as Julia would say....BON APPETIT !!!!!!

Today I made Julia Child's recipe for French Onion Soup. Along the way, I learned a few things. I had read somewhere that if you keep some type of flame lit near where you are cutting onions, you won't get teary eyed. I decided to try it.

I sliced up 6 POUNDS (4 HUGE) of onions ......

and it completely filled up the dutch oven. Guess what?????? Not one tear!!!!!!
The second thing I learned today was that you shouldn't put so many onions in too small of a pot. Mine was filled to the top and all it did was steam the onions. It took about 2 HOURS before they started to carmelize. CRAZY! I did add more onions than what was called for though.

I had to keep waiting for the liquid to go away so that the onions would finally carmelize.

I added the thyme from my garden... (I saw her use it on her show but it's not in the recipe)

and 1/2 a day later.... we have soup!

I shredded some Emmentaler Cheese (like Swiss, one that Julia mentioned goes well with the soup)

I toasted the bread, then put the soup in the bowls, topped it with cheese and put it in the oven to melt the cheese. I didn't want to broil it because one of the soup crocks (we had 3 different kinds) didn't say it can go in the oven so I didn't want to push my luck.

The soup was delicious and will be gone by tomorrow... if not tonight for someones midnight snack!

JULIA CHILD'S FRENCH ONION SOUP

Julia's Onion Soup
(Paraphrased from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child et al, Volume I)
Serves 6 - 8.

5 C yellow onions, thinly sliced (about 1-1/2 lb)

3 T butter

1 T oil

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp sugar

3 T flour

2 qts boiling brown stock (recipe follows) or store bought beef broth (I used store bought)

1/2 C dry white wine or vermouth

salt

French baguette, cut in 3/4" thick rounds

olive oil

1 clove garlic

Cook the onions slowly with the butter and oil in a heavy covered saucepan for 15 minutes. Add the salt and sugar, raise heat to moderate and cook 30 - 40 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions have turned a deep golden brown. Sprinkle in the flour and stir 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
Bring the stock or bouillion to a boil and blend into the onions. Add wine, season to taste, and simmer partially covered 30 - 40 minutes, skimming occasionally. Correct seasoning. If not served immediately, return to a simmer before serving.
Bake the bread rounds on a baking sheet in a preheated 350º oven about 30 minutes, till hard and lightly browned, basting them with olive oil after 15 minutes, and then turning them and basting the other side. When baking is completed, rub each piece with a cut piece of the garlic. Spread one side of each piece with the grated cheese, dribble on a little olive oil and brown under the broiler. Add the hot bread rounds to the hot soup immediately before serving.


Brown Stock
(Adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child et al, Volume I.)
Makes 2 - 3 quarts.

about 6 lb meat, scraps and bones, chopped to 2-3" pieces (veal, beef, poultry)

2 tsp salt

2 medium carrots, peeled and cut up

2 medium onions, peeled and cut up

2 medium celery stalks, cut up

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1 bay leaf

6 parsley sprigs

2 unpeeled galic cloves

2 whole cloves

option: 2 washed leeks

Roast the meat, scraps and bones with the carrots and onions in a preheated 450º oven about 30 - 40 minutes, turning occasionally to insure uniform browning. Place the meat and bones in a kettle. Drain out the fat from the roasting pan and deglaze with water, scraping the bits and juices into the kettle.
Add the celery, thyme, bay leaf, parsley, garlic, cloves, optional leeks and water to cover. Simmer partially covered 4 - 5 hours, skimming and degreasing occasionally, and adding more water if necessary. Strain through a fine sieve or cheesecloth and degrease before using.

MISS GODFATHER'S TACO PIZZA aka LouAnn's Taco Pizza

We went to LouAnn's SWINGIN' SUMMER SOIREE on Sunday and one of the foods was a Taco pizza. It was so good. I decided to make one LAST NIGHT... yum!

Miss Godfather's Taco Pizza

Zucchini Crust
Crust
Large raw zucchini, peeled and shredded (between 1.5-2 cups)2 eggs2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (or pizza cheese*)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Grease cookie sheet.
Peel and shred a large zucchini. Add egg and cheese, and mix well (I always use my hands). Spread the dough onto the pan evenly (watch the middle of the crust—it can be too thick) and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the crust is cooked. Let cool.Makes a large crust (14")Nutritional Information:Calories: 785 Carbohydrates: 9 Fiber: 0 Net carbohydrate: 9 Fat: 49 g Protein: 75 g

Taco Pizza
For the Taco Pizza
Layer, in the following order:Pizza sauce mixed with Picante/Salsa

Seasoned ground beef

Shredded lettuceShredded cheddar (you can also add mozzarella and/or colby jack)

Chopped Tomato

Red Onion

Sliced Black Olives

You could also top with guacamole and sour cream if you'd like

(change nutritional information if you do).

Do not cook with toppings added. Serve immediately with a plate and fork!

Refrigerate leftovers.

Makes a large, 14” pizza. Serves 8.

Nutritional information per 1/8 of a pizza (including crust):Calories: 166 Carbohydrates: 4 Fiber: >1 Net carbohydrate: 3 Fat: 16 g Protein: 18 g

OUR NEW ORLEAN'S FEAST...

Scott commented to us that he missed Red Beans & Rice so we thought it would be nice if we made New orlean's favorites and let Scott & Alyssa invite some of their friends over to enjoy it with us. We decided that 'Saturday night' would be perfect.

I didn't realize it when we picked the date (August 29th) for this feast but today is the anniversary of when Hurricane Katrine hit New Orleans. What a perfect day to honor the people and part of what makes them special.
On the menu...
Corn & Crab Soup
Gumbo
Jambalaya
Red BeansRice
Shrinp Etouffee
Corn Bread

Alyssa made the Gumbo.
Making the roux is the toughest part. You need to stir that stuff for like an HOUR before it gets to the proper color! Talk about a labor of love!

Corn Bread in my favorite cast iron pan.

Jambalaya

Shrimp Etouffee

Red Beans

I put labels on the table so everyone would know what they were eating.

My plate!

I have to say... I was very impressed with our efforts. It was a lot of work but everyone enjoyed themselves and had a great food experience. Most of the kids had never had this kind of foods so it was great to have them try them. I think my favorites were the Gumbo and the Shrimp Etouffee. YUM!!! Good times!!

Here's the recipes:

SHRIMP ETOUFEE (or Crawfish)

½ pound butter
¼ cup flour
1 cup green onions, chopped
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup green pepper, chopped
½ cup celery, chopped
1 bay leaf
¼ teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon basil
8 oz. tomato sauce
½ teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 tblsp. Worcestershire
Tabasco to taste
2 cups water
2 pounds Shrimp (1 kilo)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tblsp. grated lemon rind
¼ cup minced parsley
2 tablespoons cognac

1. Make a walnut-colored roux with ¼ cup butter and flour.
2. Add green onions, yellow onions, garlic, green pepper, celery, bay leaf, thyme, basil and the rest of the butter. Sauté uncovered, over medium flame for 30 minutes.
3. Add tomato sauce, white pepper, salt, Worcestershire, Tabasco and water. Bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer slowly, uncovered, for 1 hour. Stir occasionally.
5. After 1 hour, turn off fire.
6. Immediately add shrimp, lemon juice, lemon rind, parsley and cognac.
7. Serve over white rice or with French bread.

Best if made the day before or early in the morning. Cover & refrigerate. Reheat quickly, without boiling.

CORNBREAD
1 1/3 cups Flour
2/3 cups Cornmeal (yellow)
2/3 cups Sugar
½ cups Corn Flour (use ¼ Cup Flour and ¼ Cup Cornmeal)
5 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups Milk
5 tablespoons unsalted Butter, melted
1 Egg, beaten

In large bowl, mix Flour, Cornmeal, Sugar, Corn Flour (see note), Baking Powder, and Salt. Mix well, breaking up any lumps.
2. In another bowl, combine the Milk, Butter and Egg.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, blend just until mixed and large lumps are dissolved. Do not overbeat.
4. For Bread: Pour into a greased pan and bake at 350 F until golden brown, about 55 minutes.
For Muffins: Spoon mixture into 12 greased muffin cups. Bake at 350 F until golden brown, about 45 minutes

Red Beans & Rice
1 pound dried red beans
1 meaty ham bone
1 ¾ quarts water (enough to cover ham bone)
3 cups chopped Bermuda onion
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 cup parsley, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tablespoon salt
Dash red pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon sugar
Dash Tabasco
¼ teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon thyme leaves
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
½ (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
Seasoned salt to taste
Cooked Rice
Soak beans overnight in water to cover. Drain. Cook beans and ham bone in water slowly for 3 hours. Add all ingredients except seasoned salt. Cook slowly for 1 ½ hours. Cool. Reheat and simmer for 1 hour. Add seasoned salt to taste. Served over cooked rice. Serves 8.

The other recipes will be added when I have more time!

NANNY'S FAVORITE... CAPONATA

Waaaaaay back in 1981, I was watching Eyewitness News. Bob Lape did a segment on the new recipe book that was benefiting the American Cancer Society. He was making one of the dishes from the cookbook with Matilda Cuomo, who has a few recipes in the book and was the Campaign Chairman at the time. Whatever they were making, looked delicious so I ordered the cookbook.

I remember reading it like a novel, page by page, sticking in little pieces of paper for the recipes that I wanted to try.

I have a bad habit of trying a new recipe whenever we have company over. I don't know why I do that because it can be risky. Maybe I actually have a daring side to me!

One of those recipes was for Caponata. Our parents and Grandparents were coming over to spend the day with us to see their new Grandaughter (Great Grandaughter). I made the Caponata. My Grandmother LOVED it!

And I mean SHE LOVED IT!!

For the next 20 or so years, Nanny would always request that I make that. Her eyesight was very bad and couldn't follow a recipe anymore or even cook much so she relied on me. That was fine! I loved watching her eat it. She didn't gobble, she savored it!

It's been a few years now since I made it so that had to change. I made it again last week when Brooke was home. It instantly brought back memories of Nanny, parking her chair right up next to the Caponata, and enjoying herself!

Caponata (Eggplant Appetizer)

1/3 c. olive oil

3 c peeled and cubed eggplant

1/3 c diced green pepper (I sometimes use red peppers)

1 onion

3/4 c sliced mushrooms

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 (6 oz) can of tomato paste

1/4 c water

2 TBSP wine vinegar

1/2 c sliced pimento-stuffed green olives

1 1/2 ts sugar

1 ts. oregano

2 TBSP capers

1 ts salt

1/4 ts pepper

In a large skillet, place the olive oil, eggplant, green or red pepper, onions, mushrooms and garlic. Cover and cook gently about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Next, add the tomato paste, water, vinegar, olives, sugar, oregano, capers, salt and pepper. Mix well and let simmer, covered, until eggplant is tender, about 30 minutes. Chill. Serve with crackers.

**I usually make this a day ahead of time so the flavors can meld but also to make my party day easier.

LouAnn's STEAK ON A STICK

About a week and a half ago we had a family BBQ. One of the items that I made was LouAnn's Steak On A Stick. LouAnn won a Family Fun magazine recipe contest with that recipe. It was then sent on to Disney (they own Family Fun) for a possible spot in their Disney Family Cookbook. She won! That was in 1996.

Flash forward to Aug of 2009. While PJ and I were on the 50 mile garage sale up state, we stopped at one of the houses. We were ready to leave when my eye caught the sight of a cookbook. I had to go over and look to see what it was. I IMMEDIATELY grabbed it. It was Disney's Family Cookbook with LouAnn's recipe on page 132!!! I talked the lady down from 75 cents to 50 cents!

Everyone loved these, especially Brooke and Scott! If there were 100 of them, they would have eaten them!!

STEAK ON A STICK

1 1/2 lbs. London Broil or Flank Steak, sliced about 1/4" thick

1/2 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. vegetable oil (opt)

1/4 c. water

2 TBSP molasses

2 ts. dry mustard

1 ts. powdered ginger

1/2 ts. garlic powder

Bamboo skewers that have been soaked in water

Cut the steak on the diagonal in 1/4" slices and place in a sealable bag. Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl, stir together, then pour into the bag. Seal the bag with no air pockets, shake, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or freeze until ready to use.

When you're ready to cook, skewer the meat, ribbon style with 3 to 4 pieces on a skewer.

Broil or grill the meat, about 3 minutes on each side.

Makes 10-16 skewers.

YUM!!!

DA SPOT HITS THE SPOT !!

Last night I made a delicious sandwich. It's called the DaSpot Chicken Sandwich by Aaron McCargo (NFNS of last season). It was a best seller at the restaurant called DaSpot that he worked at in Camden, NJ. I was a little nervous using the jalapeno along with the chipotle peppers. I decided that I would follow the directions exactly this time and I can tweak it the next time if needed. I even used the Tabbouleh Salad that I was kind of thinking of passing on. It turned out GREAT! Everyone loved this sandwich! To make things easier, you can make the chicken part ahead of time and refrigerate it until you're ready to bread them. The Chipotle Mayo Sauce can also be made ahead of time and put in the fridge. * One note, I ran out of Panko bread crumbs so I put some sliced white bread in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes to crispin it up. I then stuck them in the food processor to make coarse crumbs out of them. Pictures below!

DaSpot Chicken Sandwich
Recipe courtesy Aaron McCargo Jr.

Serves:
4 to 6 servings

Ingredients
Canola oil, for frying
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (3 to 4-pound) store-bought rotisserie chicken (I used my leftover chicken from a roast)
1/4 cup diced red pepper
1/4 cup diced green pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
1 jalapeno seeded and diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon granulated chicken bouillon
Pinch cayenne
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
3 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
Chipotle Mayo, recipe follows
1 pint store-bought tabbouleh salad
4 to 6 Portuguese rolls, split

Breading:
1 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups panko bread crumbs, in shallow dish

Chipotle Mayo, recipe follows

Directions
Preheat a deep-fryer with canola oil to 350 degrees F.
Pick the chicken from the bones and add to a large bowl. Set aside.
In a medium saute pan over medium-high heat, add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the peppers, onions, jalapenos, and garlic and cook until slightly caramelized. Stir in the bouillon and cayenne and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Place pepper and onion mixture, picked chicken, egg and bread crumbs into a food processor and pulse until well incorporated and slightly chunky. Form chicken mixture into burger-size patties. Put the flour into a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper. Put the eggs and bread crumbs into separate shallow dishes. Bread the patties by dredging into the seasoned flour, then the eggs and finally through the bread crumbs. Transfer to a platter.
Fry the patties until crispy and golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Spread Chipotle Mayo on both sides of the Portuguese rolls. Add the chicken patties to the bottom of the rolls and top with a good spoonful of tabbouleh. Cover with the roll tops and serve.

Chipotle Mayo:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce, minced
Pinch kosher salt
Pinch cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon chopped garlic

In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients until well incorporated. Cover and put in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Greek Pasta Salad with Shrimp, Tomatoes, Zucchini, Peppers, and Feta

I made this pasta salad for Scott and Alyssa to take with the to Linda's house in Rhode Island this weekend. I saved a little for me to have for lunch today and that is the reason it made it to the blog. It was sooo good! I'm not a fan of Feta Cheese or Kalamata Olives either but I knew that Linda's family likes them so why not give it a try. I was very pleasantly surprised and how good it was! Maybe because it was a day later and the flavors melded. Whatever the reason, I will be making this again!

***As usual, I did change something. Instead of using the oven to BAKE the veggies and shrimp, I GRILLED them outside. I think that little bit of charring really made it!

SUBMITTED BY: USA WEEKEND columnist Pam Anderson PHOTO BY: DeAnna

"The ideal outdoor meal: this colorful main-course pasta salad chock-full of protein, vegetables and bold flavorings. For fresh flavor and peak texture, toss the salad right before serving. Pack the dressing in a jar and the salad ingredients in a gallon-sized zipper bag. When ready to serve, drizzle on the dressing, close the bag and squeeze it all over until the dressing completely coats the salad. Pour into a serving bowl."

Greek Pasta Salad with Shrimp, Tomatoes, Zucchini, Peppers, and Feta

INGREDIENTS

Dijon Vinaigrette
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 large clove garlic, minced
Big pinch of salt
Black pepper, to taste
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Pasta Salad
2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise
1 medium yellow pepper, halved lengthwise, seeded
2 tablespoons olive oil
Ground black pepper and salt, to taste
2 tablespoons salt for pasta water
1 pound medium pasta shells
1 pound cooked shrimp, halved lengthwise
8 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup coarsely chopped, pitted Kalamata olives
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 small red onion, cut into small dice
2 teaspoons dried oregano

DIRECTIONS
To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the first five ingredients, then slowly whisk in the oil for a thick consistency. Pour into a jar with a tight-fitting lid to transport it to the picnic.
Adjust oven rack to highest position and turn broiler on high. Toss zucchini and bell pepper with olive oil, salt and pepper, and arrange on a large baking sheet with sides. Broil eight to 10 minutes, until spotty brown, turning zucchini slices and pepper halves once. Set aside in a large bowl to cool, then cut into bite-sized pieces.
Bring 1 gallon of water and 2 Tbs. of salt to boil. Add pasta; boil using package times, until just tender. Drain thoroughly (do not rinse) and dump onto the baking sheet. Set aside to cool.
Put vegetables, pasta and remaining ingredients (except dressing) in the bowl or a gallon-sized zipper bag (can be refrigerated for several hours). To serve, add dressing; toss to coat.