Ganache

This is the ganache recipe I used to fill and frost Joe and Shelley’s wedding cakes.    This was so good that one guest expressed a wish to experience the ganache in a more…  multi-sensory way.   It was one of the more memorable compliments I’ve ever received on my baking!

I’ve cut the quantities, as I have trouble imagining anyone besides me needing a ganache recipe that calls for 4 kilos of bittersweet chocolate.

This makes enough to frost one three-layer cake.

• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 20 oz good-quality bittersweet or dark chocolate.  I used Bernard Callebaut dark, but any good chocolate will work.  (I’ve used Lindt as well.)

Finely chop the chocolate in a food processor or by hand – I did it by hand, using a heavy knife and a big, new, cutting board.  If you do it by hand, make sure to chill the chocolate before you start, and don’t use your hand to move it around – it will melt, and you’ll lose a lot of chocolate to the cutting board.  Also, make sure your cutting board doesn’t carry the remnant odors of onions, garlic, or any other food you might not want your ganache to smell like, as the smell WILL transfer.  Personally, if I was to do it again in those kinds of quantities, I’d use a food processor.

Bring cream to a just-there simmer in a 4-5 quart saucepan.  Remove from heat, and whisk in the chocolate until smooth.  Transfer ganache to a bowl, and chill, covered, stirring occasionally about 4-5 hours.  If ganache becomes too thick to spread, let stand at room temperature until slightly softened.  If you make the ganache a day ahead of time, you’ll need to give it 2-3 hours at room temperature to get it back to the right consistency.

To frost a 3 layer cake:

Use 2/3 cup of ganache for each filling layer.  Once assembled, chill until layers firm up.  Spread a thin layer over the cake to seal in the crumbs, chill 30 minutes, and then use remaining ganache to frost.

p.s. – if anyone has a digital photo of the cakes, pass it on, and I’ll put it up!

 

 

Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Old Cheddar and Muenster

So.  I had this amazing cream of cauliflower soup at Gus’s cafe in Cochrane a few weeks ago, and I thought “How hard can it be to make this?  So, I started on a recipe hunt, and was frankly disappointed at the results.  I knew what I wanted – something thick, and chunky, and savoury and flavourful, but most were variations on “boil cauliflower in stock, puree”.  That wasn’t going to cut it, so I made up my own version, with some assistance from the bechamel sauce in the “Rebar” cookbook , as well as some cheese that I needed to use up, which seemed like it would be nice and melty.  And voila, Lisa’s Rebar-inspired Creamy Cheesy Cauliflower Soup happened like magic…

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets (pinky-finernail sized or smaller, and include any bits that come off when you’re chopping, it adds texture!)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups milk, warmed  (I used 1% because that’s what I had in the fridge – skim or 2% would work too, but I wouldn’t use homogenized - this will be plenty rich without it…)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced thyme
• 4 tablespoons minced oregano
• 4 tablespoons minced Italian (flat) parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups grated cheese – I used about half old cheddar and half muenster, but feel free to improvise here. 

Saute the onion and salt in 1 T olive oil about 5 minutes, or until soft.  Add garlic and saute for a few minutes more.  Remove pan from heat, and stir in chopped herbs.

In a largish pot, melt the butter and flour together, stirring constantly, until it’s bubbly and golden.  Slowly whisk in the warmed milk, stirring constantly.  Let this simmer, stirring frequently so it doesn’t stick, for about 10 minutes or until thickened.

While that is cooking, steam the cauliflower in about 1/4 c of water (I used the microwave) until it is tender-crisp – you want it cooked, but not too mushy.

Stir in the grated cheese, herb, garlic, and onion mixture, and stir until the cheese melts.  Add in cauliflower with it’s cooking liquid, and heat through.  Adjust thickness if needed by adding either more milk or a bit more cheese.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve hot.

I suppose you could use broccoli either in addition to or instead of the cauliflower, but I have a bias against broccoli that I can’t explain, but if you’re partial to it, go for it….

This is even better on day 2!

Potato Leek Soup for recovery

So, I’ve been out of commission for a few weeks with a nasty virus (people keep asking if I’ve been tested for West Nile – answer, I can’t exactly remember, but I think they likely did…)  Said virus landed me in isolation in hospital for 5 days, on IV antibiotics and antivirals while they tried (unsuccessfully) to figure out what I had.   After 5 days of hospital food, I was sent home 5 pounds lighter, with no appetite, and virtually no energy with which to cook anything to tempt my tastebuds.

So I defaulted to my favourite simple soup, even though it’s 30 degrees outside.  Originally I think I learned this from James Barber aka”the Urban Peasant,” but it’s so simple it barely needs a recipe.  Because there are so few ingredients, I try to use the best leeks and potatoes (local and organic) – better tasting ingredients really will equal better tasting soup.   For two small servings you need:

• 1 large potato, russet or Yukon Gold, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 large leek, white and pale green parts only, washed and roughly chopped
• 1 tsp butter

Saute the leek in the butter until it’s soft.  Add the potato, and just enough water to cover the potatoes and leeks.  Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are basically falling apart, 20-25 minutes.  Puree with an immersion (hand-held) blender, and thin with either cream or milk, or a bit more water.   I like the smoothness that a bit of cream brings to the soup, but you can get that with just a splash of cream if you’re watching fat/calories, or use more if you’re feeling splurge-y.

Add salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste – I like Mr. Beard’s description, which I seem to recall said “Add twice as much pepper as seems reasonable.”

If you want pretty swirly patterns in your soup, put  few tablespoons of  sour cream in a squeeze bottle,  shake it well and draw a corkscrew on the top of the bowl, and then draw lines from the centre outwards with a toothpick/chopstick/knife.

Blueberry Buttermilk Scones

Campsite at Two Jack Lake

I went camping in Banff a few weeks ago with my friend Eva, along with her husband and their three lovely and hilarious girls.  They’ve been road-tripping for a month, so I thought I should bring something homemade for them.  I had a couple of pints of blueberries that I needed to use, so I made these to take along for breakfast the next day.  The girls were a very appreciative audience, and we polished off two batches in very short order.  Apparently they’ve been asking her to make them since they got home, so this is for Eva, Dan, Jessica, Kiana, and Sydney!

Blueberry-Buttermilk Scones

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cake flour (not self-rising)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 stick or 1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen – if using frozen, don’t thaw them first, just stir them into the batter frozen
½ cup buttermilk
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg lightly beaten for egg wash
½ teaspoon  vanilla extract
Sugar in the Raw (aka turbinado sugar), for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with either a Silpat or parchment paper.

Whisk together flours, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  Cut in butter with a pastry cutter until mixture has the texture of coarse meal.  Gently stir in blueberries.

Whisk together buttermilk, 1 egg and the vanilla. Drizzle over flour mixture, and stir lightly with a fork or rubber spatula until dough comes together but a small amount of flour remains in bowl.  (note, I had to use a few extra tablespoons of buttermilk to get it to stick together – flour actually changes it’s ability to absorb liquid depending on the humidity in the area, and I think Calgary must be about twice as dry as wherever this recipe was developed…!)

Turn out dough onto a work surface, and gently knead dough once or twice just to incorporate flour. Transfer dough to baking sheet, and pat into a 1-inch-thick round.  Cut into  8 or 12 wedges, but don’t pull them apart. (the slices will just let you pull it apart easily once it’s baked)

 Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with  sugar.  Bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 30 minutes.

Transfer to wire racks to cool. Scones are best served immediately but can be frozen for up to 1 month and then thawed and reheated in a 350° oven for 10 minutes.

We finished off our visit with a hike up Johnson’s Canyon to the Ink Pots.  The weather was fabulous, and it was a great hike.  Yes I can hear all you locals saying “it’s too busy!”, but there’s a reason it’s busy – it’s a nice little hike, with lots to keep kids interested on the way up (Waterfalls!  “S” Shaped Trees!  Catwalks!  Caves!)  and a couple of cool mineral spring pools at the top.   All in all, it was a pretty great way to spend the weekend…

Multigrain Bread

First up…  my recipe for multigrain bread…

• 3/4 cups hot multigrain cereal mix (Bob’s Red Mill, Community Natural Foods 12 grain or the like.  DO NOT use 7 grain cereal flakes!)
• 3/4 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)
• 2 1/2 cups boiling water
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 cup honey
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 1/2 teaspoons quick acting or instant yeast
• 2 teaspoons table salt
• 3/4 cup pumpkin or sunflower seeds (unsalted)
• 1 egg yolk
• additional oatmeal for topping

Put hot cereal mix and rolled oats in bowl of mixer, and pour boiling water over.  Stir in butter and honey until melted, and let cool until warm and porridge-like, stirring occasionally.

Using dough hook and low speed (and cover if you have one…) mix in yeast, whole wheat flour, then salt, then white flour.  Knead on low speed until dough is smooth and elastic, 5-8 minutes.  Sprinkle with a few additional tablespoonsful of flour if it’s still sticky, and pull up the mixer and move the dough around periodically so it all gets bashed around.Add in seeds, and knead for another 30 seconds or so, until seeds are evenly dispersed in dough.

Take dough out of bowl, put about a teaspoon of olive or veg oil in the bowl, return the dough, and turn it around a few times so it’s all covered with oil.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled – 45 minutes to an hour.

Shape dough into two loaves.  Brush loaves with 1 egg yolk mixed with a tablespoon of water, and roll the loaves in the additional oats, which you have placed in a nice deep baking dish to minimize the mess.  Press them firmly into the dough, otherwise they’ll just fall off when you handle the loaves later…

Put the loaves into two greased 9×5 inch loaf pans, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise again until doubled, about 30-40 minutes.

While loaves are rising, preheat oven to 375.  Bake 35-40 minutes, or until instant-read thermometer reads 200. Remove from pans, and cool on wire racks (if you can keep from eating them hot!)

Welcome to my new blog…

I’ve been asked a few times about sharing recipes, so I thought a blog was a good idea as a way for me to share recipes and perhaps other projects/entertaining things I stumble on, without emailing the same thing zillions of times (ok, maybe just tens of times, I’m not quite as well known as Jamie Oliver.  Yet….!

Lisa