What are you cooking for dinner this weekend?

[guido]

Cold rainy day prompted Pork chops with garlic crisps and an apple cider reduction, braised curly kale, and fried apples and onions. Hungry animals ate it all up before I could take pictures.

[Too Tall]

Martin, I cried a little. That's the real deal. NICE.

[ericpmoss]

I finally made some good onion soup:



but ate it rather than take a photo. Good decision, IMO.

[Too Tall]

Fantastic youtube. I learned some new tricks. I'm not certain I've got the patience for the Full Monty however it seems like I now know hot to make one hellagreat beef broth.

I finally made some good onion soup:



but ate it rather than take a photo. Good decision, IMO.

[ericpmoss]

Fantastic youtube. I learned some new tricks. I'm not certain I've got the patience for the Full Monty however it seems like I now know hot to make one hellagreat beef broth.

I had enough patience to do the 4 hour braise once -- it makes more sense for large batches.

However, last night I did a compromise -- I sauteed like every other recipe instructs, but with the lengthwise-quartered onions -- awesome as long as one remembers the splash of balsamic to balance out the sweetness with some tang.

BTW, the author Greg Easter has a new volume out, called "Vegetables for Carnivores" that is all vegetarian, partially vegan. My copy is on order from Amazon. It looks to be another good one.

[mwynne]

I won't bore with photos of my chili, but made this yesterday - 8 hours in the slow cooker using a mixed bag of small beans, and oh man, perfect fall food. https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/01/chicken-chili/
I think this next weekend... https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/10/b...ith-pork-ragu/

[UnfilteredDregs]

Fantastic youtube. I learned some new tricks. I'm not certain I've got the patience for the Full Monty however it seems like I now know hot to make one hellagreat beef broth.

Pretty good video. He didn't brown the onions long enough. I get them the color of a dark stained walnut. Takes about 6 hours.

In regards to slicing...the vertical = sweet thing is a myth when braising. Those cell walls are breaking down no matter what when you braise. Slicing vertically preserves the shape a bit better is all. Besides...why do that and then...food processor? lmfao.

No food processor! Verboten!!!!

Raw is a different story, but...I like onions.

If you want a little more texture to the soup you can thinly slice a sweet onion so that it rolls out into a string when cooked gently to soft...and add them.

It is all about the broth. For better body I use a veal stock to complement the beef stock...

...and the author of the video forgot to flambe the onions with an armagnac. Unforgivable.

...and he uses Balsamic vinegar & sherry? Gehduhfuggouttahere. Blasphemy. He's doing that to artificially get a balance because all sweet onions = too sweet, hence the balsamic for some tart, it's a lousy cheat.

...and to forget the armagnac flambe...?!?!?!

How you balance out sweet with an onion soup is via a combination of onions, I use sweets, red, shallot (shallot for some char because they do that), etc.. in combination; and an excellent, rich, stand on its own beef broth. You need to craft that beef broth.

For the crouton...stale baguette obviously, I float them on top of the individual servings and then layer Comte, Gruyere & Emmentaler on top and run it under the broiler.

[dgaddis]

I had a miss over the weekend. Flank steak in a DIY "I'll throw some of this in there, and some of this, and..." marinade. Raspberry balsamic does not make a good base for a steak marinade, and deep down I knew that, but the bottle was staring at me...

Need to get the grill hotter than 500*F too to get a better sear.

It was alright, but a weird flavor mix. Will not do again.

The process is the goal or something like that.

[Too Tall]

HAHA digging your 'tude Martin.

[UnfilteredDregs]

HAHA digging your 'tude Martin.

I'm just a ball-buster.

I get uppity when a recipe is like so close and...what?!?!?! lmao. Even the whole roasting them in the glassware in the oven. Nope, no good. That's an insipid Maillard reaction at best.

Onions caramelize far more effectively in a cast iron dutch oven..you gotta watch them, and yes, you want to get them to that really dark, almost, but not quite, burnt point...

If you think about it, it's a lot like doing a dark cajun roux.

Really though...I've seen balsamic used as a cheat a lot to correct wrong in execution. That, "truffle" oil, msg...

If you don't want your Soupe a l'oignon to be too sweet, don't use all sweet onions, and get a little edge on them via the Maillard reaction. You see this in Pho with the charred shallot.

I like to use a three way at least of sweet, more neutral white, some red..I mean they're all sweet but they're different. Shallots when they caramelize far enough start to get those charred sugar notes easily, due to their inherent sugar content, which go a long ways towards adding depth and countering sweetness, -but they burn easily, so it's good to saute them separate, get them where you need them, and add them to your main saute when ready.

If the broth is ultra forward you don't have too much to worry about, nothing insipid...a big bold beef broth, and even in combination with a great chicken broth is awesome, I may soak porcini and use the infused water... veal stock is a must for body.

...and flambe with Armagnac is a must. I'm a pyro.

I take Soupe a l'oignon very seriously... It's an event!

Now I gotta do a batch...but, Fried Chicken is on deck for the weekend.

[jdp211]

New knife showed up in the mail today. If I can't ride, at least I can cut a bunch of stuff. I figured a panzanella was a good test of it. Tomatoes, bread, herbs, aliums...

Untitled by jacob Perlmutter, on Flickr

Untitled by jacob Perlmutter, on Flickr

[Too Tall]

J.P. - Jinx. I have an outdoor party this weekend and have a guest doing the cutting so rather than put my good chef knives at risk I picked up two Ginsu from Tuesday Morning. Don't worry I plan to put them away for next year. Oh the pain.

[jdp211]

Ha, sounds like a smart move. This is my first foray into 'nice' knives and I'm already amazed. It just does everything well, should have invested in a good blade years ago.

[Too Tall]

Ha, sounds like a smart move. This is my first foray into 'nice' knives and I'm already amazed. It just does everything well, should have invested in a good blade years ago.

Quick, soembody start a knife sharpening thread before we get in the weeds.

[dgaddis]

Quick, soembody start a knife sharpening thread before we get in the weeds.

Seriously! I just ordered an electric sharpener last week actually, all our knives (Pampered Chef...not high end, but wedding gifts so the price was right) are in BAD need of sharpening. Sharpener should be here any day now.

[Octave]

Quick, soembody start a knife sharpening thread before we get in the weeds.

et voila

[jdp211]

Mushrooms, pancetta, serrano, radish greens, shallot. Combine ingredients, follow with nap.

Untitled by jacob Perlmutter, on Flickr

[Octave]

Mushroom season in full swing

A standout beaut... held by a standout babe...
Hand + Girolle .jpg

Can you name all three? Ready to go..
Ready to go.jpg

In the pot, with some diced and sauteed shallot, carrot, garlic. Followed about 20 minutes later by some red wine, tomatoes, a sprig of thyme and a bay leaf. Something like a ragu, I suppose. Delicious by any name.
In the pot.jpg

[UnfilteredDregs]

Something like a ragu, I suppose. Delicious by any name.

I swoon for 'shrooms, nice. lmao

[mwynne]

A beef and mushroom sort of bourguinon. Quite a success if I may say.

IMG_20161029_191533.jpg