A Soup for the French, and the Gods

What to do with a bag of red onions? Why, those onions are just crying to become French onion soup! You would think it would be hard to make this bowl of rich and juicy onions topped in crusty gruyere. Not so. If I can do it while watching Benjamin Button, you can too. Just gather the ingredients and this dish--made possible by the Food Network's Tyler Florence, whose recipe I've duplicated below--is all yours for just a few bucks. And I must say, the flavor brings back to flashing images of Paris and my mom's beefy, juicy, brisket. Not a bad combination....

RICH AND HEAVENLY FRENCH ONION SOUP

THE GOODS

1/2 cup unsalted butter ($1)

4 onions, sliced ($2.69)
2 garlic cloves, chopped ($1)
2 bay leaves ($1.49)
2 fresh thyme sprigs (not sure how much this would cost you because I got mine from the garden)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup red wine, about 1/2 bottle ($1.99)
3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour ($2.99)
2 quarts beef broth (I use pareve beef buillon, $3.49)
1 baguette, sliced ($1)
1/2 pound grated Gruyere ($2.49)

The Grand Total: $18.14 for about 4 servings, or $4.54 per serving

THE WAY

Melt the stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and salt and pepper and cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 25 minutes.






Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry, about 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Dust the onions with the flour and give them a stir. Turn the heat down to medium low so the flour doesn't burn, and cook for 10 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste.

Now add the beef broth, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.










When you're ready to eat, preheat the broiler. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle the slices with the Gruyere and broil until bubbly and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Ladle the soup in bowls and float several of the Gruyere croutons on top.

Alternative method: Ladle the soup into bowls, top each with 2 slices of bread and top with cheese. Put the bowls into the oven to toast the bread and melt the cheese.

Squash Me Softly

In my Chinatown wanderings, I stumbled upon a large, green, pumpkin-looking item. I lifted one that was pre-cut (in half), schlepped it to the register and asked how much it cost. "$2.15." And...sold...to the lady in black (that's me!).

So there I was, sitting at my kitchen table, staring at a large, green, pumpkin-looking thing that was staring back at me. I knew I hadn't met my match, but I didn't know yet what to do with this bad boy. And hence the googling began. I knew it had to be some sort of squash, so I started with that little tidbit and eventually narrowed it down to Kabocha squash. I targeted some recipes about how to use it, and decided I would go with soup because--per usual--I wanted something warm, cozy, and creamy. I guess I've finally figured out the pattern emerging in my food consumption.

I basically followed this recipe on La Fuji Mama to a tee and was very happy with the final product. It lasted me about 4 meals, which was great penny pinching and made me one very happy lady in black.


ROASTED KABOCHA SQUASH SOUP

THE GOODS

1/2 kabocha squash ($2.15)
1/2 can coconut milk (full can costs $1.09)
1 cup of chicken stock - or 1 tsp of chicken buillon and some water ($1?)
1/2 yellow onion (full onion costs $0.40)
A little olive oil or butter
Salt and pepper (and some cayenne/red pepper flakes if you like spice)

The Grand Total: $4.64 for at least 4 servings, that's $1.16 per serving

THE WAY

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut your Kabocha squash in half, if it isn't precut. Be very careful - the skin is thick and hard to cut through (don't cut yourself!). Take out all the guts and seeds.








 Put a little olive oil or butter on the flesh of the squash, prick it, then place it face down on a baking dish. Bake for about 40 minutes to an hour, or until it's soft.






While it's baking, caramelize some onions in some olive oil in a sautee pan (don't know how to caramelize onions? click here!). You can also roast the squash seeds to use as a garnish.

When the squash is done cooking, scoop out the good stuff and toss the skin. Then, throw it in a food processor with half a can of coconut milk, 1 cup of chicken stock, and the caramelized onions.


Serve hot garnished with spicy roasted squash seeds.

A Snack Worth Napping For

What to do on a day off work.... what to do.... what to do.... It's times like these that you don't have homemade bread dough in your fridge for nothing. So I put it to work and made these babies from scratch. What to do next? Well, nap. Obviously.

CARAMELIZED ONION AND GRUYERE PANINIS ON ROSEMARY FRENCH BREAD

THE GOODS

Your premade boule dough, see recipe here, or a french bread purchased elsewhere
Gruyere cheese ($3.43)
Red onion ($0.40)
Balsamic vinegar and olive oil


The Grand Total: $3.83 for as many paninis as that block of cheese will make ya (or your stomach can handle)

THE WAY

Use the recipe for boule dough here, mixing rosemary into the ingredients before you add flour. After the dough is made (warning: read the recipe first, you should make the bread in significant advance of expected hunger).

Slice your red onions thinly and caramelize them by sauteeing them on medium low heat over 1 tablespoon or so of olive oil for 5-10 minutes, stirring once, until they start to brown. Then, add about 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and stir them up again. Let them cook for another 5 minutes or so.

Heat up your George Forman or grill pan, if you have them. If not, a sautee pan works fine. Slice up some gruyere cheese and your French bread. Assemble little paninis with the caramelized onions, and gruyere. Then grill, using a little bit of butter on your sautee pan if you're not using a grill.

Bon appetit!

Spice Up Your Lunch Break

Sometimes I get sick of the same old sandwiches, which is why I decided to go for the dive and try something different. This week, instead of buying my typical feta and cheddar cheeses, I ventured out of my comfort zone and into some gruyere. The result? A spinach, carmelized onion, and gruyere sandwich with dijon mustard. Let's just say I was very happy when noon rolled around.


GRUYERE, CARAMELIZED ONION, CUCUMBER AND SPINACH SANDWICH
 

THE GOODS

Spinach ($1.99)
Dijon mustard ($2.39)
Gruyere cheese ($3.49) - would be good with other types too
Cucumber ($0.50)
Red Onion ($0.40)
Bread
Balsamic Vinegar

The Grand Total: $8.77

THE WAY

Carmelize your onions (find out how here). Toast your bread. Spread on some dijon mustard, layer on slices of cheese, cucumber, and spinach. Wrap that baby up with tinfoil and stick it in your briefcase/purse/backpack.