January IOTM: Onions

Funny you should bring the subject up. I have a leek and potato soup working in the slow cooker at this very moment. I'm using the standard recipe, leek/potato/chicken broth, nothing special, except that I will probably add some diced ham after processing the lumpy soup. Good idea.

[Jenise]

Albino,

Great looking basket. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that old species of onion you mention. Do you grow your own?

And the confit! That sounds like a fabulous combination of salty-sour-sweet. How would that go with seared foie gras?

dear jenise,

i don´t have that green finger they are grown by a guy who has a vegi-shop in mulhouse alcace

the confit would go ok with seared foie, but there i like semi-dryed apricots, cooked with sugar, vinegar, mustard and a hint wasabi.
that´s my have-to-have at the moment with the foie

[Jenise]

the confit would go ok with seared foie, but there i like semi-dryed apricots, cooked with sugar, vinegar, mustard and a hint wasabi. that´s my have-to-have at the moment with the foie

You had me at "apricot". No fruit do I love more. Sounds like a great combination, especially if we're pouring Sauternes or similar with the dish. Great match.

Onions are IOTM and no one has posted a recipe for French Onion Soup? Is that coz there are a limited number of ways to prepare it?

[Jenise]

Mike, I would guess that Onion soup (the gratinee version) is just so ubiquitous that everyone assumes everyone else has a recipe they like. If someone tried a new version and thought that worth bringing to everyone's attention, that would be excellent, but so far it hasn't happened. Why, are you in the market for a French Onion soup recipe?

Mike, I would guess that Onion soup (the gratinee version) is just so ubiquitous that everyone assumes everyone else has a recipe they like. If someone tried a new version and thought that worth bringing to everyone's attention, that would be excellent, but so far it hasn't happened. Why, are you in the market for a French Onion soup recipe?

Wow, you are a mind-reader! How do you do in Las Vegas?

Actually, I have been looking for a recipe. Most seem pretty similar: caramelize onions in butter, add beef stock/broth, cook longer. Meanwhile, dry out or toast sliced French bread. Put soup in casserole or individual bowls, top with toasted bread, shred gruyere/parmesan/raclette over top and broil for a while.

I did see a post from you where you sweated the onions for 4 hours. I don't think that one is in the cards.

Mike, I would guess that Onion soup (the gratinee version) is just so ubiquitous that everyone assumes everyone else has a recipe they like. If someone tried a new version and thought that worth bringing to everyone's attention, that would be excellent, but so far it hasn't happened. Why, are you in the market for a French Onion soup recipe?

Well, we ended up kinda faking it. Discovered about 5 or 6 recipes, all very similar. So we used those as a guide and started cooking! Took 3 onions, one sweet, one white, and one red, and sliced very thin. In a small stock pot, sauteed the onions in about 4 Tbsp of butter until they were limp and translucent. Covered the pot and cooked the onions for 15 minutes on low heat. Added 1-1/2 Tbsp of flour, stirred into the onions. Added 3 cups of beef stock (made from Christmas dinner bones) and boiled, then simmered for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, sliced a baguette; put slices on a cookie sheet and heated at 325 for 15 minutes. Ladled soup into bowls, put baguette slices on top, then shredded gruyere over the bread. Broiled for about 90 seconds or less.

The final product had a rich broth, sweet onion flavor, and was not overly salty, in fact wasn't salty at all. Loved it!

So what's our February IOTM?

-Paul W.

[Robin Garr]

So what's our February IOTM?

It's going to be into next week before Jenise can make the formal announcement, but for those who want to go ahead and start, barring any last minute change of plans it's going to be <b>fennel</b>, which to my mind includes the bulb (<i>finocchio</i>) and the seeds and the trendy wild fennel pollen, and could probably be casually extended to cover the range of fennel/anise/licorice flavors in cookery, from Italian sausage to anise cookies to sauces laced with Pernod.

I'm speaking out of school here, though, and if Dishwasher Jenise wants to demur from anything I've said, her decision rules.

Everyone has a recipe for herb roasted potatoes.

But try blanching some cippolines for a couple of minutes in boiling water. Trim both ends, a squeeze a perfect minature cip right out of the skin. Add to the bowl containing your potatoes, the add your herb mix, salt, pepper and EVOO.

Roast them as normal.

Fantastic match with a good steak and a Cab Sauvignon. .

Richard

To repeat:

I'm writing this on 9 February 2007. I have yet to see any official announcement of the February IOTM.

If I missed it, my profundest crepologies.

-Paul W.