Tuesday Night Recipes

A Parisian Feast

I FORGOT YESTERDAY WAS A HOLIDAY, SO I JUST PUSHED ALL OF THE RECIPES BACK BY ONE DAY!! I'm sorry for any inconvenience!
French Onion Soup Au Gratin


*This is the best French Onion soup recipe I've ever tried, and I've tried 3 or 4. It's cooked slowly and is not difficult, but produces a golden, mellow, amazing soup! I got the recipe from my friend Donna, who also posts on this blog, and I hope she doesn't mind me sharing it! (I'm sure she won't!) The only special, non-grocery store ingredient (secret ingredient) you need is cognac, which you can pick up at any liquor store. I just bought a very small bottle more than a year ago, I think, and am still on the same one, since the recipe doesn't use very much. I would not suggest omitting this ingredient though, because I think it means everything to the flavor of the soup! I do usually leave out the last Tablespoon that is added just before serving it though, because I don't really like the taste as much when it has not been cooked out.*


Ingredients
1/2 stick butter (I use salted)
2 lb. onions, cut in slivers (approx. 6 cups)
2 tsp. sugar
1 heaping Tbls flour
3 1/2 cups beef stock
2 cups water
4 Tbls cognac
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 baguette (approx), cut into 12 (3/4" thick) slices
Grated Gruyere cheese (about 1 cup, or as much as you desire)

1)In a large pot or Dutch oven with a lid, melt the butter. Add the onions and sugar, stir. Cover completely and stir occasionally, cooking for 20 minutes (over medium heat) until the onions are wilted and golden.
2)Uncover and cook another 20-25 minutes until light golden-brown and caramelized, making sure they don't burn.
3)While the onions are cooking, mix the water and beef broth together and bring to a boil in a medium saucepan.
4)Add the flour to the onions after they have caramelized; stir in well. Stir in the boiling beef broth and water to the onion mixture. Then stir in 3 Tbls cognac, and the salt and pepper. Boil for 5 minutes, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes, partially covered.
5)While soup is cooking, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and toast the bread slices until golden. If you haven't grated the cheese yet, do so now.
6)After 45 minutes of the soup cooking, uncover and simmer 10 more minutes. Adjust seasoning as desired and then add 1 more Tbls cognac. Stir well.
7)Ladle soup into four oven-safe bowls (1 1/2 cups soup each), top with the toasty bread slices and grated cheese. Turn the oven to broil and broil the soup bowls until the cheese is nice and golden brown and bubbly.




Steamed Mussels
Ingredients
2 Tbls olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 lb. mussels, scrubbed and cleaned - see below note on cleaning mussels*
1/2 cup dry white wine, or chicken stock
2 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
Pepper
1/2 baguette

1)Heat a large, deep skillet (with lid) over medium-high heat; add olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and saute until softened, making sure the garlic doesn't burn. You can lower the heat if necessary.
2)Add the mussels in a single layer, then pour the wine or chicken stock over them. Cook off the wine for 30 seconds, then cover the pot completely and cook until the mussels open (only 3-5 minutes). Discard any mussels with unopened shells, sprinkle with thyme and pepper, and serve with bread to dip into the sauce!

*To clean mussels, scrub them well in cold water. Pull off the "beard" (little fuzzy piece sticking out from inside the shell) by giving it a quick tug. If any mussels are open, tap them or try and tap them closed a few times. Then let go and watch them. If they close on their own, continue with the cleaning process - they are still alive and are safe to eat. If they do not close, discard them because they are already dead and unsafe. After scrubbing all of the mussels, put them in a large bowl or pot of cold water. Let sit for a few minutes, then dump the water and repeat a few times with fresh cold water. This helps get rid of some of the grit. I would also suggest buying mussels from a seafood market rather than a supermarket, because they probably have better ones!