gratinee lyonnaise

recipe from emeril

or, as it's known in our house: man, that's good onion soup! it has an interesting finish that further enriches an already excellent dish. there's no doubt you have to make your own stock to get the full experience, but it's completely worth it. you'll have sweet caramelised onions in a buttery, beefy broth, topped with croutons smothered in bubbly gruyere. if that's not a cure for a rainy day, i don't know what is.

first, to make beef stock, you'll need 3 pounds of neck bones and/or ox tails, and whatever scraps you have on hand. bring the meat to boil and remove foam. when no more foam is forming, add the veggies: 4 large carrots, 3 parsnips, 6 celery stalks and a few garlic cloves. i also have a large onion in there, because i make a big batch of stock, and only part of it will end up as onion soup. sometimes i'll add a bell pepper if i have it. you also need 2 bay leaves, 10 peppercorns, a bunch of thyme and 2 tb tomato paste. bring everything to boil, then simmer for 2 hours partially covered.

once you have the stock ready, finely slice 3 pounds of yellow onions. spanish onions also work well. this is one of the two modifications i made to this recipe: it calls for 4 tb unsalted butter to sautee the onions and i thought that is too little. i used up an entire stick, and i'm not sorry about it. also, 3 pounds of onion will not become golden in 15 minutes. closer to 30 will be needed. then you add the stock, and simmer for 45 minutes to one hour. i let it go to one hour, and it reduced some, it was a very rich broth. the egg yolk and port wine (or marsala wine) finish is an inspired twist, try it! i won't copy down the recipe, the link is right at the top. and the parting note: 1 pound of gruyere is a lot of cheese, especially considering my market charges $15 for it. i used half and it was entirely satisfactory. there, we made up for the extra butter.

cabbage soup on a smoked turkey drumstick

another soup that wafts memories of home and childhood. my mom made it often, with or without meat, smoked or not, but always tomato-based. this is the soup i ate on the evening of my first culinary disaster. or rather, couldn't eat because anything remotely sour was too raw on my wounded taste buds. it was a few days after the beginning of first grade. mom was at work. i got home from school, and even though i had prepared food in the fridge, i wanted fried eggs. so i cracked two in a pan, and fried them over easy, still in my uniform. then i seasoned them with salt and pepper. i got a napkin out - one of the 'good' ones, which i wasn't supposed to use - and wanting to be fancy through and through, i used another condiment on the eggs. quite a bit of it, and it was white vinegar. i swear it hurt to even smell the stuff for years afterward. i chucked the foul dish, pushing back the guilt of wasting food, put back the unused napkin, and went to diligently pursue homework in lieu of penance.

even now i only use white vinegar for cleaning and for the rare poached egg. for cooking i have red, rice and champagne vinegars that i find less aggresive. happier memories are tied with this soup, too, like the time we made it out of scraps leftover from canning cabbage-stuffed peppers all day long, and that we ate at 1 am after a couple hours of board games. bad puns were made about me being as sour as the soup. (i lost every single game, what are the odds?! and to be gracious about it? hardly in my nature...at least i admit to being a sore loser, which my mom will never do, even though she's worse than i am.)

turkey legs did not exist in my childhood, that is a new addition, and i think an improvement. this is a far better choice than any smoked ham hock i could find, and i'm sure i'll come up with other uses, we loved this meat! so first you bring the leg to boil and then add root vegetables - carrots, parsley root, celery, and onion, a couple bay leaves, a few sprigs of thyme, and simmer until the meat is easy to pull apart with a fork, about 1 1/2 hours, depending on the size of your drumstick. in the meantime finely chop a cabbage of decent size. when the meat is ready take everything out using a spider and throw the cabbage in the broth. discard the vegetables and pull the meat from the bone, cut it bite-size and put it back in the pot. slice a couple carrots and add them to the cabbage. simmer gently for another 10 minutes, then add 6 to 8 oz tomato sauce/juice and 1 tb tomato paste. simmer 5 minutes more. correct seasoning, add 3 tb chopped dill and a squeeze of lemon juice and turn off the heat. serve with sour cream and hearty bread.

zhara loved it and had it for lunch on three consecutive days. i usually don't make soup in industrial quantities, but that was one big leg, so i had to pull out the big pot, and didn't have the sense to freeze half the stock for another use. so even with a portion sent to the neighbors, and my husband's appetite at the ready, the soup lasted three days. not a bad thing if you have a crowd - the turkey leg was $3.50, the cabbage $1.20, so the whole thing costs about $7 to make.

smoked white bean soup

lately i've come to rely more and more on the food blogs i read for new ideas and recipes. it used to be my cookbooks reigned supreme. and the occasional cooking shows. but now i have a whole list of favourites and i really trust them to feature tested, tasty recipes. what sends my bloodpressure skyrocketing like nothing else is bloggers who have categories titled 'easy' or 'quick' or both and then include recipes with ingredients that require six hours prep time. even if the final assembly is quick, if it takes you a day to get there, it shouldn't get billed as easy. and dear god, people: nothing with 'confit' in the title is ever going to be quick. [feels good to have gotten that off my chest. pffffuh.]

this soup is easy. like most soups are. in the interest of full disclosure, it may take up to three hours, depending on the beans you use. there. easy. not quick. mighty tasty. so tasty in fact, that the resident princess ate that entire bowl in 5 minutes flat. sans the meat, of course. don't push it, now.

get two smoked pork hocks. wash them in cold water and set them to boil with a bayleaf, a whole peeled onion, a few peppercorns, the stringy part of the celery stalks you'll use in the finished soup, and a parsley root. simmer until the meat is tender and easy to pull apart. strain the broth and discard everything but the hocks. while the stock is simmering boil the beans in a separate pot, or use canned beans and eliminate this step. i've used both and i wish i could stand here and say that the ones you boil are infinitely superior, but they're not. the only difference is, the canned ones have a lot of sodium, so adjust seasoning accordingly. (be sure to give them a rinse before using, you don't want the can juices in the soup.)

in the meantime, chop 3-4 stalks celery, 2-3 carrots, and 1 green bell pepper. when the hocks are cool enough to handle pull the meat from the bone and cube it. add meat and veggies to the strained broth, with the beans and a handful of pasta. pick something small shaped. when they're almost cooked add 6 to 8 oz tomato sauce or juice. sprinkle in some chopped parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice (or a bit of vinegar). correct seasoning and you're done. serve it with sour cream. we like to have onion on the side with this, julienned and then 'kneaded' with salt, pepper and olive oil.

another potato soup

i think it's fair to say about 80% of my daughter's veggie intake comes about by way of soup. if she won't eat anything, she'll still go for soup 9 times out of 10. worst case scenario, i'll strain the broth into a sippy cup, she'll drink it and it's still something. i did that routinely when she was teething and flat-out refused to eat anything.
this soup is a compromise between stuff she likes and stuff i want. i don't want to cook separate dishes for us. in the other hand, she only likes pasta, rice and a couple of veggies. i love potatoes, while she starts wailing if i even offer them. but: she doesn't mind the taste of potato. weird, right? it suits me though, cause i can make a soup that'll make both of us happy.

this is more about the method than it is about a list of ingredients. i always use whatever i have on hand. brown your protein -smoked butt/bacon/kabanos/kielbasa - then add chopped onion. when it's glossy add chopped carrots and bell peppers. add your potatoes and let them boil gently for 15 minutes. add a handful of pasta. when both the pasta and the potatoes are almost ready, add chopped zucchini. mix 1/2 cup of sour cream with 1 egg yolk and temper it by slowly streaming in a couple ladles of hot soup - while whisking continuously. put in all back in the soup, stirring, and give it another gentle boil. add some dry oregano, salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.

you should see us eating. zhara picks out what she likes, the pasta, carrots and zucchini, and like a good sport i pick up the slack: the potatoes and the sausage. well, it works for us.

spinach green bean soup

this is the bastardized cousin of the portuguese kale soup i love. there was simply no kale at the grocer's. fresh spinach makes a nice substitution. in true slacker form, i buy the one in the bag, washed and trimmed. only this time, it was gargantuan, with stems the size of pencils, leaves thick and sorta ruffled. tasted fine, but it makes you wonder what in the hell kind of fertilizer they used. boy, do i miss going into the garden and just picking stuff.

i saved the monster, for chopped creamed spinach and used some baby spinach that was intended for salad. i know that picture doesn't look like much, but it's a delicious soup, and easy as sin. my daughter deemed it 'pink' and it was all good and dandy from there.

1 italian sausage, casing removed

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

1 red pepper

2 carrots

2 cups green beans

4 cups baby spinach

3-4 tb tomato sauce

2-3 tb heavy cream

1-2 tb lemon juice

1/2 ts cinnamon

2 tb chopped parsley

salt, pepper

i never measure anything. sometimes i stray even when baking. just taste and adjust accordingly. do not forget the cinnamon. in my book, this is something i use in desserts. and to top my cappuccino. the only time i used it in a savory dish it was accidental - and catastrophic. well in this soup it sings.

slice the sausage and roll each slice to round it up, like tiny meatballs. tiny. sear on all sides in a bit of hot oil. remove to plate and add the onion, and after 5 minutes the garlic. cook 2 more minutes, then add the chopped pepper. saute 5 minutes more. add 6 to 8 cups of water or stock. bring to boil. get the spinach in there and the beans, if using fresh or frozen. if using canned, add them with the tomato sauce. this is when the cinnamon takes a dive. bring to boil again and simmer partialy covered for about a half hour. then add tomato sauce, heavy cream, lemon juice and simmer 5 minutes more. sprinkle the parsley and turn off the heat. cover and let it rest for 15 minutes.

you can also add a bit of allspice to it, and use chickpeas instead of green beans. that is what the kale soup calls for but i've an unexplained antipathy for chickpeas. or to be honest, more like extreme prejudice: can't stand them with the glorious exception of roasted red pepper hummus, which i just might make this weekend.

A Lucky Break For Potato Haters

Not that to my knowledge there are any, except my daughter. I love potatoes in any dish. Zhara won't even eat tater tots. I couldn't give up, I kept pushing various plates, until one day we tried this, and she liked it! A cream of potato and leeks. After trying out several recipes, my picky princess ruled this one the best of them all: Julia Child's Potage Parmentier, and I never stray from her recipe.

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

3 cups chopped leeks, white part only

4 cups potatoes, diced

1/3 to 1/2 cup heavy cream or sour cream,

   and/or 2 to 3 tb butter

2 to 3 tablespoons minced parley and/or chives

Melt butter over medium heat. Add leeks, cooking without browning for 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and gradually beat in a cup of hot water, blend well then add up to 5 more cups of hot water. Salt - about 1 tablespoon, pepper to taste, and add the potatoes. Simmer partially covered for about 40 minutes.

Mash or blend or process to obtain a smooth puree. Add as much cream or milk as you like, herbs and butter and stir to combine.

For the croutons I butter whatever stale bread I have and toast it for 10 minutes in a 400F oven.

The Warmth Maker

I don't know what is wrong with this weather. I went to take out the trash and felt like my teeth would freeze and fall out. So I zipped back inside and made this to banish the cold: beef vegetable soup.

1 lb beef stew or beef chop suey
2 oz smoked bacon or slanina
2 potatoes
1 onion
3 carrots
2 celery stalks
1/4 cabbage
3/4 cup soybeans
1 parsley root
4 oz tomato sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons chopped dill.

Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil and add the cubed bacon. After a minute add the meat, stir to combine and let fry until there's no visible pink. Add the onions, stir and continue cooking until all beef juices are evaporated. Add water to fill the pot. My mother taught me the water needs to be hot or else the meat would harden. Only use tap hot water if you're positive it's not stale from sitting in the heater. Let boil covered, over medium low heat for 1 hour or until tender. Meanwhile chop the veggies. Give the potatoes and parsley root a head start, about 10 minutes, then add the carrots, and after 5 minutes the celery, cabbage and soybeans. The smaller you chop, the faster they cook. Add tomato sauce and paste, the vinegar and boil 2 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add the dill and kill the heat. Let rest covered for 15 minutes. Serve steaming with sour cream and crusty bread.

Soup with Happy Childhood Aroma

Since I started cooking I explored several cuisines, and while I'm eternally in love with French and Italian, lately I've been craving some of my native Romanian dishes. The stuff I grew up on is nothing fancy, but it warms my soul. We're big on soups here, so this will be the first of many.

Meatball veggie soup

Get a pot of water on the stove to warm. In a mixing bowl place your ground meat (chuck, typically, but also pork or chicken, 1 lb should do) and let sit while you gather the other ingredients. Finely chop 1 small yellow onion and sautee it in a tbsp of butter until soft but not browned. Let cool a bit and dump it over the meat. To this add up to a cup of rice, I like mine with a lot of it. Crack an egg on top. Season with salt and pepper and add 2 tbsp chopped parsley. Mix only when you have all your ingredients, and only until just incorporated. Form meatballs. Place carefully in hot water, just below boiling point. After about 10 min you can allow it to boil gently. Now add your veggies, cut as preferred (I liked a fine dice on all, but Zhara likes to pick them individually; you don't want to know how long it took her to finish a bowl, so now we do chunks): 2 potatoes, 1 big carrot, 1 medium zucchini, 2 stalks celery or half a celeriac. I add 1 whole onion, which I discard at the end. When the potatoes are tender add 1 can white beans, 4 oz tomato sauce and 2 tbsp tomato paste. I also add the juice of half lemon, or 1 tbsp vinegar. Boil two minutes more. Serve with sour cream.