French Onion Soup

French Onion Soup

From Cook’s International

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 3 pieces

6 large yellow onions (about 4 pounds), halved and cut pole to pole into 1/4-inch-thick slices (see illustration below)

Table salt

2 cups water , plus extra for deglazing

1/2 cup dry sherry

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (see note)

2 cups beef broth (see note)

6 sprigs fresh thyme , tied with kitchen twine

1 bay leaf

Ground black pepper

Cheese Croutons

1 small baguette , cut into 1/2-inch slices

8 ounces shredded Gruyère cheese (about 2 1/2 cups)

Preparation

For the soup: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees.

Generously spray inside of heavy-bottomed large (at least 7-quart) Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray.

Place butter in pot and add onions and 1 teaspoon salt.

 Cook, covered, 1 hour (onions will be moist and slightly reduced in volume).

Remove pot from oven and stir onions, scraping bottom and sides of pot.

 Return pot to oven with lid slightly ajar and continue to cook until onions are very soft and golden brown, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours longer,

Place pot over medium-high heat.

Cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot, until liquid evaporates and onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until pot bottom is coated with dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary.

Stir in 1/4 cup water, scraping pot bottom and cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes.

Repeat process 2 or 3 x, until onions are very dark brown.

Stir in sherry and cook until sherry evaporates, about 5 minutes.

Stir in broths, 2 cups water, thyme, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, scraping up any final bits of browned crust on bottom and sides of pot. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer.

Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes.

Remove and discard herbs, then season with salt and pepper.

For the croutons: arrange baguette slices on baking sheet and bake in 400-degree oven until bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

To serve: Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler.

Set individual broiler-safe crocks on baking sheet and fill each with about 1 3/4 cups soup. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère.

Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes.

Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Easy no Knead yeast rolls

I wish I could remember where I got this from-wandering around on the internet... This recipe is a keeper since I have made them a dozen times and they have turned out every time!

Ingredients 

2 [1/4 oz] packets rapid rise yeast [such as Fleischmann's]

1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tsp

1 1/3 cup of lukewarm water or milk

4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 large egg

8 Tbsp butter, divided

Directions:

In a measuring cup, dissolve both packets of yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar in 1 1/3 cup of lukewarm water.  If you use hot water or milk, it will kill the yeast and the bread won't rise.  So, make sure the water is lukewarm not boiling. [tip: I use water most often for these rolls]  Let the yeast mixture sit on the counter for 5-7 minutes to allow the yeast to "bloom."  You'll see bubbles and froth begin to gather on the top.

 In a medium size mixing bowl, sift together the flour, salt and sugar.  Add the egg

After the yeast has developed, gradually add it to the dry ingredients in the bowl, along with 5 tablespoons of melted butter.  Begin to blend the ingredients together, using a large spoon incorporating more liquid as you go.  I used a silicone spatula, and the dough didn't stick to it, making this task a lot easier

Then, after I incorporated all of the flour, it looked like this.....I then placed it into a buttered bowl, and covered it with a damp cloth.

 Allow the dough to sit in a warm, draft free place, covered for 1 hour.  After one hour, the dough had doubled.  The smell of the rising dough was heavenly and could only be topped by the aroma of the rolls while they were baking.

You can make these rolls any size you like, of course.  I used a 2 ounce ice cream scoop, lightly sprayed with cooking spray, to separate the dough into even portions after punching it down to release the air bubbles.  Roll into a ball in your hands then arrange side by side, in a buttered non-stick metal baking pan. I used a 10-inch cast iron frying pan.  [Tip: It's important that the rolls to be uniform in size so they'll bake evenly.]

Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and using a pastry brush, lightly brush the tops.  Reserve some of the melted butter to brush on the tops after the rolls come out of the oven, too.  How many times can I say butter in this recipe?  We are making bread, right?  ☺ At this point, you can cover with a damp cloth and allow the rolls to rise again until doubled.  [about an hour]  I baked them immediately, so, the rolls you see in the pictures didn't rise twice.   Patience?  Not so much...

Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 20-22 minutes.  Gorgeous, right?  It doesn't get much simpler, or better than that!  Serve hot.

  Yield: 24  small rolls or 12 large rolls

Cook's note:

To make the rolls in advance: 

After forming the dough into rolls, cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray and refrigerate overnight, if desired.   Uncover, brush with melted butter just before baking at 400°F for 20-22 minutes until golden.  The rolls will continue to slowly rise even in the refrigerator.