Friday, January 18, 2008

The weekend Again ;)

Il est fini
Finally the gas problem has been fixed, thanks to my Sweetie. Man he is something special. Hot water, so now I can make soup for this evening.

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Tell ya what two solid days with no hot water is NOT fun. We had enough heat in periods of time to run in and out of a shower, so I was not totally stinky.

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Yesterday was not all that cold, and I got my hair trimmed, PLUS a pedicure…ahhhhhhhhhh my tootsies are as smooth as a baby’s bottom. ;)

No nail polish though ~ that is for sandal weather. We are getting ready for SOME kind of weather this weekend.

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Saturday: Snow Showers, High: 31 F, Low: 10 F Sunday: Partly Cloudy, High: 13 F, Low: 9 F
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Then other accounts say 6 degrees, Bottom line COLD!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
I have already stocked the bird feeders and now I need to clean the fireplace of ashes. Then make the soup, then off to see a movie. Yes I invited Sweetie [he accepted, tee hee] to meet me at the Mall. Dinner will have already been prepared so when we get home I can amazingly plate it all in minutes. ;) I even have appetizers ready for him to munch on while I reheat the soup and the rest of the meal. ;) The best part, aside from my Sweetie is I can play with my Mandolin Slicer… I am a cut up ya know!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How to Use a Mandolin Slicer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ William Shakespeare, in the opening of his great comedic work, "Twelfth Night", declared, "If music be the food of love, play on!" Classic French Onion Soup Always serve this marvelous French country dish as a meal, lunch or dinner, with lots of salad and crusty French bread--hot to 8-12 people.
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· 1 stick butter (8 Tablespoons) **I use the butter WITHOUT Salt*** Therefore I can control the amount, since there is salt in cheese most times anyway. · 8 cups onions, thinly sliced · 3 Tablespoons flour · 3 quarts beef stock · 1 Tablespoon salt · 1 teaspoon pepper · 1 cup brandy ***sometimes I use Sherry instead*** · 1 teaspoon BV meat glaze (or kitchen bouquet, bovril, or oxo, in a pinch)--optional · grated Gruyere cheese · grated Parmesan cheese · French bread · olive oil
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Melt the butter in a Dutch oven and add the onions, stirring constantly.
Cook for 5-7 minutes, until soft.
In the meantime, cut slices of French bread into 1/2 inch pieces and toast them at 350 degrees in the oven for about 15 minutes--until they are dry crusts.
When the onions are soft, sprinkle them with flour, stir,
then add 2 cups of beef stock and stir until the mixture is thickened.
Add the remaining stock, stir into 1 Tablespoon of salt, the pepper, and the brandy.
Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 1/2 hour to an hour. Add the meat glaze and taste for seasoning.
When you're ready to serve,
ladle the soup into individual bowls and cover each with a thick handful of Gruyere cheese.
Top each with a piece of the toasted bread, which has been drizzled with olive oil.
Sprinkle it with the Parmesan, then run them under a broiler for a few minutes and carry out to the table.
c'est complet

5 comments:

Julie said...

Have a lovely evening and a great weekend Dee.

imac said...

Wot No Wine????
Cant have french Onion soup with fresh crusty bread AND no Wine.????

Hope you both have a good evening

OR does the wine come later ......:)

Tom said...

Thanks 'D' Jane will be late home from the shop tonight ( She works in a Wedding Shop) so I have just put this recipe on for tonights supper.
I almost cried reading this... because of the onions that is ;o)

Have a great weekend..

DeeMom said...

That is why using a Mandoline has its advantages Tom, less tears… plus faster.

SO let me know how yours turns out.

Julie we DID have a lovely evening, the movies was cute and Sweetie laughed a bit, then home for his SURPRISE…

Today was TURNIP DAY… that I will post about soon…

Well IMAC the Brandy was in the soup don’t ya know… Perchance tonight IMAC the wine, sitting in front of the wood fire…

Did you all know there is English Onion Soup?
Really good we have had it…not sure whom to acknowledge as far as where I got the recipe.

The onion, whose flavour is such an essential part of practically every soup, has been used for more than just flavouring in the past -
the juice was rubbed on wasp stings as a pain killer, and, if you could bear the smell it made an excellent hair restorer - it also
helped to cure chilblains, catarrh and hangovers. The famous French onion soup, eaten by market porters for breakfast was
therefore part food, part cure. This English version, creamier and milder, is food pure and simple.

Serves 4

Onions - 4 large or 6 small
Celery sticks - 2
Butter - 50g (2 oz)
Plain flour - 50g (2 oz)
Milk - 300 ml (½ pint)
Chicken stock - 850 ml (1½ pints), or vegetable stock
Salt and plenty of freshly ground pepper
Grated nutmeg - a little
Parsley - 2 tbsp, chopped
Single cream - 4 tbsp

METHOD

1.Peel and chop the onions and celery and cook them in a covered pan in a little butter, with a tablespoon of water until they
are very soft, about 10 minutes. Then purée them in the liquidiser or sieve through the fine blade of a mouli-légumes.
2.Keep the purée on one side while you melt the butter in the cleaned saucepan and stir in the flour to make a roux. When the
flour and butter have combined and become smooth and glossy, add the milk a little at a time, stirring all the time until you
have a smooth mixture.
3.Add the onion and celery purée and enough stock to make a smooth creamy soup.
4.Simmer for 10 minutes, taste for seasoning, add a little nutmeg, stir in the parsley and lastly enrich the soup by pouring the
cream into the middle and letting it swirl up to the top.

Tom said...

Hi 'D' Pete came around today and had supper with us.. we all agreed it was very nice and we will be having it again. but first I'll try your recipe for the English Onion Soup... I'm ashamed to say I've never heard of it.

Thanks for a really nice supper ;O)