Five Onion French Onion Soup

The Best French Onion Soup!

This French Onion Soup recipe has Five Different Onions that make the flavor truly unique. Recipes use different onions for different desired effects. Specific colors, for example, derive a bitter or sweet taste and some more bold than others. Generally, the desired onion, represents the flavor you what to be hitting to balance out the other ingredients. So, by combining all of the above, I’m taking this French Onion Soup to a whole new level.

The French Onion Soup Secret

Caramelizing the Onions is where most of the magic happens when you’re making French Onion Soup. So it’s very Critical that you take this seriously. Don’t saute only, to save time, because it won’t turn out the same. Spend a good 20 to 30 minutes to really develop the flavor you would expect from any restaurant that serves a good French Onion Soup. Also, when it comes to the broth, don’t be to picky with it. I mean, it should taste good but I’ve made this soup dozens of times just using Beef Bouillon. I have found that Knorr makes one of the better, cheaper bouillon’s out there because it’s smooth and it isn’t too salty.

Another thing you want to be careful with is the wine. Adding to much will kill this soup off in seconds. The wine takes the soup to a whole new level but use it sparingly. If you follow this advice, you’ll treat your pallet to a little piece of heaven.

French Onion Soup Ingredients:

1/2 sliced White Onion
1/2 sliced Red Onion
1/2 sliced Yellow Onion
1/2 sliced Sweet Onion
1 bunch chopped Green Onion
1 cube Butter
1 tbsp Sugar
1 1/2 qt Beef Broth or Stock (Bouillon is fine)
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp Thyme
1/3 cup Red Wine (you can substitute apple cider)
1 chopped Garlic Clove
Graded Swiss Gruyere
Texas Garlic Toast for soup Bowl Crouton

Heat the Beef Broth in a Soup Pan and add the Bay Leaves, Thyme and Red Wine. In a Skillet, saute the Onions in the melted butter and add the sugar for caramelizing, approximately 20 minutes. Then add the Onions to the broth and Simmer for another 10 to 20 minutes. Place the Texas Garlic Toast in the oven at 425 degrees at bake until the bread is crispy and toasted through and through like Croutons. Grade the Swiss Gruyere and remove Bay leaves from the French Onion Soup. Add one Crouton to a bowl and Ladle the soup over the bread, then add the Gruyere over the top. Place the French Onion Soup in the oven, under a high broil, for just a few minutes, until the cheese melts and bubbles with a nice golden brown tint, then serve.

Clam Chowder with Bacon

Clam Chowder Anytime!

Bacon Clam Chowder just makes sense, doesn’t it? I know this soup is most appreciated in the colder months of the year, but I just couldn’t resist. Personally I could have it prepared like this anytime and still love it. Also, there’s just something about putting a hot chili or creamy soup in a large toasted bread bowl that just screams, “Let’s Eat”! So if you’ve got this on the menu when I sit down to eat, you know what I’m ordering.

This Clam Chowder, in my opinion, is much more flavorful than standard recipes. The three most important ingredients in this soup that really make it pop are the onions, the clam juice and of course our beloved, Bacon. These ingredients make the Clam Chowder unmistakably delicious. It’s true, the only other vegetable I add are chopped Russet Potatoes, but I find the extra addition of Celery and Carrots aren’t necessary, in order to bring the full color and flavor of this recipe about. Though you are more than welcome to add them if you’d like, it really doesn’t matter. It’s just a personal preference, that’s all. I think you could even get away with adding corn if you wanted to.

Clam Chowder Ingredients:

4 strips of bacon sliced into 1/4 pieces
1/2 Chopped Onion
1 tsp Sugar
2 tbsp Butter (Salted or Unsalted)
2 tbsp White Wine (Cooking Wine or Red Wine is fine)
1/2 cup Flour
2 cans of minced clams with juice
1 qt Heavy Whipping Cream
2 Chopped Russet Potatoes (or your favorite)
1 tbsp Black Pepper
Salt to taste
2 tbsp Fresh Chopped Parsley

Absolutely Babysit this soup. It’s very temperamental, in my opinion. On Medium High heat, cook your bacon and onions. Season with a shake of black pepper and add the sugar to help caramelizing the onions. Then add the butter and Cooking Wine. Once that has melted, stir in the flour and almost immediately add the clams. The cream will follow shortly after, a half cup at a time to start, then bring to a light boil, stir and add another half cup. Once half of the quart of cream has been added, you can add the rest all at once. Stir really well, then taste it for seasoning, then add the pepper and your taste for salt. Now the potatoes can go in and you can reduce the heat to a simmer, stirring frequently. It’s very important to keep from burning the bottom. Using a thicker pan will help this tremendously. Once the potatoes are cooked, 10 to 15 minutes, add the parsley and serve your Clam Chowder in a bowl, cup or toasted bread bowl.

Lobster Bisque with Langostino Lobster Tails

The Lobster Bisque Challenge!

Lobster Bisque isn’t over rated, but it is often over cooked. You’ll find that most recipes use a ton of cream to define their soup recipe as a “bisque”, then hours of waiting time to reduce. Is all of this really necessary? I say Nay-nay! I’ll prove it to you in this recipe I’ve developed that not only cuts your cooking time in half but knocks out 2/3 of the fat content because you don’t really need that much cream. Even Bobby Flay’s Lobster Bisque recipe has 6 cups of Heavy Cream in it. Crazy! I use only 2 and I promise you it’s just as good and if not, even better.

In this Lobster Bisque Recipe I’m going to be using Langostino Lobster. I honestly prefer Squat Lobster if you have it available. The benefits of each are the same but there are some differences. First, the price is incredibly reasonable. I bought 3 pounds of solid meat, not shell, for just 20 bucks! The difference in my opinion is a sweeter, softer lobster tail meat when you are using Squat Lobster to make Lobster Bisque. Don’t ask me why, it’s just that way. Regardless of the reasons, they’re both very affordable and they both make a very impressive Lobster Bisque come to life.

Lobster Bisque Ingredients:

1 cup water
2 tsp Tomato Bouillon
6 Roma Tomatoes
2 Celery Stalks
1 Carrot
3 Garlic Cloves
1 Tbsp Chopped Ginger
3 Parsley Sprigs
3 Large Basil Leaves
3/4 cup Red Wine (sweet)

1 Onion
2 Tbsp Butter
1/3 cup Corn Starch
2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp Ground Black Pepper
2 lbs Langostino Lobster tails

Set the water and bouillon on medium heat on the stove. Combine all the vegetables except for the onion in a food processor or blender and puree. Then add mixture to the Tomato Stalk. Chop onion and sauté until Caramelized, and then add the Corn Starch and Cream. When the Cream thickens like a country gravy, add the seasoning and add all the onions and cream to the soup. Chop half of the Langostino Lobster tails into small pieces and add to the Bisque. Stir frequently and wait to reduce; 20 to 25 minutes. It will burn the bottom if you’re not stirring! Once it has reduced to your desired consistency, add remaining Lobster tails and serve. If you are using large lobsters for this Lobster Bisque Recipe, all directions still apply, only adding the meat in increments isn’t necessary.