a Lighter Take on French Onion Soup

French onion soup is one of those quintessential comfort dishes, a deeply satisfying brown savory broth topped with a decadent crust of rich melted cheese. Although you'll find it on French menus, it's much more likely that an American will order it rather than a French person. When a Frenchman is craving une bonne soupe, it's much more likely that he's imagining a simple potato leek soup or a cold vichyssoise. But both tourists and Parisians will agree that this simple soup is delicious.

The weather was gray and misty today, so I decided to welcome Steve home from coaching Bella's soccer team with a big bowl of French onion soup. I used a recipe from the Cafe Boulud Cookbook which has a wonderful mix of traditional French and American-French fusion recipes,which never fail to inspire me. His recipe called for substituting toasted baguette topped with marrow for the customary melted cheese topping and adding beef shank to the soup for a little extra substance. I boiled the marrow bones according to the recipe, but they yielded gray, totally unappetizing marrow. Instead, I served the rich soup with toasted bread topped with melting lumps of salted butter. It was much lighter than the customary cheese, more subtle and just as delicious. It would have been nice if the marrow had worked out, but a generous pat of butter topped with a little crunchy Fleur de Sel easily made up for my disappointment.

Be Patient, These Onions Can Still Get Richer and More Caramelized.

The house smelled great from the caramelized onions long after our soup bowls were licked clean. My mouth was tingling from the rich flavors, but I didn't feel overly full. I have a feeling that this lighter version of French onion soup will be a staple in my fridge as we deal with our first brutal Chicago winter.

Onion Soup with Braised Beef Shank (adapted from the Cafe Boulud Cookbook)
Serves 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 1/2 hours
2 pieces of Beef Shank or other stew meat such as oxtail, cut into 1 inch cubes
4 white or sweet onions
2 quarts of chicken stock
4 tablespoons of salted butter and a little extra for your toasts
2 teaspoons of all-purpose flour
1 cup of dry white wine such as sauvignon blanc
1 bouquet garni herb sack or 1 teaspoon of bouquet garni blend from Penzey's
a few pinches of fleur de sel 

1. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a soup pot or Le Creuset type pot. Add the beef cubes and sear until browned on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2. Cut your onions into very thin slices. Add 3 tablespoons of butter to the pot. Melt on medium heat. Add the onions and cook on medium to low heat, stirring frequently, until the onions have turned soft and are a rich amber color. Do not let them burn. This process can take over 40 minutes. Be patient as the onions release their sugar and get caramelized, filling your kitchen with magical smells.
3. Dust the onions with flour and cook, stirring with gusto for 2 to 3 minutes, long enough to cook off the floury taste. This will give your soup a little more body.
4. Add the cup of wine and scrub the bottom of the pan to get all the browned bits into your liquid. Bring to a boil and heat until the wine is almost evaporated.
5. Add the chicken stock and the beef. Bring to a simmer and cook for an hour, until the beef is very tender. Your soup is now ready to serve.
6. Cut a few thick slices of country bread. Toast them. Top them with a generous amount of good quality European butter, go ahead and treat yourself. Sprinkle a few grains of Fleur de Sel on top and enjoy this celebration of fall soup. You could even blast a little Edith Piaf and pretend you're a tourist at a little cafe in the Quartier Latin.

Bonjour, Je Suis Un Enfant Americain

Now that the hassle of getting our house on the market is behind us, we're beginning to focus on the fun aspects of Steve's promotion and our move: a much needed vacation. We'll be heading to France soon to visit my mother and re-acquaint the kids with the land of crepes and cheese.

I've blogged before about my decreasing zeal in teaching my kids French. When we told the kids about the trip, Jack cried out in anguish, "But, we can't go! I don't speak the LANGUAGE!"

So we are now hard at work on our basic French communication skills:

"Bonjour"

"Je m'appelle Jack."

"J'aime les baguettes."

"J'aime les croissants."

"J'aime les crepes."

"Je n'aime pas les escargots."

"Merci."

"Au revoir!"

*Hello. My name is Jack. I like baguettes. I like croissants. I like crepes. I do NOT like snails. Thank you. Good bye!

The Cheater's Cassoulet

Chefdruck's Tasty Tuesday

Before delving into tonight's Tasty Tuesday recipe, I wanted to report back on my pirate birthday cake. Everyone was impressed with the cake and all of Jack's friends were delighted by all the candy decorating it. Cutting into it was painful but the slices actually looked pretty good too. I was enjoying a slice of my own, filling my mouth with the chocolaty frosting, feeling like the ultimate mom, when I noticed that Jack was not at the table with his friends. He was playing ostrich with his head buried deep into the couch cushions. I walked over to see what the matter was and he whispered, "There's something I want to tell you but I'm scared." I knew before the words were out of his mouth that he didn't like the cake. I wasn't upset, I just felt so bad that he was worrying about it on his birthday. Once I assured him that my feelings were not hurt and that I was not mad, I handed him a new plate with plain cake and lots of swedish fish. He ran back into the party with a big smile, all worries erased. Next year I'll be decorating vanilla icing instead of using chocolate.


Now onto tonight's recipe. French cooking is full of delicious hearty winter stews like Beef Bourguignon. The heartiest of the hearties is Cassoulet. A stick to your ribs white bean stew filled with sausage and duck confit. Cassoulet satisfies the deepest parts of your soul. It's comfort food to the ultimate degree, but it definitely isn't diet food or a quick and easy recipe.

I was a little skeptical when I ran across a Real Simple recipe for cassoulet that seemed relatively easy. I'm generally a purist when it comes to French cooking but I was intrigued. Because this recipe doesn't involve dried beans or duck confit, I actually happened to have the ingredients in my fridge and pantry so I decided to give it a try. I ended up having cassoulet for the rest of the week. And I walked around every day in a deeply happy food coma state.

As the only source of fat in this version is from one pound of Italian sausage, it's also considerably healthier than the real thing.

Winter Cassoulet - adapted from Real Simple Magazine
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
1 lb of Italian sausage, casings removed
1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 carrots, coarsely chopped
3 parsnips, coarsely chopped
1 tomato, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 15-oz cans of white beans (Great Northern, cannelini, or navy beans), drained
1 teaspoon of dried thyme leaves
1 cup of breadcrumbs
1/4 cup of fresh parsley
2 tablespoons of melted butter
1 tablespoon of olive oil

1) In a thick cast iron pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Cook the sausage until browned, breaking it up as it cooks. Remove from the heat and set to rest on paper towels. Remove the extra oil from the pot.
2) Add the vegetables to the pot and cook until softened, stirring frequently to prevent scorching, about five minutes.
3) Add the chicken broth, beans, thyme, and sausage and return to heat. Feel free to salt and pepper according to your tastes too. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about one hour. Stir occasionally until the mixture is thickened and the vegetables are tender.
4) Heat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Combine the breadcrumbs, parsley and butter in a bowl. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture evenly over the cassoulet and put in the oven. Bake, uncovered, until the crust is golden, about 15 minutes.
5) Serve immediately or enjoy the next day reheated. I reheated mine in the microwave with no problem.