Saturday, January 8, 2011

Julia Child's French Onion Soup and a recipe for food processor French bread

The onion soup recipe is super cheap to make.  A few big onions (I didn't go for the high-priced ones) and some broth and you're good to go.  I used 1/2 chicken broth and 1/2 beef broth, both purchased on sale.  The wine is from an open bottle in the fridge. (Pinot Grigio).  Keep some chilled white vermouth on hand for recipes. This recipe takes some time, so plan on reading a newspaper or book in the kitchen.  As always, set a timer.


 


The French bread recipe I've been making for years.  I bought a pan at Amazon that holds two loaves and it has been a stalwart.  You need a quick read thermometer to get the water temperature right, and there are ten minutes of intense activity during which you can't leave the kitchen, and after that, it's incredibly easy.  I used two timer's for the bread and three would have been even better.  With supermarket bread prices in the stratosphere, this is a good recipe to master.  
What comes out of the oven is  unbelievable, especially for the small amount of effort.  I have another recipe (focaccia) I will share after I've tried it.   Over the holidays I stocked up on flour on sale.  Broth, too.      



Kitchen tools such as quality pots and pans, timers, thermometers are necessities rather than luxuries, and will save you ruining expensive ingredients.  They easily pay for themselves over time.  We will eat the soup and bread for two days.  I'll serve a green salad and make a fruit salad for dessert.  

I have Swiss cheese to melt on toasts for the final assembly of the soup, but Parmesan will do as well.  Of course, the toasts will be made from my newly baked bread.  It would make wonderful French toast, too.  

By the way, if you have a couple of overripe bananas, they can be mashed and put into pancakes or waffles.  You can also freeze over-ripe bananas in their skins.  When you have three, make banana bread.  Always use three bananas for banana bread.  Two is not enough.  A handful of raisins or blueberries are also a good addition to banana bread.  Pack a lot of nutrition into all  your meals for taste and health. 

Aloha, 

The Cheeseparer
                                                          

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