Bear Cuisine

Soupe A L'Oignon Gratinee

Even though I dread the coming of cold weather, I love the foods that we can make in the fall and winter. Simmering soup is one of the ways to spell care and love and Onion Soup is on our short list of ultimate favorites. The first chilly day in October I looked in the freezer and saw some beef stock that needed using and we had beautiful sweet onions from the Farmers' Market in a bowl on the kitchen counter. I also had a baguette in the freezer and Gruyere just waiting to be cooked. What else could I do, but take out my battered copy of The French Chef Cookbook and follow Julia's meticulous instructions.

This soup is a two-step process. You can make the basic soup ahead of time and you can eat this just as it is. But I don't consider this dish complete unless it has that beautiful crust of bread and cheese topping it.

French Onion Soup

(6 to 8 servings)

1. 3 Tablespoons butter
2. 1 Tablespoon olive oil
3. 1 1/2 pounds (5 to 6 cups) thinly sliced yellow onion
4. 1 teaspoon salt
5. 1/2 teaspoon sugar
6. 3 Tablespoons flour
7. 2 quarts hot beef stock
8. 1 cup red or white wine
9. 1 bay leaf
10. 1/2 teaspoon sage
11. Salt and Pepper to taste

 

Melt the butter with the oil in the saucepan or csserole; add the sliced onions and stir to coat with the butter. Cover the pan and cook over moderately low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion are tender and translucent. Then uncover the pan, raise heat to moderately high, and stir in the salt and sugar.

Cook for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until onion have turned an even deep golden brown.

Then lower heat to moderate, stir in the flour, and ad a bit more butter if flour does not absorb into a paste with the onions. Cook slowly, stirring continually, for about 2 minutes to brown the flour lightly. Remove from the heat.

Pour in about a cup of the hot stock, stiring with a whisk to blend flour and stock. Add the rest of the stock and the wine, bay, and sage and bring to a simmer. Simmer slowly for 30 to 40 minutes, season to taste with salt and pepper, and the soup is done. If you are not serving immediately, let cool uncovered, then cover and refrigerate.

To Make the Soup Gratinee

1. a loaf of French bread
2. Olive Oil or melted butter
3. 1/4 cup Cognac
4. a peeled 2-inch raw onion
5. 2-ounce piece of Swiss cheese
6. 1 1/2 cups grated Swiss and parmesan cheese, mixed

Cut the bread into slice 1 inch thick, paint lightly with oil or butter and arrange in one layer on a baking sheet. Place in middle level of a preheated 325-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes until beginning to brown lightly; turn and brown lightly for 15 to 20 minutes on the other side. These are called croutes.

 

Pour the hot soup into a serving casserole or baking dish. Pour in the cognace, grate in the onionand shave the pice of cheese into fine slivers and strew over the soup. Place a closely packed layer of croutes over the top of tesoup and spread on the grated cheese, covering the croutes completely.

Sprinkle a tablespoon of oil or butter over the cheese, and set the soup in the middle level of a eheated 350-degree overn. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until soup is bubbling slowly and cheese has melted.

Serve with a salad and red wine. 

Voila!

A Summer Supper

I find entertaining in the summer more difficult than any other season. The intense heat doesn't help, but even more daunting for me is coming up with a menu that's cool. Finding something that people will want to eat in this season  isn't that easy. Some friends rely almost exclusively on the grill, but I find that I tire of the usual grilling fare and  cooking in the sun isn't my idea of a good time. Still, we like to see our friends and break bread with them.

I came up with this menu last week and everyone seemed to enjoy it--a lot. It started out with Shrimp Salad over avocados as the main dish and then I remembered a great sounding recipe for a Cold-Avocado and Cucumber Soup in the most recent issue of Canal House Cooking. That left dessert. What else but Avocado Ice Cream. A symphony of beautiful greens and harmonious tastes. An avocado theme dinner.What a concept!
COLD AVOCADO AND CUCUMBER SOUP

• 3 ripe, unblemished, pitted and peeled Hass avocados
• 1 cut-up unpeeled cucumber
• 2 cloves garlic ( one would have been sufficient)
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 4 cups chicken stock

Put everything into a blender and puree until smooth. (You may need to work in batches). Season with salt. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and a dash of hot sauce. Make this the same day you plan to serve it so that it keeps its pale green color.

SHRIMP SALAD OVER AVOCADO

Shrimp Salad

(serves 6 to 8)

1. 2 pounds cooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tail off
2. 1/2 cup mayonnaise
3. 1/2 cup sour cream
4. 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
5. 2 tablespoons capers, with a bit of the juice
6. 1/2 small red onion, minced
7. 3 stalks celery with leaves, diced small
8. 1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
9. Juice and zest of 2 lemons
10. Salt and cayenne, to taste 

Chop shrimp into bite-sized pieces. Place in a large bowl with remaining ingredients and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning.( I use Old Bay to season the salad instead of cayenne.)

(adapted from Martha Phelps Stamps' Martha's At the Plantation. Seasonal Recipes from Belle Meade)

AVOCADO ICE CREAM

(makes 1 quart)

1. 3 medium-sized, ripe Hass avocados (about 1 1/2 pounds)
2. 3/4 cup sugar
3. 1 cup sour cream
4. 1/2 cup heavy cream
5. 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
6. Big pinch of salt

Slice the avocados in half and take out the pits. Scoop out the flesh and cut it into little pieces.

Puree the avocado pieces in a blender with the sugar, sour cream, heavy cream, lime juice and salt until smooth and the sugar is dissolved

Freeze immediately in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

(from David Lebovitz' The Perfect Scoop.)

Tourain Blanchi

After wandering the streets of Perigueux on a rainy, chilly morning, we had worked up something of an appetite. Our group gathered for lunch at an outdoor cafe, Cocotte et Cie. On the menu was a soup that is unique to this part of France, Tourain Blanchi. The best way I can think to describe it is  as a sort of garlic-egg drop soup. I found a recipe for it on a French website: auFeminin.com. I haven't yet tried to make it so I am offering this recipe untested. The version I enjoyed was quite tasty and bracing on a blustery day.

 TOURAIN BLANCHI

• 15 cloves of garlic
• few springs of thyme
• few leaves of sage
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of vinegar
• Salt and Pepper

Heat two liters of water

Peel the garlic cloves and press them. Put them in boiling water with salt, pepper, thyme and sage. Cook for 3/4's of an hour. When cooked, taste and adjust seasoning by adding salt and pepper is necessary.

Break the eggs and set the whites aside.

Pass the soup through a fine sieve.

Return to the heal and boil, then remove from the heat and ad the egg whites all at once, stirring well.

Beat the yolks with the tablespoon of vinegar, then put this mixture into the bottom of a bowl. First add a little soup and stir well; add a little more and so on until you have 1/3 of the soup added, then add all of the remaining soup.

Serve hot with parsley and croutons.

Pasta e Fagioli

Christine Hickman has had several wonderful classes this winter. One of them included a fabulous recipe for this well-known Italian soup. I've thought about making this soup for what seems forever and now I finally have. This would make a great casual supper. Add bread, salad and a good bottle of wine and you're in business.

PASTA AND BEAN SOUP FROM THE VENETO

Pasta e Fagioli

(serves 6 to 8)

1. 12 ounces dried borlotti or cranberry beans, soaked overnight
2. 2 ounces pancetta, minced
3. 1 yellow onion, peeled and minced
4. 1/2 celery stalk, minced
5. 2 sprigs Italian parsley, trimmed and minced
6. 2 tablespoons tomato paste, or 2 fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped
7. 2 cloves garlic, crushed, peeled and minced 
8. 1 large sprig fresh rosemary
9. 2 fresh sage leaves
10. 6 1/2 cups cold water or half water and half low-sodium chicken broth
11. Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
12. 8 ounces small tubular pasta
13. 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigianao-Reggiano or Grana Padano
14. 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

Drain beans and put in a heavy pot. Add pancetta, onion, celery, parsley, tomato paste or tomato, garlic rosemary, sage and all the liquid. Bring to a boil over high heat then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until bean are very tender, about 2 1/2 hours.

Transfer half the soup to a food processor and puree until smooth. If you have a blending wand, transfer half the soup to a bowl and puree the remaining soup in the pot. Stir the soup from the bowl or food processor back into the pot.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta al dente. the time depends on the type of pasta you are using. Drain the pasta and add it directly to the soup.

Reheat the soup, stirring occasionally. Serve garnished with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and/or grated cheese.

Cannellini bean may be substituted if borlotti beans are unavailable. Cannellini beans are the typical bean used in the Tuscan version of Pasta e Fagioli.

Fish Chowder

We had some beautiful Halibut fillets in the freezer  and fish stock. I thought it was high time that we cooked them. The perennial questions is, of course, how should they be cooked. Wintery weather seems to me to demand stews and soups. So this fish would end up in Fish Chowder. I turned to Jasper White's Fifty Chowders  for inspiration and was not disappointed. His recipe calls for cod or pollack, but halibut makes a very fine substitute.

 FISH CHOWDER

(serves 8 as a main course)

1. 4 ounces meaty salt pork, rind removed, cut into 1/2 inch dice
   
2. 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
   
3. 2 medium onions (14 ounces) cut into 3/4-inch dice
   
4. 6 to 8 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed and chopped (1 tablespoon)
   
5. 2 dried bay leaves
   
6. 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
   
7. 3 cups fish stock or chicken stock
   
8. 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
   
9. Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
   
10. 3 cups whole milk
    
11. 3 pounds skinless halibut fillets, pinbones removed
    

Heat a four-to-six-quart heavy pot over low heat and add the diced salt pork. Once it has rendered a few tablespoons of fat, increase the heat to medium and cook until the pork is crisp and golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cracklings to a small ovenproof dish, leaving the fat in the pot, and reserve until later.

Add the butter, onions, savory or thyme, and bay leaves to the pot and saute, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for about 8 minutes, until the onions are softened but not browned. Add the flour and cook 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Add 1 cup of the stock and cook, stirring constantly, until the stock has thickened (it will be fairly thick). Add 1 more cup of stock and allow it to come back to a simmer again, stirring all the while. Add the last cup of stock and when the stock is once again simmering slowly, ad the potatoes. If the stock doesn't cover the potatoes, add just enough water to cover them.

Slowly simmer the potatoes, partially covered, for about 15 minutes, until tender; stir often to prevent sticking. Season the mixture assertively with salt and pepper (you want to almost overseason the chowder at this point, to avoid having to stir it much once the fish is added). Add the milk. When the milk is hot but not boiling, add the fillets and cook on low heat for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow the chowder to sit for 10 minutes. (The fish will finish cooking during this time.)

Let the chowder sit for up to an hour at room temperature, allowing the flavors to blend.

When ready to serve, reheat the chowder over low heat, don't let it boil. Warm the cracklings in a low oven (200 degrees F) for a few minutes.

Use slotted spoon to mound he chunks of fish, the onions and potatoes in the center of large soup plates and ladle the creamy broth around. Scatter the cracklings over the individual servings and finish each with a sprinkling of chopped parsley and minced chives.