French Onion Soup

Colleen's take: "I made the mistake of being pregnant, hungry, and watching cooking shows one lonely afternoon. Result, I ended up craving a hundred different meals! I have always wanted to try and make this recipe and after I watched her, I decided it looked easy enough... Well it was definitely is an intermediate dish, but it turned out gourmet and really impressed my guests (which made my ego soar). My only complaint was that the onions took about 1.5 hours to cook instead of a measly 30 minutes."

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 pounds yellow onions (about 6 medium), halved and thinly sliced lengthwise
• 8 to 10 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as necessary
• 1 tablespoon flour

• 1 cup dry white wine
• 4 cups beef stock or low-sodium beef broth
• 2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups cubed ciabatta bread
• 3 cups grated Gruyere cheese

DIRECTIONS

In a large heavy-bottom pot, melt the butter over low heat. Add the sliced onions, thyme, salt, and pepper and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the onions become a deep golden brown and very soft, about 30 minutes. 

Add the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the white wine and scrape up any dry bits on the bottom of the pan, increasing the heat to a boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the beef stock, and the chicken stock, and allow the soup to simmer for an additional 30 minutes as the flavors develop. Season the soup generously with salt, and pepper, to taste. 

Preheat the oven to broil, or turn on the broiler. Arrange the ciabatta cubes on a baking sheet and toast until crispy, about 3 to 5 minutes. 

Remove the thyme sprigs and pour the soup into 4 to 6 oven-safe crocks or bowls. Top with the toasted ciabatta cubes and a generous amount of grated Gruyere. 

Place the crocks or bowls under the broiler for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and begins to brown. 

 Recipe sourced from Kelseys essentials on Cooking Channel.

Peas-and-Carrots Soup with Dumplings {Annah}

 

  This was an easy and yummy recipe. The thing that took me the longest was chopping the veggies. The mustard was a surprisingly great flavor to the soup. I used veggie stock and parsley in my soup. We both really loved the dumplings. FYI they plump up a lot so make your dumplings about a 1 1/2 tbs in size. Ours were the size of tomatoes, oops. Try this recipe when you are chilled and need something to warm up with! 

4 servings 

 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 carrots--peeled, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 1 rib  celery, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 2 rounded tablespoons flour
• 1 32 ounce container  (4 cups) chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 rounded tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon, dill or parsley
• 1 8 ounce box  biscuit mix (about 2 cups), such as Jiffy Buttermilk Biscuit Mix, batter prepared according to package directions

Directions

Heat a couple of tablespoons EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat in a large soup pot or dutch oven. Add the butter to melt, then add the carrots, celery and onion; season with salt, pepper and the bay leaf. Cover the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrots soften, 7 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle the flour on the vegetables and stir for a minute, then whisk in the chicken (or vegetable) stock until thickened. Stir in the mustard and peas. For a thinner soup, add 1 to 1 1/2 cups water with the stock.

Add the chopped fresh herbs to the biscuit batter and combine. When the soup is bubbling, form the batter into small dumplings using 2 spoons, then drop onto the surface of the soup. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and cook the dumplings, gently stirring, until just firm, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the soup and dumplings to shallow bowls; discard the bay leaf.