Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, December 19, 2007 at 4:15 PM
I’ve been poring over the recent French Onion Soup article in this month’s Cooks Illustrated. I apparently knew nothing about the topic. Their "Best" version calls for the onions to be baked for two and a half hours, and the pan to be deglazed three times. Even the “Quicker” version takes more than an hour an and half. Has anyone tried them? They really do look delicious.
But it made me think back to the onion soup I picked up about a year ago from the Grocery Guy. His is a hell of a lot simpler and relies on a quick ten-minute burst of high heat. It browns the onions and lends the dish a deep, rich flavor. I can’t really vouch for its merit compared to the Cooks Illustrated finely tuned masterpieces, but it works for me. It’s also apparently based on a Julia Child recipe. Some people like to be reminded that the tall one is watching over them in the kitchen, I just prefer the Grocery Guy calling me names. But that’s just me.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, December 6, 2007 at 2:45 PM
If you're a fan of sweet caramelized onions, you'll love Tom Colicchio's onion confit. He takes caramelized onions to the next level by simmering them in chicken stock and vinegar for half an hour after the onions have already caramelized, a step that results in richer and sweeter caramelized onions. The onion confit will last for weeks in the fridge—make a large batch and you can easily add it to anything you want, from sandwiches to steak.
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Posted by Mario Batali, September 25, 2007 at 4:20 PM
- serves 4 to 8 -
Ingredients
2 pounds cipolline or small red or white onions, about 30, root and stem trimmed
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar, or more to taste
Pinch of salt
Procedure
1. Brig 6 quarts of water to a boil, and add the onions. Lower to a simmer, and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and peel.
2. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, warm the olive oil with the bay leaves while the onions are cooking. Turn the peeled onions in the olive oil, and cook for 5 minutes, until just browned. Add the vinegar and sugar, raise the heat slightly, and cook, stirring frequently, until the vinegar-sugar mixture starts to caramelize, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and discard bay leaves. Turn the onions gently to coat thoroughly with syrupy mixture. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool. Serve at room temperature.
About the author: Mario Batali has created a thriving restaurant empire and has established himself as a top restaurateur. Together with his partner, Joe Bastianich, he operates seven New York City hotspots. Mario splits his time between New York City's Greenwich Village and northern Michigan with his wife, Susan Cahn, of Coach Dairy Goat Farm, and their two sons. More Mario: mariobatali.com.
Posted by Nick Kindelsperger, July 25, 2007 at 4:00 PM
There aren’t many times I look back at a two-week period and notice that I hadn’t cooked any read meat. It wasn’t my fault if nearly every recipe that looked good was light, easy, and beef-less. But after noticing came rectifying, and so I was off to procure a nice heavy dinner. Normally, that would mean throwing a steak on the grill. But I had been flipping through one of my favorite cookbooks, Daisy Cooks, and noticed a nice big steak recipe with just enough to keep things interesting.
The only hinge came with the cut. It seemed like a crime to mess with a relatively nice piece like strip steak by dumping it in vinegar. So I swapped cuts, using the little rougher bottom sirloin, which was unbelievably cheap and really took to the method. The rub and vinegar together are definitely strong, and at first I wasn’t all into the change. It tasted extreme and off balance. But then I scooped a bite with some of the crunchy, sweet onions. It was a great balance. Not exactly a major revelation, but a nice reprieve from heavily charcoaled specimens thrown on the grills across the country.
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