French Onion Soup

Ingredients
10-12 lbs mixed onions (I used Vidalia/Yellow/Red mixed depending on what's available)
750 ml white wine (semi-dry Chardonnay or Springgate's Susquehanna Sweet White)
1 qt natural apple cider
2 gallons beef broth
Olive oil
Sea Salt

A bouquet garni composed of several sprigs each:
  Thyme
  Rosemary
  Bay Leaves
  Oregano
  Sage

For serving:
Toasted bread
Shredded cheese

Instructions:
You will need two stock pots. One to preheat the stock and a larger one to actually make the soup.

Peel and cut onions in half. I use a food processor slicer to slice all of the halves into thin slices.

Add beef broth to a stock pot and slowly bring to a simmer while cooking the onions. Since I usually have my beef broth frozen, starting this now gets it ready for when I need it later. If you have unfrozen beef broth, this still helps get the soup boiling faster when you assemble it in the large stock pot.

Heat a large skillet on medium heat (I have a 15" Lodge cast iron skillet for this.) When hot, add Olive oil to coat the bottom. Fill the skillet half full of onion slices. Sprinkle on about 1/2 t Sea Salt. Add another layer of onions and salt again. Allow the onions to heat up and begin to fry a bit. Be patient. You want them to caramelize slowly to a dark mahogany color without burning. Once you begin to see color on the bottom, gently roll the pile to put uncaramalized slices on the bottom. Keep going, slowly stirring until the entire batch has softed and caramelized.  Remove that batch to your unheated large stock pot to hold for now. Repeat with the rest of the onions, one batch at a time.

On the last batch of onions, once they have caramelized, add the apple cider, stir to deglaze the skillet and let simmer to reduce by at least 1/2.

Continue to stir while adding the bottle of wine, then allow to simmer to reduce by 1/2 again.

Add the contents of the skillet to the rest of the caramelized onions. Add the preheated beef broth as well. Assemble your bouquet garni and put it in the stock pot as well (I use a large tea ball to keep the herbs all together and out of the soup.)

Bring to a low boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 1 hour (longer if you wish). Simmering integrates the herb flavors into the soup.





Prepare to serve:
Fill an oven-ready bowl to within 1/2" of the top. Add a piece of toasted bread and cover with cheese (I prefer Gruyere, but also like the taste of aged sharp Provolone or good Swiss cheese.) Place bowls on a baking sheet and put under the oven broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve immediately.

Creamy Leek & Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 2 sticks unsalted butter (1/2 lb or 1 c)
• 2 leeks (about 1" diameter), sliced lengthwise then into 1/2" pieces. Break up and wash under cold water
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 quart chicken broth (I used homemade chicken stock)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 4 cups Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 cups heavy cream

Instructions

1. In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Cook leeks in butter with salt (to help sweat out the liquid) and pepper until tender, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. I let mine caramelize lightly.
2. Stir cornstarch into broth and pour broth into pot. Add the potatoes and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the cream, reduce heat and simmer at least 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

Based on a recipe found at http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/potato-leek-soup-iii/

Cranberry barbeque chicken dip

Ingredients:
1 can whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 bottle chili sauce
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T coarse brown mustard
1 t red pepper flakes
1 T cider vinegar
4 c cooked chicken, shredded
2 pkg Neufchatel cheese, softened
1 lb Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Small bunch of green onions cut up for garnish.

2 - 8" diameter oven safe serving bowls or a single 9x13 glass casserole dish

Instructions.

Preheat oven to 350° F

Lightly oil dishes with olive oil. Evenly divide Neufchatel cheese between the dishes and press out evenly on the bottom (put some oil on your fingers to make this easy.) Cover with a light layer of shredded Monterey jack. Set aside.

Put cranberry sauce, chili sauce, worschesher sauce, mustard, red pepper, and vinegar in a food processor. Pulse to combine. You want the cranberries to still have some texture, so don't puree.

Put chicken in a large bowl. Spoon about 1/2 cup of barbeque sauce over it and stir well. Keep adding a few spoonfuls until all of the chicken is coated and the mixture holds together. Add a bit more sauce along with about 1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack and mix just until combined.

Spoon an even layer of chicken mixture into the casserole dishes. Level with the back of a spoon.

Coat with the remaining shredded Monterey jack cheese.

Bake, uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove and top with green onions.

Serve immediately with snack crackers.

Roast chicken with vegetables

Roast chicken with vegetables

Serves 4 | Preparation: 20 min | Preparation: 1 h 15 | Easy |

2 tbsp fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, rosemary, oregano) + for garnish
1 clove garlic, minced
4 tbsp olive oil
1 chicken, in its entirety,
1/3 lb new potatoes
2 red peppers, deseeded
pepper
salt

1. Mix the spices with the garlic and
olive oil and rub it into the chicken.
Bake for 30 min in a pre-heated
oven at 375° and baste the
chicken regularly with the juices.

2. Rinse the potatoes. Wash
peppers and cut them into quarters.
Remove the chicken from the oven.
Cut up into pieces.

3. Put the chicken pieces back into the
baking dish and add the vegetables. 
Season with salt and pepper and
bake 45 min at 350°. Finish with
fresh herbs and serve.

http://simplyyou.carrefour.eu/