Winter Night Treat

Guillermo arrived from Italy for a few weeks and we decided to have a dinner for him and Tom and Scott. Scott brought some great Cheeses from North Carolina. Who knew North Carolina had artisanal cheese?

We started with an unusual Red Onion Soup With Cheese Toasts  We saw the recipe in the New York Times. Unlike most onion soups you don't broil the bread and cheese on top of the soup. You just toast the cheese and add it to the soup. The soup is made from Red Onions only. It was very good.

For the main course we made: Pork Tiella with Wild Mushrooms and Potatoes. This is a favorite of mine. A real one dish hearty meal. You can get the recipe from our blog of: December 10, 2010. Click the date to get the recipe.

For dessert a Chocolate Cake from Proof.

Lots of great conversation as Guillermo explained the sexual politics of Italy vs Mexico vs America.

Red Onion Soup With Cheese Toasts

New York Times

Ingredients

•                Olive oil

•                3 pounds red onions, peeled, sliced 1/8-inch thick

•                Salt and pepper

•                1 cup dry red wine

•                2 bay leaves

•                1 small bunch thyme, tied with string

•                8 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

•                2 tablespoons brandy (optional)

•                6 slices day-old bread, lightly toasted

•                6 ounces grated Gruyère

•                1 teaspoon chopped thyme

•                1 tablespoon chopped sage

1.

Set 2 large, wide skillets over medium-high heat. When pans are hot, add 1 tablespoon oil and a large handful of sliced onions to each pan. Season onions with salt and pepper, then sauté, stirring occasionally, until they are a ruddy dark brown, about 10 minutes

2.

Transfer onions to soup pot and return pans to stove. Pour 1/2 cup water into each pan to deglaze it, scraping with a wooden spoon to dissolve any brown bits. Pour deglazing liquid into soup pot. Wipe pans clean with paper towel and begin again with more oil and sliced onions. Continue until all onions are used. Don’t crowd pans or onions won’t brown sufficiently.

3.

Place soup pot over high heat. Add wine, bay leaves, thyme bunch and garlic. Simmer rapidly for 5 minutes, then add 8 cups water and return to boil. Turn heat down to maintain a gentle simmer. Add 2 teaspoons salt. Cook for 45 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. (May be prepared to this point up to 2 days in advance.)

4.

To serve, add brandy to soup, if using, and simmer 5 minutes. Remove the thyme. Make the cheese toasts: Heat broiler. Place toasted bread on baking sheet. Mix grated cheese with chopped thyme and sage, along with a generous amount of pepper. Heap about 1 ounce of cheese mixture on each toast. Broil until cheese bubbles and browns slightly. Ladle soup into wide bowls and top with toast.