Rainy Winter Meal

 

 

Los Angeles had turned cold and rainy. We decided it was time for a warm winter dinner. One of the best things I can think of on a cold rainy night is French Onion Soup bubbling with melted cheese and a glass of Red Wine. So French Onion Soup it was!

Made the same recipe we always make, Onion Soup from Julia Childs first book: Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It is the best! It is really quite easy, and always works out. The trick is to cook the THINLY sliced onions slowly to bring out their flavor.

For the entre we made a fabulous provencal meat loaf and mashed potatoes. The recipe can be found in Mediterranean Grains and Greens by Paula Wolfert. The meatloaf is entirely made from pork and sausage with lots of greens. It is almost like a pate in texture. It is delicious. What better to go with meatloaf then mashed potatoes?

This was a perfect cold rainy night dinner!

Onion Soup
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1 ½ lbs or about 5 cups of thinly sliced yellow onions
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons oil
1 heavy bottomed, 4 quart covered saucepan

1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon sugar (helps the onions to brown)

3 tablespoons flour

2 quarts boiling brown stock, canned beef bullion

½ cup dry white wine or vermouth
Salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons cognac

Rounds of slice French Bread

Gruyere cheese

Cook the sliced onions slowly with the butter and oil in the covered saucepan for 15 minutes.

Uncover, raise the heat to moderate and stir in the salt and sugar. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes stirring frequently, until the onions have turned an even, deep, golden brown.

Off the heat, blend in the boiling liquid. Add the wine, and season for taste. Simmer partly covered for 30 to 40 minutes or more, skimming occasionally. Correct the seasoning.


Set aside uncovered until ready to serve. Then reheat to the simmer.

Just before serving add 3 tablespoons cognac.

Pour the hot soup in oven proof soup bowls. Add the soup not quite to the top. Put a slice of toasted French bread on top. Generously cover with guyere cheese. Bake in 325 degree oven till the cheese is brown and melted.

provencal "meat loaf" with cabbage, artichokes, chard, spinach, and ground pork (France)
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Serves 8
1 chopped onion
1 leeks, trimmed and chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 artichoke bottoms, blanched for 10 minutes, then thinly slliced
3/4 pound ground pork
2 bunches Swiss chard leaves, cooked and chopped
1 bunch stemmed spinach, cooked and chopped
2 ounces pork sausage, skinned and shredded
2 ounces cured ham such as prosciutto, shredded
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
3 cups stale crustless bread, torn into small pieces
1 medium green or savoy cabbage (2 1/2 pounds)
¼ cup bread crumbs

This delicious Provencal "meat loaf will easily feed eight. I like to prepare it for four, serving it warm along with pickles, salad, and mashed pota¬toes, then prepare the leftovers the following day by slicing it, dusting the slices with flour, and fry¬ing them in extra-virgin olive oil until brown and crunchy on all sides

One day in advance of serving, fry the onion and leeks in the olive oil in a small skillet until softened. Cool, then mix with the artichoke bottoms, pork, greens, pork sausage, ham, salt, pepper, parsley, spices, garlic, and dried bread in a bowl; blend well. Cover and refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to develop.

The following day, preheat the oven to 350degrees.

Discard outer leaves of the cabbage. Wash the cabbage, discard inner core, and cook in boiling salted water for 30 minutes. Drain cabbage well.

Line a 6- to 8-cup oiled gratin dish with half the cabbage leaves, overlapping. Place the filling in the center, flatten slightly, and cover with the remaining leaves to completely enclose. If the cabbage and its filling rise above the sides of the dish, gently pat down to make them more compact. Brush the top with oil and sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Fill a roasting pan with water and set it in oven. Place the dish in the center and bake for 1 hour. Remove the water bath and finish baking until brown and crusty, 1 hour more