Late September Greetings!

I wanted to note 2 DELICIOUS items we served at our Feastly (www.eatfeastly.com) Sunday Supper last week are listed below. We hosted a beautiful evening full of some of Julia Child's favorite recipes....with our little updated twists of course! We were so lucky to have the most wonderful guests attend and we cant wait until our next dinner. Now get cookin'....


ALSATIAN ONION TART

1/4 Cup of Lardons (Cubed Bacon)
5 Onions Thinly Sliced
Splash of Brandy
Splash of White or Red Wine
Bunch of Thyme
1 Sprig of Rosemary (Chopped)
1/2 Cup of Crème Fraiche
3/4 Cup of good quality Gruyere Cheese (Shredded)
Tart Dough (recipe follows)

Method:
Saute bacon until crispy in a thick-bottomed large sauce pan, slightly drain if necessary. Add onions with 2 TBS of Butter and over low to medium heat, allow to caramelize until golden brown. Add Salt and Pepper. Deglaze the pan with Brandy and Wine. Cook Down until slightly reduced. Add Thyme and Rosemary. You could add a few drops of water or stock if onions become over-reduced and dry. Allow to slightly cool.

Roll out Tart Dough on well-floured surface to 1/8”. Place on buttered baking sheet and spread Crème Fraiche in an even layer on the dough. Top with Onion Mixture and then shredded Gruyere Cheese. Put Tart in a 420F oven for about 10-20 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Top with a bit more thyme after being removed from oven.

Tart Dough Recipe:
1 1/2 Cup of A.P Flour (Sifted)
2 tsp of Salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper (A couple of grinds!)
1 tsp of Sugar
1/4 of Warm Water
1 Package of Yeast
1/3 Cup of Olive Oil
Method:
Combine Sugar, Water, and Yeast and allow to bubble (about 5 minutes). Sift Flour and Salt into a bowl and add Pepper. Add the Yeast Mixture to the dry ingredients. Add the Olive Oil and Knead until combined plus 3 minutes. Kneading activates the gluten which helps make the dough perfect! Let the dough rest in the fridge overnight or for a few hours. When you’re ready, just roll it out on a floured surface.

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FRENCH ONION SOUP (6 Servings)

1/4 Cup of Lardons (Cubed Bacon)
10 Onions Thinly Sliced
Splash of Brandy
1/2 Cup of White Wine
2 Quarts of Good Quality Beef/Veal Stock (We used Veal Demi Glace, which is essentially super rich and reduced Veal Stock)
Bunch of Thyme
Salt, Pepper
Grated Gruyere Cheese
Thick sliced Croutons of Bread (We do croutons, or olive oiled bread slices put in the oven, to maintain the crunch)

Method:
Saute bacon until crispy in a thick-bottomed large sauce pan, slightly drain if necessary. Add onions with 4 TBS of Butter and over low to medium heat, allow to caramelize until golden brown. Add Salt and Pepper to taste. Deglaze the pan with Brandy and White Wine. Reduce slightly. Add Stock and Thyme and reduce for 20 minutes.

Spoon soup into bowls and place croutons with cheese on the soup(you can melt the cheese on the croutons before placing it on the bowl to keep the crouton nice a crunchy) just make sure your bowls are oven-safe!!


XX, 

Lindsay and Chef