Cream

Soupe à l’oignon gratinée (French Onion Soup)

Onion soup is a vegetable soup made of sauteed onions and stock. Onion soup was traditionally served in poorer households and lower-class restaurants.
Onion soup is, and was, found in many countries, prepared in many different variations. What all recipes have in common are the onions and stock. From there on, anything goes……….:
Added red or white wine, beer, egg yolk, flour, cream, cheese, herbs, bread, vinegar, sugar, caramelized onions, sauteed but kept-white onions, puréed onions, sliced onion, diced onions, shallots, sausages, sherry, carrots, and probably another thousand different additions, depending on where in the world you encounter your onion soup.
Names/variations include “Pfälzer Zwiebelsuppe”, “Soupe Soubise”, “Schwaebische Zwiebelsuppe”, “Cipollata”, “Cherbah”, and countless more.
And then, of course, there is the queen of all onion soups! –
Known and loved most everywhere in the world, it is “French Onion Soup” (Soupe à l’oignon / Soupe d’oignons aux Halles/ Soupe à l’oignon gratinée)
What makes this variation so special is the addition of bread and gruyere to the top of the onion soup, then it get’s some time in the oven or under the broiler until the top is a bubbly, fragrant, addictive, gooey mass of melted bread and cheese.
Each heavenly spoonful should contain some of the bread and cheese, some soup, and some onions.
Voilà, now you know why “French Onion Soup” is the best onion soup in the world 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Soupe à l’oignon gratinée (French Onion Soup)

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Preparation :
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: saute 1 tblsp of garlic paste in 4 oz of whole butter

: add 7 lbs of sliced onions

: saute until onions have caramelized (about 30 minutes)

: add the rinds of the Gruyère cheese if available (optional)

: add 2 qt of beef stock, 2 bay leaves, kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste, simmer for 30 minutes, check/adjust seasoning

: while the soup simmers, slice enough baguette (or other bread of your choice), enough to cover the surface of the pot or individual oven-proof bowls

: grill or toast the bread until well browned and crisp

: remove the rind from 12 oc of Gruyère cheese, add to the soup

: grate the cheese

: picture of heaven 🙂

: remove the cheese rind and bay leaves, top the soup with the toasted bread

: top the bread with the grated cheese, bake or broil until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned; this makes 12 appetizers or 4 generous main course

: Soupe à l’oignon gratinée (French Onion Soup)

: Soupe à l’oignon gratinée (French Onion Soup)

: Soupe à l’oignon gratinée (French Onion Soup)

: Soupe à l’oignon gratinée (French Onion Soup)

: Soupe à l’oignon gratinée (French Onion Soup)

: Soupe à l’oignon gratinée (French Onion Soup)

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BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 61 – Chocolate Buttermilk Waffles With Strawberries In Honey/Vanilla Cream

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 61 – Chocolate Waffles With Strawberries In Honey And Vanilla Cream

Today was the first time that I remember getting up at 7.00pm without a reason other than trying this new lifestyle, where I get up early and go to sleep early (Midnight), without any compelling reason other than that’s the conventional thing to do.
Let’s see how long THAT last’s………
So, getting up that early and having nothing planned to do, I treated myself to this wonderful breakfast.  Before I retired fully (last Sunday), I only ever had a full breakfast on a day off, so this was breakfast virgin territory to me. I must say, with a good breakfast under the hood, the day turned out very different from what I am used to. No food-craving until the late afternoon (I did share a few grapes and cashews with Bella at around 2:00 pm), and only had a very small dinner at 8:00 pm. Feels very good and of course, I know that this is far healthier than my usual monstrously sized dinners after 10:00 pm 🙂
Let’s hope I can keep this up and become used to this healthier way of life, where the most important meal is breakfast and/or lunch and dinner is small, healthy and (mostly) sensible 🙂
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Bon Appétit !   Life is Good !
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More Strawberries on ChefsOpinion
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Waffle Batter :
Ingredients :
1. 1/3   cup flour, 4 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1. 3/4 cup buttermilk, two egg yolks (whisk the two egg whites to stiff peaks)
Method :
Mix dry ingredients well, add buttermilk, egg yolks and melted butter, fold in whisked egg whites
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BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 61 – Chocolate Waffles With Strawberries In Honey And Vanilla Cream

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 61 – Chocolate Waffles With Strawberries In Honey And Vanilla Cream

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Preparation :
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: simmer 1 cup heavy cream until reduced by half, add 2 tblsp organic honey and 1/4 tsp organic vanilla extract

: add 8 oz cleaned/quartered strawberries

: simmer until heated through

: Strawberries In Honey And Vanilla Cream

: Spread a thin layer of waffle batter on a hot, buttered waffle iron, sprinkle with 1/4 cup “Ghirardelli Chocolate Bittersweet Baking Chips”, top with another thin layer of waffle batter, bake waffle until crisp on the outside and chocolaty-melty on the inside; to serve, dust waffles with castor sugar, serve with the creamy strawberries, decorate with fresh strawberries

: BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 61 – Chocolate Waffles With Strawberries In Honey And Vanilla Cream

: BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 61 – Chocolate Waffles With Strawberries In Honey And Vanilla Cream

: BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 61 – Chocolate Waffles With Strawberries In Honey And Vanilla Cream

: BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 61 – Chocolate Waffles With Strawberries In Honey And Vanilla Cream

: BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 61 – Chocolate Waffles With Strawberries In Honey And Vanilla Cream

: BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 61 – Chocolate Waffles With Strawberries In Honey And Vanilla Cream

: BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 61 – Chocolate Waffles With Strawberries In Honey And Vanilla Cream

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Jägerschnitzel Vom Huhn Mit Pasta Und Schmelze – Chicken Cutlet Hunter Style

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I just have come across some debates about what constitutes a “true” Jägerschnitzel, so I’d like to put that to rest, right now, right here, with some authority on the subject (easy now !) 🙂
After all, I grew up in Swabia in Southern Germany, where, during my youth, schnitzel were one of the most commonly served animal proteins, served a few times a month at home and more often than not during special occasions, such as restaurant visits, birthdays, weddings or funerals or any other gathering where “decent” food was served for a reasonable price.
Traditionally, a Jägerschnitzel is a thin-pounded veal or pork cutlet, dusted with flour and sauteed, then covered with mushroom sauce, to which sometimes cream and parsley or chives are added, and accompanied by pasta (mostly, but not exclusively Spaetzle), roast potatoes (Bratkartoffeln) or dumplings (Knödel).
A “TRUE” Jägerschnitzel is “NEVER” breaded (never cover anything breaded with sauce, one of the basics in classic cooking – after all, you bread it to be crisp, so why soften it by covering it with moisture ?!!) And yes, I know, like always in cooking, there are a few exceptions, but they do NOT pertain to schnitzel.
Then there are Jägerschnitzel made of chicken or turkey. While less traditional, they have become popular lately because of changing eating-habits and because the meat is more affordable than pork and veal, (especially milk-veal), which has been priced out of reach for most folks.
So there you have it – the end of the Jägerschnitzel Debate.
You are welcome 🙂
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Guten Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for more Knödel on ChefsOpinion
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Jägerschnitzel Vom Huhn Mit Pasta Und Schmelze – Chicken Cutlet Hunter Style

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Preparation :
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: for the schmelze, saute 2 tblsp panko bread crumbs in 1 tblsp whole butter until crisp and golden, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste

: de-bone and remove skin from 3 ea chicken breasts, pound thin between 2 plastic sheets, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper to taste, dust lightly with a/p flour, saute in 1 tblsp peanut oil until cooked through

: remove chicken breasts from pan, keep warm; saute julienne from 1/2 white onion until translucent

: add 6 oz sliced button mushrooms, saute until lightly browned

: add 1/2 cup heavy cream

: add 1/2 cup demi glace, simmer 1 minute

: check/adjust seasoning, add 2 tblsp chopped parsley

: place schnitzel on serving plate with pasta and schmelze, top with 1/3 of the sauce, sprinkle with more parsley ; recipe serves 3

: Jägerschnitzel Vom Huhn Mit Pasta Und Schmelze – Chicken Cutlet Hunter Style

: Jägerschnitzel Vom Huhn Mit Pasta Und Schmelze – Chicken Cutlet Hunter Style

: Jägerschnitzel Vom Huhn Mit Pasta Und Schmelze – Chicken Cutlet Hunter Style

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Dragon Waffles

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Pitaya, drachenfrucht, fruit du dragon, buah naga, kaeo mangkon, thanh long, huǒ lóng guǒ, lóng zhū guǒ, nanettika fruit – these are just a few of the many  names for one of the most versatile, beautiful and delicious fruits I know.
Dragon fruit comes in three main varieties – red, green and yellow peel with either fiery red flesh with black dots (seeds) or white meat with black dots (seeds). Then there is the less common bright-yellow dragon fruit, with yellow peel and white meat with black dots (seeds). The taste of the dragon fruit spans a great range, from rather sour to very sweet.
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Today’s at breakfast time I had a great craving for waffles. I had a couple of mangos as well as one dragon fruit in the larder, so the menu was set :
“Dragon Waffles With Mangoes In Honey/Vanilla Cream”.
I usually serve the dragon waffles with caramelized apples, but the mangoes I had in the fridge were rather ripe and needed to be used – good thing I did use them for this dish, because the soft, very sweet mangoes fit perfectly with the slightly tart dragon fruit and the crisp waffles. What a wonderful way to start the day 🙂
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Bon Appétit !   Life is Good !
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Waffle Batter :
Ingredients :
1. 1/3   cup flour, 4 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1. 3/4 cup buttermilk, two egg yolks (whisk the two egg whites to stiff peaks)
Method :
Mix dry ingredients well, add buttermilk, egg yolks and melted butter, fold-in whisked egg whites
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Dragon Waffles With Mangoes In Honey/Vanilla Cream

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: nango and dragon fruit

: dice 1/2, peeled dragon fruit into small dice, mix with the waffle batter (see recipe on this page)

: cook waffles as usual

: bring 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1 dash organic vanilla extract and 2 tblsp organic honey to a simmer, reduce by halfhoney and

: peel and slice 3 medium sized mangoes, add to the cream, remove from heat

: place the creamed mangoes on a serving plate, garnish with dragon fruit wedges

: top mngoes with a handful of dried cranberries for texture

: top with the dragon waffle wedges; serves 4

: Dragon Waffles With Mangoes In Honey/Vanilla Cream

: Dragon Waffles With Mangoes In Honey/Vanilla Cream

: Dragon Waffles With Mangoes In Honey/Vanilla Cream

: Dragon Waffles With Mangoes In Honey/Vanilla Cream

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Gnocchi Alla Via Candia

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Gnocchi with corn, peas, ham, mushrooms, cream and Camoscio d’Oro.
(Camoscio d’Oro is an Italian cheese similar to camembert or brie, sometimes available in Italian markets around here ).
So, can you guess where I ate this dish the first time? Yep, at Via Candia 17, Torino, Italy.
I was about 20 years of age at the time and to this day, when I close my eyes, I can see the dish and the people I shared it with in front of me as if it was just a little while ago.
Happy memories, may they never fade…….. 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Live is Good !
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Gnocchi Recipe
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More Gnocchi on ChefsOpinion
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Gnocchi Alla Via Candia

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Preparation :
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: saute mushrooms in olive oil until golden

: add whole butter, diced ham and diced onions, saute until onions are translucent

: add garlic paste, heavy cream, kosher salt and cayenne pepper, simmer until lightly thickened

: add green peas and kernel corn, check / adjust seasoning

: add freshly cooked gnocchi

: add diced Camoscio d’Oro (substitute with brie if not available), stir carefully until cheese has melted; to plate, sprinkle with thinly sliced scallions

: Gnocchi Alla Via Candia

: Gnocchi Alla Via Candia

: Gnocchi Alla Via Candia

: Gnocchi Alla Via Candia

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Breakfast Of Champions # 52 – Glutton’s Delight

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” Cinnamon/Pecan Roll- Cake With Strawberries, Mocca And Yogurt”
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I am still not sure if I should be proud or ashamed of this concoction…….. Not that it is terrible, on the contrary, it is so delicious that I could eat this everyday .
The problem is that once I had started eating , I could not stop until it had been completely devoured. It was just too yummy to stop.
If you will prepare this, make sure that there are at least five people present to share, otherwise the ensuing binge-eating will be hazardous to your weight ! 🙂 😦
It is really a “one pot meal”, combining a complete breakfast in a single dish: Coffee, yogurt, nuts, fruit, pastry, cream, and marmalade.
(If I would still consume alcohol, I would have mixed the coffee with ameretto or rum) If you do enjoy a good drink, go ahead and add another layer of sin in the form of your favorite booze!
All in all, this was a great joy to eat and I will surely prepare it again, but only if guests are on the way with whom I can share 🙂
A good thing can be good for you – too much of a good thing can kill you !
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Breakfast Of Champions # 52 – Glutton’s Delight

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Preparation :
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: wash strawberries

: chop strawberries

: mix strawberries with greek yogurt

: cinnamon roll cake with pekan nuts

: cut cake into 3 discs

: prepare strong mocca with sugar and a dash of vanilla extract, (if you prefer, add rum or amaretto)

: soak the bottom-two discs of the cake with the mocca

: cover with strawberry marmalade

: top with the strawberry yogurt, then repeat with second cake disc, then top first disc with second disc and finally with the third disc, decorate with whipped cream and whole strawberries

: Breakfast Of Champions # 52 – Glutton’s Delight

: Breakfast Of Champions # 52 – Glutton’s Delight

: Breakfast Of Champions # 52 – Glutton’s Delight

: Breakfast Of Champions # 52 – Glutton’s Delight

: Breakfast Of Champions # 52 – Glutton’s Delight

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How To Turn Radiators Into A Delicious Dish…….

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“Radiatore with Salame and Sun-Dried Tomatoes in Garlic-Confit Cream”
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Pasta, garlic, cream and other “stuff” 🙂 – always quick and easy to prepare, yet very rewarding with big flavors and a lovely texture.
This is the kind of food I prepare when I “don’t feel like cooking”. After all, the whole preparation takes only a few minutes and is easy enough to be handled by a novice in the kitchen, all one needs is a few good ingredients and a passion for food, the rest will fall into place all by itself 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Radiatore with Salame and Sun-Dried Tomatoes in Garlic-Confit Cream

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: saute garlic in olive oil until just starting to change color

: add salame julienne and onion julienne, saute until onions are translucent

: add julienned sun-dried tomatoes and heavy cream, season with kosher salt and fresh-grated black pepper

: simmer until cream starts to thicken, remove from heat, add grated parmesan, check / adjust seasoning

: add fresh cooked radiatori with a bit of the cooking water, mix well

: plate on serving dish, sprinkle with freshly shredded parmesan

: Radiatore with Salame and Sun-Dried Tomatoes in Garlic-Confit Cream

: Radiatore with Salame and Sun-Dried Tomatoes in Garlic-Confit Cream

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Éirinn go Brách – Cál ceannann (Colcannon)………

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Colcannon, Corned Beef & Horseradish Sauce
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Cál ceannann (Colcannon) is, in the form presented here, without a doubt one of the most sumptuous and decadent potato dishes you’ll find in any home or restaurant. Far removed from its humble beginnings, this version is loaded with butter, cream, leeks and scallions, seasoned with sea salt and nutmeg and served with corned beef in horseradish cream. This combination far elevates the corned beef above its more common pairing with simple cabbage and onions.
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Link to Horseradish Sauce Recipe
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Link to Corned Beef Recipe
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Colcannon, Corned Beef & Horseradish Sauce

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: getting started with the colcannon…..

: dice leeks into fine brunoise, thinly slice scallions

: simmer leeks in cream until soft

: peel and slice potatoes, simmer in salted water until soft

: drain potatoes

: add a stick of butter, cayenne pepper, grated nutmeg

: add cream with leeks

: add scallions

: blend all into smooth puree

: to serve, place a portion of potatoes on plate next to sliced corned beef, make an indention, place a generous knob of butter in indention

: ladle horseradish sauce over corned beef

: Colcannon, Corned Beef & Horseradish Sauce

: Colcannon, Corned Beef & Horseradish Sauce

: Colcannon, Corned Beef & Horseradish Sauce

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Curried Beef & Pasta

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Sunday lunch is supposed to be the highlight of the week, when traditionally the whole family gathers around the dining table for the culinary highlight of the week. So sad to see traditions like that slowly but surely disappear 😦
However, Bella and I keep the tradition alive as best as we can, gathering on my chaise-lounge and enjoying a great lunch while watching a good movie (the movie substituting the lively conversation which is supposed to take place among the family during Sundays lunch).
We do converse though – she begs, upon which I sternly say “don’t beg, which she follows with a moan or bark, followed by me giving her a morsel. Then I have a few bites until she begs again, which is usually as soon as she swallows her bit. And so on, until the meal is finished 🙂
So, here we go, without further ado – today’s lunch :
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Curried Beef & Pasta

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Preparation :
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To read instructions, hover over picture
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Click here for Garam Masala Instructions
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: skirt steak

: cut skirt into strips, season with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, saute in VERY hot garlic oil until rare, remove to absorbent paper, set aside

: saute onions in garlic oil

: add sliced peppers and scallion sticks, season with one table spoon garam masala and one table spoon curry powder, add half cup of heavy cream, simmer one minute

: remove from heat, add beef, check / adjust seasoning

: add pasta of your choice (I love broken lasagna sheets)

: Curried Beef & Pasta

: Curried Beef & Pasta

: Curried Beef & Pasta

: Curried Beef & Pasta

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Soupe A L’Oignon Au Crème (Creamy French Onion Soup)

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If you think that french onion soup is one of the best soups in the world you are undoubtedly right. But did you ever eat its lesser known cousin, creamy french onion soup? Once you do, you’ll probably be hard pressed to decide which version is the better one, the more famous gratinated clear version or this creamy one, which I have enhanced here with toasted bread, toasted almonds and fried garlic chips. I am of course a huge fan of both versions, but for me, the creamy version is the clear winner.
Way back, during my youth in the old countries, these two variations alternated on the menus of many restaurants of all types and they also were a cold weather staple in many homes, where often lager beer was added for even more richness. 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Click here for another variation of “Onion Soup”
Click here for “Classic French Onion Soup”
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