french onion soup

Everyone should have a good french onion soup in their cooking arsenal right? It's easy to make ahead, and if you have people over for dinner, you can serve them in crocks and broil the cheese topping in just a couple minutes. But that's where the practicality can end if you want - it's one of the best vehicles for maximum melted cheese consumption. And can anyone guess where I scored my recipe? Soup? Hello? Of course, like every good soup around AHB, it's New England Soup Factory. (I have absolutely no association with the restaurant or book, in case you're starting to get suspicious.)

Grocery list: hunks of french bread for the topping (the original gives a nice twist on "garlicky croutons, but I skipped that in lieu of my own fresh wheat bread), 6T butter, 8 large vidalia onions (peeled and sliced), 3 cloves garlic (peeled and sliced), 2 cups cream sherry, 3 T tomato paste, 4 quarts beef stock, 2 bay leaves, 1 T cornstarch dissolved in 3 T water, 1 T balsamic vinegar, 1.5-2 cups grated gruyere cheese.



Start by slicing all those onions.



Melt the butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. Saute the onions, stirring occasionally, until they've caramelized - about 20 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and cook 20 more minutes. Add 1 cup of the sherry to de-glaze pan.



Next, stir in the rest of the sherry, the tomato paste, beef stock and bay leaves. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.



Add the cornstarch-water mixture, bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Turn off the heat, stir in the vinegar, then season with salt and pepper. Fish the bay leaves out and throw them away before serving.



When you're read to serve the soup, preheat the broiler, then ladle soup into individual crocks or bowls (make sure they are safe for the oven/broiler).



Place slices of bread on top. Sprinkle (scoop, bulldoze, etc) cheese over bread, and broil until bubbly and brown.



This is as good as any french onion soup I've ever had, I promise. And if you've made a big batch of beef stock lately, I can't imagine a better way to use it.

double-beef chili

Chili is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you're trying to plan a healthy dinner. But if you're careful not to pile on too much cheese and sour cream (ahem), it's actually a good balance. There's a ton of protein, in this case from both the ground sirloin and the trimmed brisket; there's fiber and more protein from kidney and black beans; there's tons of vitamins and antioxidants in the tomatoes, peppers and the butternut squash. And if you consider how well it freezes and reheats, it's basically the perfect one-dish meal. I was inspired to try brisket and butternut squash by a recipe I found in Bon Appetit months ago, although beyond these 2 ingredients, I put this together on my own.

Grocery list: 1 pound lean ground sirloin, 2 pounds brisket (trimmed of fat and cut into bite-size cubes), 1 butternut squash, 1-2 onions, garlic, 1 bell pepper, 2 cans of beans (kidney and/or black bean work well), 2-4 cups beef stock, 2 28-ounce cans crushed or diced tomatoes, chili spices (paprika, chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin).



Start by chopping the vegetables for the base. Set a large dutch oven over medium-high heat, add a couple tablespoons of olive oil, and add the onion and pepper. After 2 minutes, add the garlic.



Stir well, then add the ground meat and break up with a spoon.



While the ground beef starts to cook, season the brisket with salt and pepper. I trimmed it of any excess fat I could find before cutting it into pieces. Add the brisket pieces to the pan and stir to combine.



The idea is to get the brisket pieces to brown a bit on the outside; you don't need to cook them all the way through because they will braise in the chili for hours. Once the meat is brown (only a few minutes), add the seasoning. I used about 3 T of chili powder, 1 tsp of cayenne, 1 tsp cumin, and 1 T paprika. I also added a few splashes of Frank's Red Hot. This part is really up to you - just remember you can always add heat later, but you can't take it away.



Drain and rinse the beans thoroughly. Add them to the pan, along with both cans of tomatoes (including the tomato juice). Stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a slow simmer.



Finally, peel and cube the butternut squash into bite-size pieces, and add to the chili. Cook uncovered, adding beef stock every 30 minutes or so as the liquid evaporates.



I let this chili simmer all afternoon, so I added nearly a quart of beef stock over the course of the day, but you might need less. You can see in the picture above how much it has cooked down - this is just before I served it. Taste it and adjust the salt or spices as needed. To serve, ladle into bowls and top with sour cream, grated cheddar, even some chopped red onion or avocado.

leftovers for breakfast: turkey bacon and kale scramble

The kale with roasted onion rings was made for this purpose: to try and recreate The Flying Biscuit's bacon-collard scramble. It might not look that appealing (no offense to The Flying Biscuit, but neither does their version - greens scrambled in eggs have a beauty in the eye of the beholder), but it was delicious. Using (mostly) egg whites and turkey bacon made this a healthy option for any day of the week.

Grocery list: leftover kale or collards, eggs, turkey bacon, grated cheddar cheese.



Chop 3-4 slices of turkey bacon, and saute in just a teaspoon of oil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes.



Add about 1 cup of leftover kale (you might want to run a knife through it to chop it a little more finely) and cook for 1 minute. Whisk 1 egg + 7 egg whites together with a tablespoon of half-and-half, then add to the skillet. Scramble until eggs are cooked, then sprinkle a handful of sharp cheddar cheese over top.

garlicky kale with roasted onion rings

There's a popular breakfast spot in Atlanta called the Flying Biscuit, and one of their signature plates is a turkey bacon and collard green scramble. For whatever reason, I started craving this the other day. But who's going to get up and start cooking greens at 6am? I needed leftovers for this... So instead of making old school fat-back collards (more bacon grease than greens, mmm), I tried this recipe from March 2008 F&W that I'd set aside. It was perfect: the kale wasn't greasy and still had bite (unlike southern collards), and the onion rings were a sweet contrast to the salt and garlic. I'll blog about the scramble tomorrow morning.

Grocery list: 2 pounds kale (washed, trimmed, cut crosswise into strips), 2 shallots, 3 (or 5!) garlic cloves, 1 large sweet onion, olive oil.



Start by cutting the onion into thick rounds (about 1/3 inch), like you're making onion rings. Separate the rings and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast on a large baking sheet at 425 for about 20 minutes, turning several times, until the rings are golden. Set aside.



Next, boil a large pot of water and add the kale. Cook for 4-5 minutes, then drain. This pre-cooking will help so the garlic won't burn in the next step, so don't skip it.



Mince the shallot and garlic and saute in olive oil over medium high heat. After a couple minutes, add the drained kale and stir well. I added a pinch of crushed red pepper at this stage too, deviating from the recipe just a little.



After about 5-7 minutes, add the onion rings to the kale. You might need to drizzle a little more olive oil over them too, and season with salt and pepper.

football sunday onion dip

A loves french onion dip: the gnarly, plastic-y "helluva good" brand french onion dip in a can. I can barely stand to look at the stuff, not to mention taste it. The label includes about 57 chemicals and "powdered" flavoring. Needless to say, I don't buy it unprompted. When I saw an article in December Food & Wine, where they suggest several different themes for parties and accompanying menus, I jumped on one that called for a homemade onion dip. It was simple enough, just caramelize some onions and mix with sour cream and cream cheese. I'd rather spend 10 minutes making this than ever buy the canned stuff again.

Grocery list (adapted from the original): 2 large onions, worcestershire sauce, 4oz softened cream cheese (half a block), 3/4 c sour cream, handful parsley, butter.



Start by thinly slicing the onions. Heat 2T butter in a dutch oven over medium heat, then add the onions.



Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are golden, about 20 minutes. Add a couple tablespoons water, and stir until the liquid cooks out. Remove from heat.



When the onions have cooled, move them to a cutting board and chop finely. Stir them into the sour cream and cream cheese.



Add about 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley, a couple dashes worcestershire, and season with salt and pepper. I also added a pinch of dried red pepper flakes for kick. Refrigerate until ready to serve - with lots of salty potato chips on the side.

memorial day cookout: my favorite borrowed recipes

I'll take any excuse to grill burgers, and memorial day is no exception. I found several recipes from my favorite new food blogs, and decided to spice up my cookout routine - I'm so glad I did. The blue cheese and bacon potato salad is from the latest issue of Martha (which I accidentally receive at my house, since its former occupant was a subscriber). The burger recipe, which is unique more for the preparation method instead of the ingredients, comes from The Kitchn, an Apartment Therapy blog. And these onion rings, these most crispy-perfect-with-a-kick onion rings, are from Last Night's Dinner, quite possibly the world's prettiest food blog.

Grocery list: (for the burgers) 1/2 vidalia onion, 2 pounds ground beef, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, garlic powder, salt, pepper, a little leftover bacon grease, bacon, buns, any toppings you like; (for the potato salad) 1.5 pounds small red potatoes, 4 slices cooked bacon, dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, 2 ounces blue cheese crumbles, chives, 1/2 cup buttermilk, olive oil; (for the onion rings) 1 large red onion, sriricha hot sauce (or other hot sauce), vegetable oil, salt, A/P flour.



Here's the original recipe from The Kitchn, which I followed almost exactly (other than substituting ground sirloin for ground chuck). I recommend spreading waxed paper and/or plastic wrap on the counter first, then shape the 2 pounds of beef into a long "snake". Form a deep trench in the middle, scattering the finely chopped onion into the well. Add about 10 dashes of worcestershire and soy sauces, a sprinkle of salt and garlic powder, and a generous amount of cracked pepper. If you have any leftover bacon grease (I don't serve burgers without bacon if I can help it), drizzle 1-2 T of this down the middle as well. Pinch off sections of the snake to form patties, and grill over medium heat till the burgers are as done as you like.



For the blue cheese potato salad, start with the dressing. Mix together 1/2 cup buttermilk with 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese (use a fork to break up the cheese thoroughly), then mix in 1 tsp dijon mustard, 1 T red wine vinegar, and 1-2 T olive oil. Slice the potatoes into halves or quarters (bite size pieces), then boil in salted water for about 12 minutes, until you can pierce easily with a fork. Drain and allow to cool. Toss the potatoes with the dressing, and refrigerate to cool Just before serving, stir in a handful of finely chopped chives to the dressing, and 4 slices of crumbled bacon. Season with salt and pepper.



Now comes my favorite part, those onion rings... The photos from the original recipe on Last Night's Dinner are much better, but I'll include mine so you can see how easy it is to replicate her masterpiece. Start by thinly slicing a red onion and separating into rings; place in a large bowl. Season with sea salt, and generously coat with sriricha hot sauce (side note - my little brother and I spent some time in Cambodia last year, and I swear this is the exact hot sauce that was served with every meal I had there). Toss to coat, and allow to sit for 20-30 minutes for the onions to release their juices.



Next, shake about 1/2 cup of AP flour into a large ziploc bag. Grab a handful of the onion rings, and squeeze out any excess water and hot sauce. Transfer to the bag, zip closed, and shake to coat. Heat about an inch deep vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet, until it shimmers (medium-high heat). Gently add a few onion rings at a time to the pan, and cook until golden and crispy.



Use a spider to carefully remove the rings to a paper-towel lined plate; season with a little more sea salt. As LND says on her blog, these are best served hot and fresh - this is so true (I couldn't help but eat approximately 1/3 of the batch before ever getting them to the table).