Time spent in the garden and kitchen is not time wasted; the essence of quality is attained through toil, not technology.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

French Onion Soup

Let me commence by declaring my affinity for this soup- I order it out constantly; if it's on the menu- I will most probably try it!    But, that leads me to admit that I have never ever made it myself.  So, it was with a slight trepidation that I nestled into my cooking space to change that.
First off, I have discovered yet another cooking gadget that I believe will very soon go flying out the back door- a mandolin??   I had alway read that they were a must have kitchen item & I even received it as a requested Christmas gift last year.  Well, in a nutshell, that damn thing & I don't work well together at all!
Faced with 6 rather substantial onions- I decided to drag it out & go after it; egads, I had chunks of onion flinging everywhere along with a pitiful few very lovely slices.   I know- technique, technique- any of you that know how to finesse one of these instruments, do tell, please.
When I finally have my onion slices, they go in for the marathon browning session- no need to repeat what you all are aware of- "forever and a day".... Suffice it to say I began at 4PM and we dished up at 8!
 The bowls await the lovely concoction!
 Cheese & fresh, hearty bread- total yum!
 Finally, a somewhat caramel color
 My smallest sous chef, Millie
I used 6 cups chicken stock & 2 cups of broth made with a mixture of chicken & veal glace that I had in the cupboard plus a dollop of the cognac in the pot.   The flavor was superb, but I do have to ask- or I had always assumed that it was made with beef stock?   It was most enjoyable and DH ate it with obvious  relish and went back for seconds.   I will definitely do a repeat with this one!

6 comments:

  1. I have one of those gadgets too, a mandolin, and I do not like to use
    it. Most times if needed, I will have hubby working it. I think it is so sharp
    I am afraid of cutting myself. Just give me a good sharp knife and I
    do just as well. Your soup looks fantastic, glad you liked it.

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  2. Millie is adorable! Is she a mini dachshund? I have two myself and I love them dearly! Your soup looks great!

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    1. Yes she is- we just adopted her from the Dallas area Dachshund Rescue about 5 months ago. We have 4 "adoptees" in our family, and they are all so sweet & dear! Thank you for your comment- we thought the soup was extra delicious!

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  3. Awwww - I love my mandolin, but I agree it can be a menace.
    Millie is just too cute :-)

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  4. I feel the same way about the mandolin - the darn thing scares me to death as I generally feel like any second I'm going to take a couple layers of skin off with it. What a cute baby! The soup looks really terrific.

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  5. I have an inexpensive plastic mandolin, and I guess it works out for me just fine. I normally just use the plain blade. We loved this soup, although I have yet to post about it.

    Onion soup is normally made with beef stock. At least Julia Child's recipe is! I liked trying it with chicken stock, but would probably go back to beef next time.

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