I wanna make killer Onion Soup......Whatcha Got?

YukonRon

Ozzie_Isaac said:

YukonRon said:

I have not made any yet. I am making it for Suzy more than me. I kinda got derailed with the events in Louisville.

Another run on the stores to stock up has started around here due to the fear of another upcoming lockdown due to the virus.

This city has gone berserk. When I get started, I will make each, and post her favorite. 

Thinking freezing some and using them for ice in Robin's Bloody Maries......

In my town, they put a moritorium on COVID when the riots started.  So, you could maybe vote at a city council meeting for what you want.  COVID or riots.  They seem mutually exclusive.

I doubt we will see normal around here for a very long time. The protests will continue and more people will die.

Covid19 has taken off with higher numbers of infections than we have ever had, up 200% over our previous highs. Many more people will die.

All the food stores sre sold out again, and costco has been running short on some items.

Just 25% normal would be a huge gain for the people in Louisville. I am doubting many things that have been changed, postponed, will be done without consequence at this point. I seriously doubt the Derby will be run, with anyone in the stands.

northGAcock

YukonRon said:

I have not made any yet. I am making it for Suzy more than me. I kinda got derailed with the events in Louisville.

Another run on the stores to stock up has started around here due to the fear of another upcoming lockdown due to the virus.

This city has gone berserk. When I get started, I will make each, and post her favorite. 

Thinking freezing some and using them for ice in Robin's Bloody Maries......

Brother i am happy to come make some with you....Bloody's, wine, and whatnot. I can bring the Georgia Vidalia onions. Living back in Georgia again, the will be authentic for certain. 

jtcBoynton

Botch said:

HeavyG said:

If you're not a subscriber to Cook's Illustrated here's a link not behind their paywall - https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/best-french-onion-soup-cooks-illustrated-5c89d551e134d95bd901be5e

Thanks for that.  I have been a subscriber to CI since '99, but my mag subscription still does not give me access to their website, will have to check again tomorrow.  

Mag subscription and website access are separate.  You need to pay for both if you want both.

marcdc

Super easy, very classy, impresses the chicks.

1. Significant amounts of olive oil and butter go into your favorite soup pot. (Le Creuset for ballars). Heat it up, then slice up onions and dump them in (1 onions for every serving you're planning on). While they're sizzling, fill pot till sliced onions are JUST covered with water (you're using the water to beat the **** out of the onions, and speed the process - nothing is quite as violent as boiling). I like putting one garlic clove in for every large onion, too. Add Salt and pepper to taste, boil water off, then caramelize what's left. I like to drizzle in booze/wine at this point. Either way, you don't want any remaining water/juices in there... should be left with golden brown goodness about half-way to the color of raisins in your hot olio/butter fattiness.

2. Pull the fire down from (h) to (m), and add a 1 Tbsp of sugar for every onion you dumped in there. More cookings till the sugar is all incorporated. This should only take a min. When everything is glossy, move on... you should have a big pot of brown, glossy caramelized onions, swimming in yer olio/butter.


3. Add 1.5 Tbsp of white flour for every onion, and stir till incorporated (note: add flour slowly, so it doesn't clump). Sounds like this is going to end up weird, but it will work. This only works well if there's no other moisture in the pot - just the oil and butter. Yes, you're sorta making a roux - just backwards. Cook and stir this mix till is it's golden brown, and keep stirring till it's completely smooth. Your mix will thicken up, but shouldn't get as solid as cookie dough. You want about cake batter consistency.

4. When you've got your sweet, floured onions ready, pour in (chicken) or (beef) broth - this will be the body of your soup, so use as much liquid as you want to yield on the back end. I use store bought chicken broth... if that's not Julia Child enough for you im sorry. Beef is also good too. Stir in each can slowly, letting the flour particles get ahold of all that brothy liquid. Your soup should come together really quickly now... just keep stirring as it thickens. You're looking for something with the consistency of thin gravy... if it ends up thicker, you used too much flour or not enough broth. Luckily, soup is forgiving, and you can easily address... Taste, and fix seasonings as appropriate (you should really only need to pepper - there should be plenty of sweet/salty in the mix already). Also, congratulate yourself on some fine tasting soup. If need be, chase your woman down and make her taste some too - she should be dutifully impressed by you at this point.

5. Turn the fire down simmer and get the fixins for your crouton ready. I get a thin piece of bread that's the same shape as the bowl I'm going to serve in. Alton Brown used a bowl as a 'biscuit cutter' and cut a circular piece of bread out of a larger one - I liked this, but didn't have any bread that big, so I sliced some homemade bread (loaf looked like a "D") into two pieces that I butted up bottom-to-bottom to one another in order to form my floating crouton....

6. Toast said bread till it's dry and rough - you want no moisture in that thing... once toasted, put your bread/crouton flat down on a cutting board. Grab a peeled garlic clove and rub on the toast, using the rough surface of the bread like sandpaper. Be delicate, but make sure to garlic up that bread good now, ya hear! Flip and do both sides of all the bread you got. Then move on...

7. your soup should be ready to dish up at this point, so - put an oven on high broil and get to the fun part... Ladle up your soup into heat-proof bowls till ALMOST completely full... Drop your garlic toasty raft on top. this thing should float easily, as the soup is SO thick. Cover with a LOT of any shredded cheese of your choice. I like gruyere, but - in reality - any swiss cheese will do, and then some (I've used parmesan and cheddar in the past, too - the Parm was better than teh cheddar, but both were fine.. that being said, nothing beats the classic gruyere). Pop under the broiler to finish. Make sure you don't wander away - the cheese will melt and toast into a gorgeous little mouth-burning cap. Broiling the cheese is pretty forgiving, but you don't want to introduce a kitchen fire at this point.

Pull your bowls from the broiler and let them cool a little - everything's plenty hot, but there's no need to scorch anyone's mouth, is there? Serve up and receive appropriate compliments.

Congratulate yourself - this is an easy little recipe that yields something FANTASTIC out of the mundane.

YukonRon

northGAcock said:

YukonRon said:

I have not made any yet. I am making it for Suzy more than me. I kinda got derailed with the events in Louisville.

Another run on the stores to stock up has started around here due to the fear of another upcoming lockdown due to the virus.

This city has gone berserk. When I get started, I will make each, and post her favorite. 

Thinking freezing some and using them for ice in Robin's Bloody Maries......

Brother i am happy to come make some with you....Bloody's, wine, and whatnot. I can bring the Georgia Vidalia onions. Living back in Georgia again, the will be authentic for certain. 

Robin,
You always have a place here. Onion soup or not. 

To ask anybody to come here right now, would be selfish on my part and moderately dangerous on yours.

That is a risk, I am absolutely unprepared to take. At least until the riots calm down.

The BLM vs the ultra right is not an environment to celebrate friendship. 

Although unlikely to swell much further into the Highlands, where Mitch and I live, as well as his security forces. There are reports of ultra right wing caravans driving through neighborhoods vandalizing homes and property as well as firing off rounds in the middle of the night  directed to those openly supporting the BLM movement.

One of our neighbors, across the street from us, suffered the consequences, by getting their property twice in 2 days. I think the reports are real.

We are 5 miles from where the last killing took place, on Saturday. A young man, graduate of UK, photographing the events was killed by a person that shared the values of the URW, who had been removed several times from the protests.

Love you guys, but, as of right now, lets plan to reemerge and get together on the other side of this nightmare.