Captain Dons Onion Soup With Garlic Flavored Croutons Food

CARAMELIZED ONION AND PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM SOUP WITH GOAT CHEESE CROUTONS

Steps:

• Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large pot over high heat. Add onions and thyme; sauté until onions begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to low; cook until onions are caramelized, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Transfer onion mixture to medium bowl.
• Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in same pot over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; sauté until soft, about 12 minutes. Add Cognac and garlic; stir 20 seconds. Stir in onion mixture, then broth and wine. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer until onions are very tender, about 45 minutes. Discard thyme sprigs. Season soup with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly; cover and chill. Bring to simmer before serving.)
• Preheat broiler. Place baguette slices on large baking sheet. Spread goat cheese on baguette slices, dividing equally. Broil goat cheese croutons until cheese begins to brown in spots, about 30 seconds. Divide soup among 6 bowls. Top with croutons and serve.

FRENCH ONION SOUP WITH CHEESE CROUTONS

Steps:

• In a large stockpot on medium-high heat, saute the onions with the butter and bay leaf for 20 minutes, until the onions turn a rich golden brown color. Deglaze the pan with the sherry and brandy and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Add the white wine and simmer uncovered for 15 more minutes.
• Add the beef and chicken stocks plus salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, taste for salt and pepper.
• *For the croutons*.
• While the soup simmers, arrange the baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet and bake in a 400-degree oven until the bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
• *To serve*.
• Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on baking sheet and fill each with about 1 3/4 cups soup. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

SPRING ONION SOUP WITH GARLIC CROUTONS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. In 15x10x1-inch pan or cookie sheet with sides, melt 3 tablespoons butter in oven. Add bread cubes and garlic powder to butter; toss well to combine. Bake about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until bread cubes are crisp and brown.
• Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add white onion; cook over medium heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent. Stir in water, soup base, green onions and pepper. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Stir before serving.
• Top each serving with 1/4 cup croutons and 1 tablespoon cheese.

SEASONED CROUTONS

Steps:

• In an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan, combine the butter, oil and seasonings. Heat in a 300° oven until butter is melted. Remove from the oven; stir to combine. , Add bread cubes and toss to coat. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Cool. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

GARLIC-PARMESAN CROUTONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Mix butter, Parmesan cheese, oregano, thyme, garlic powder, and salt together in a large, flat-bottomed bowl; add bread cubes and turn with a spatula to coat. Spread coated bread cubes onto a baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool croutons completely before storing in an airtight container.

SPRING ONION SOUP WITH GARLIC CROUTONS

Steps:

• Make the garlic croutons:
• Preheat the oven to 325°F. With a serrated knife remove the crust from the bread, discarding it, and cut the bread into 3/4-inch cubes. In a shallow baking pan arrange the bread cubes in one layer, bake them in the middle of the oven, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they are golden, and transfer the croutons to a large bowl. In a skillet cook the garlic in the oil over moderately low heat, stirring, until it is golden and with a slotted spoon discard the garlic. Drizzle the oil over the croutons, tossing to coat them well, and sprinkle the croutons with salt to taste.
• Make the soup:
• In a kettle cook the onions in the butter and the oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 25 to 30 minutes, or until they are soft and pale golden, add the garlic, and cook the mixture for 3 minutes. Stir in the vermouth and boil the mixture until most of the liquid is evaporated. Add the broth, the bitters, and salt and pepper to taste and simmer the soup for 5 minutes. The soup may be made up to this point 2 days in advance, kept covered and chilled, and reheated. Stir in the scallion.
• Serve the soup topped with the croutons.

CAPTAIN DON'S ONION SOUP WITH GARLIC-FLAVORED CROUTONS

Steps:

• Peel the onions and slice thin. Heat the beef broth in a large soup kettle.
• Melt 8 T. butter in large, heavy skillet, add the onions and sprinkle with nutmeg. Cover and cook over low heat until onions are translucent and soft. Stir occasionally to make sure that all the onions cook evenly.
• Caramelize the onions as follows: turn heat up to high and add 1-2 t. sugar and 1/2 t. salt to cooked onions. Stir constantly and continue cooking until onions are deep brown. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to get up any bits of caramel, which adds enormously to the flavor.
• When the onions are a lovely, glistening color, remove from heat and stir in 3 T. flour. Return to stove over medium heat, and add a bit of the beef broth, which has been heated (just enough to collect all scrapings from the bottom of the pan and wet the onions).
• Now add the onions to your large kettle of boiling beef broth. Stir in the dry vermouth and Kitchen Bouquet. (If you're really tired out by now, you can stop here and eat a bit. The soup will be lovely, but tradition demands a cheesy addition as follows).
• Pour the soup into a heavy, oven proof casserole (preferably an enamel one) and gently fold in the Swiss and most of the Gruyere cheeses. Cover the entire top with garlic-flavored croutons. Top the croutons with the remaining Gruyere and pop into a preheated 350-degree oven or 20-30 minutes until the top browns. Serve at once by ladling into individual serving dishes and topping each with a healthy sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.
• To Make Garlic-Flavored Croutons: Slice a stale Italian or French bread into 1-inch slices and then into 1-inch cubes.
• Brush all sides of bread with olive oil and place in oven to toast until brown.
• About halfway through process, remove bread from the oven and rub each piece with a cut garlic clove. Continue toasting until well browned, but not burned.

GARLIC CROUTONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a large saute pan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in garlic; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add bread cubes, and toss to coat. Spread on a baking sheet.
• Bake for 15 minutes, or until crisp and dry. Check frequently to prevent burning. Cool.

ONE-POT FRENCH ONION SOUP WITH GARLIC-GRUYèRE CROUTONS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a 6-quart Dutch oven over high heat. Add the oxtail (or beef shoulder) in a single layer (work in batches, if necessary to avoid crowding the pan), and sear until the undersides are brown (do not turn). Season generously with salt and transfer to a plate.
• Coarsely chop two of the onions; add to the pot, along with the celery, carrots, bay leaves and thyme. Lower heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft and beginning to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Return the beef to the pot. Pour in 8 cups water. Simmer mixture gently until the meat is very tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
• Transfer beef to a bowl to cool for another use. Strain liquid into a bowl over a fine-mesh sieve; press gently on the solids with the back of a spatula to extract as much flavor as possible. Discard the solids; you should have about 10 cups broth (add water if necessary to equal 10 cups).
• Halve the remaining 6 onions through the root end, then peel and thinly slice them lengthwise. Melt the butter in the bottom of the Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, tossing occasionally, until deep golden-brown and caramelized, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Pour in the port and cook, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, for 3 minutes. Pour in the broth and simmer mixture over low heat for 30 minutes. Season with salt and lemon juice, if desired. (For a smaller group, you could refrigerate some of the soup and reheat it later.)
• While the broth simmers, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast until golden, about 12 minutes. Rub the garlic halves over the surface of the bread.
• Heat the broiler and arrange a rack 4 to 6 inches from the flame. Using a cheese slicer, thinly slice 3 ounces of Gruyère. Coarsely grate the remaining cheese. Float the broiled bread over the surface of the hot soup. Layer the cheese slices over the bread; scatter the grated cheese over it. Transfer the Dutch oven to the oven and broil until cheese is golden and bubbling, 3 to 5 minutes (watch to see that it does not burn).
• To serve, use kitchen shears or scissors to cut the bread and cheese into portions. Ladle soup, bread and cheese into individual bowls.