French Onion Soup - With Cheesy Toast Rafts

I think this delicious soup has to be one of my favourites. Living in France it would be a shame not to be able to create a satisfying and flavour packed dish from the superb quality onions grown around us.

I have labelled this French Onion Soup recipe as a starter but quite often I enjoy it as a wholesome lunch served with a few chunks of locally made, fresh baguette and a crisp white Chardonnay.

Serves: 4-6
Preparation & cooking time: About an hour

Ingredients:

• 1lb of medium sized onions (30-40mm diameter at the widest point)
• Olive oil
• Butter
  
• 2 cloves garlic - finely chopped
• 2 or 3 sprigs of dried thyme
• 1 bouquet garni (the tea bag type are fine)
• Balsamic vinegar
  
• 2 litres beef stock (vegetable stock can be substituted)
• 175ml white wine (A large glass - feel free to have a secondary one yourself)
  
• Salt & pepper
• French bread baguette
• Grated cheese (If you can get it, Cantal is ideal. Otherwise, a mature cheddar)
  

Equipment:

• Large saucepan with lid
• Chopping board and sharp kitchen knife
• Wooden spoon

Method:

1. Peel the onions and slice them into very fine, whole rings. Slice them as thinly as you can manage safely.

2. Heat the olive oil in the pan, add a 'generous' knob of butter and allow it to melt. As the butter begins to bubble, add the sliced onions.

3. Toss the onions around in the pan, coating them in the oil and butter. Add the sprigs of thyme and the bouquet garni.

4. Place the pan on your smallest hob and turn the heat to the lowest setting. Cover the pan allowing the onions to gently simmer and gradually begin to caramelise. Do not be tempted to rush this stage, the slower the onions cook, the sweeter the flavour they impart to the finished soup.

5. When the onions are sufficiently caramelised (a nice golden brown colour) add a splash of the Balsamic vinegar and stir the onions until the vinegar has evaporated off. Add the stock and the white wine, re-cover the pan, then turn up the heat bringing the soup to the boil.

6. Lower the heat once again, season to taste with salt and pepper, then allow your soup to simmer for at least half an hour. The longer you simmer the soup, the more flavoursome it becomes, if you have a slow-cooker feel free to use it.

7. Cut the baguette into approx 25mm (1 inch) slices allowing two per portion and grill both sides.

8. Sprinkle each toasted baguette slice with cheese and season with a little salt and pepper if you wish.

9. When the time comes to serve the soup put the cheesy baguette slices back under the grill to melt the cheese. While the cheese is melting, you can begin to serve the soup into your bowls.

10. Add two grilled cheese floats to each bowl and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Tequila Lime Chicken

This tasty chicken dish combines the tangy flavour of the tequila and lime marinade with a creamy, south western style dressing and tops it all off with a melted cheese blend. Note: Be sure you don't marinade the chicken longer than 3 to 4 hours or the citric acid in the lime juice may toughen the chicken. You can serve this dish with your choice of rice but personally, I love this dish served with crispy, thin cut chips (French Fries) with maybe a little salsa on the side. Serves 4

Ingredients:

For The Chicken Marinade

• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce - see our Chicken Teriyaki recipe
  
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon mesquite liquid smoke flavouring
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 shot (25ml) tequila

4 chicken breast fillets

For The Mexi-Ranch Dressing

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup sour cream/creme fraiche
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 teaspoons minced tomato
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced canned jalapeno slices
• 1 teaspoon minced onion
• 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco or a hot pepper sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon dried dill
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon chili powder - you can increase this for extra heat
• pinch garlic powder
• pinch ground black pepper

For the cheese melt topping and crispy base
1 cup grated Cheddar/Monterey Jack cheese blend (M Jack can be hard to find but to be honest I've made this dish using all sorts of cheeses (as long as they melt).
2 cups crumbled corn chips or fried tortilla strips

1. Prepare marinade by combining marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the chicken to the bowl, cover and chill for 2 to 3 hours.

2. Make the mexi-ranch dressing by combining all of the ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix well until smooth, then cover dressing and chill it until needed.

3. When you are ready to prepare the entree, preheat the oven to high broil. Also, preheat your barbecue or indoor grill to high heat. When the grill is hot cook the marinated chicken breasts for 3 to 5 minutes per side, or until they're done.

4. Arrange the cooked chicken in a baking pan. Spread a layer of mexi-ranch dressing over each piece of chicken (you'll have plenty left over), followed by 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese blend. Broil the chicken for 2 to 3 minutes, or just until the cheese has melted.

5. Spread a bed of 1/2 cup of the tortilla strips or crumbled corn chips on each of four plates. Slide a chicken breast onto the chips on each plate and serve with your choice of rice and salsa.

Additional info
Crumbling shop bought tortilla chips is the easy way to make the bed of crunchy chips that the tequila lime chicken rests on. But, you can make tortilla strips like those served at the restaurant by cutting a stack of eight 6-inch corn tortillas in half.

Stack the halves on top of each other and slice the tortillas into thin strips. Fry the tortilla strips in 2 cups of oil preheated in a large skillet for 3-5 minutes or until crispy.

Salt lightly and allow to drain and cool on paper towels.

And...... that's it!

Japanese Egg Fried Rice - Benihana Styleee

When a 20 year old Rocky Aoki arrived in New York City from Japan in 1959 he was convinced it was the land of opportunity. Just five years later he took the $10,000 he had saved plus another $20,000 that he borrowed and opened a Benihana steakhouse on the West side of Manhattan.

His ground breaking idea to bring the chefs out from the kitchen to prepare the food in front of customers (on specially designed hibachi grills) was an instant hit. The restaurant was such a success that it paid for itself within six months.

Here's a recipe for egg fried rice just like that served at Benihana, prepared by chefs with pre-cooked rice on those open hibachi grills.

Serves: 4
Ingredients:

• 4 cups cooked rice (long grain)
• 1 cup frozen peas (thawed)
• 2 tablespoons carrot (grated or chopped)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Cook the rice following the instructions on package. Pour the cooked rice into a large bowl and allow it to cool in the refrigerator.

2. Scramble the eggs in a wok or pan over a medium heat. Separate the scrambled chunks of egg into small, pea-sized bits while cooking.

3. When the rice has cooled to near room temperature, add the peas, carrot, scrambled egg and diced onion to the bowl and gently toss all of the ingredients together.

4. Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter in a large frying pan over medium/high heat until completely melted and add the bowl of rice and other ingredients into the pan.

5. Add the soy sauce plus the salt and pepper and cook the rice for 6-8 minutes over heat, stirring regularly. Serve.

Serving suggestion.

This rice makes a great meal on it's own but it can also be served as an excellent accompaniment to our delicious Chicken Teriyaki recipe.