French Onion Soup

There is nothing like a warm bowl of soup on a cold day. Mom loves this soup. It is hearty and delicious. French onion soup is so easy to make; I think it will make it into my regular rotation meal every winter. I don't know why I had never made it before, but when I was younger, I did not particularly like beef, so I did not enjoy this soup back then. Now, I love it.

French onion soup is traditionally served with bread and melted cheese on top. If you have oven-proof bowls, pour some soup into the bowl, place bread on top of the soup and cover with the cheese. Then place under a broiler until the cheese melts. If you do not have adequate bowls, then just follow the directions below. Or, enjoy it without the bread and cheese on top.

French Onion Soup 

• 6 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 6 cups beef stock
• 1/2 cup white wine
• bread
• gruyere or swiss cheese

Saute the onions in butter for five minutes or until tender. Blend in flour, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir in the beef stock. Cover and simmer for about one hour. Add the wine. Place bread on a baking sheet and cover with cheese. Place under the broiler until the cheese melts. Then, place a piece of bread on top of each bowl of soup. Enjoy!

Onion Lover's Twist

Mom's recipe box has loads of bread recipes. Even if I don't remember Mom making the recipe, every bread recipe I try is delicious. This recipe is no exception. The resulting loaf of bread is excellent. Don't be scared off by the need to use yeast or the effort to shape the bread into a twist. Just follow the directions and the result, no matter how it looks, will be just fine.

The bread itself, without the onion filling, is very good. The filling is not actually too oniony. So, if you really love onion, you can easily use more onion in the filling than the recipe indicates. I think that this bread would also be good with a sweet filling, like blueberries or cinnamon and raisins. But give the onion filling a try.

Onion Lover's Twist 

Dough

• 1 package dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (about 115 degrees)
• 4 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter, softened

Filling

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 tbsp. poppy seeds

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 2 cups flour and remaining dough ingredients. Blend at low until moistened; beat for 2 minutes at medium speed. By hand, stir in the remaining flour to form a soft dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until light and doubled.

Stir down dough. Toss on a lightly floured surface until no longer sticky. Roll out to an 18 inch x 12 inch rectangle. Combine filling ingredients and spread over the dough rectangle. Cut lengthwise into three 18x4 strips. Starting with the 18-inch side, roll each strip and seal edges and ends. On a greased cookie sheet, braid the three rolls together. Cover and let rise again for 45-60 minutes. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!

Quiche Lorraine

When I found this recipe in Mom's recipe box, I knew I had to give it a try. As I have already said, I love custard and quiche is just a savory custard. I vaguely recall Mom making quiches. I don't recall if she made this particular quiche, but I think quiches became popular when I was young, so if she did not make this particular recipe, she made one like it. Mom likely found this recipe in a newspaper, magazine or cookbook.

The essentials of a quiche include pie crust and egg custard with some additional ingredients. The basic quiche is a flexible base into which many ingredients can be mixed. Quiche Lorraine is named after the Lorraine region of France and traditionally had onion, bacon and swiss cheese. When I made this quiche, I kept to the traditional ingredients. The result was delicious.

Quiche Lorraine 

• 1/2 pound bacon
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 9-inch pastry
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups grated swiss cheese
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Cook bacon until crisp, then drain on paper towel and crumble. Saute onion. Sprinkle bacon and onion into a pastry lined pie pan. 

In a bowl, combine eggs, milk, cheese and seasonings. Pour over the bacon and onion into the pie pan. Bake at 375 for 35 to 40 minutes. Allow to set for about 10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!