onions, zucchini & strawberries, oh my!
I mentioned the other day that I'd made some French onion soup sandwiches. Yes - sandwiches. When I first saw the recipe here, I paused. As much as I love French onion soup, the idea of it on a sandwich was unique.So I finally decided to give it a try.
One thing I might do just slightly differently next time - use a different onion. These white onions were so intensely strong (I believe she uses the word "pungent" and that would be spot-on!), and in the final product, that came through a bit more than I would have liked.
However, one thing I will definitely do again next time is use the Gruyere. It smells even more pungent than the onions, but when I took a nibble of it, I was so pleasantly surprised by its yummy taste.
I just have to plan my budget wisely, because whoa - this is some expensive yummy cheese.
It grates so nicely, though - and I have to admit, I'm really getting into this whole grating blocks of cheese thing recently. For the longest time, I've relied on pre-shredded bags of cheese...and I don't think I'll ever get completely away from that. (It's so awesomely convenient!) But for smaller things like this, grating my own cheese is something I'm open to.
Anyways - once all the cheese was shredded, I divided it onto the tops and bottoms of the rolls I found at the store. (Her recipe calls for sliced bread, and then grilling the sandwiches a la grilled cheeses...but these made a great substitute.)
Meanwhile, the onions were cooking away. This was not a quick recipe, but it was pretty simple. With the onions cooking in three- to four-minute increments, that gave me time to do my other prep - like grating the cheese aaaaannnnnd...
...making the zucchini fries. I knew I wanted to have something on the side, and these seemed like a good possibility.
In the end, everything came together beautifully - and deliciously. The French onion soup sandwiches tasted perfect, and they were surprisingly filling. I should warn you, though, that they are also incredibly messy - like eating a stuffed sloppy joe with filling that falls out every time you take a bite. Yet they're definitely worth the mess - and besides, we were already eating the fries with our fingers, so a little extra mess wasn't too problematic.
And, just for fun, I have to mention dessert. I'd bought some strawberries with the intention of dipping them in chocolate. When that wasn't going to happen, I opted for the next best thing - or really, an even better thing - sugared strawberries. Served over a slice of pound cake, they were oh so tasty, and the freshness of the dish was the perfect finish for the somewhat-dense dinner we had.
All in all, this was such a wonderful meal...definitely something I was proud of (and am looking forward to making again!).
Where I am: home
What I'm reading: Weeknights with Giada by Giada DeLaurentiis
One thing I might do just slightly differently next time - use a different onion. These white onions were so intensely strong (I believe she uses the word "pungent" and that would be spot-on!), and in the final product, that came through a bit more than I would have liked.
However, one thing I will definitely do again next time is use the Gruyere. It smells even more pungent than the onions, but when I took a nibble of it, I was so pleasantly surprised by its yummy taste.
I just have to plan my budget wisely, because whoa - this is some expensive yummy cheese.
It grates so nicely, though - and I have to admit, I'm really getting into this whole grating blocks of cheese thing recently. For the longest time, I've relied on pre-shredded bags of cheese...and I don't think I'll ever get completely away from that. (It's so awesomely convenient!) But for smaller things like this, grating my own cheese is something I'm open to.
Anyways - once all the cheese was shredded, I divided it onto the tops and bottoms of the rolls I found at the store. (Her recipe calls for sliced bread, and then grilling the sandwiches a la grilled cheeses...but these made a great substitute.)
Meanwhile, the onions were cooking away. This was not a quick recipe, but it was pretty simple. With the onions cooking in three- to four-minute increments, that gave me time to do my other prep - like grating the cheese aaaaannnnnd...
...making the zucchini fries. I knew I wanted to have something on the side, and these seemed like a good possibility.
In the end, everything came together beautifully - and deliciously. The French onion soup sandwiches tasted perfect, and they were surprisingly filling. I should warn you, though, that they are also incredibly messy - like eating a stuffed sloppy joe with filling that falls out every time you take a bite. Yet they're definitely worth the mess - and besides, we were already eating the fries with our fingers, so a little extra mess wasn't too problematic.
And, just for fun, I have to mention dessert. I'd bought some strawberries with the intention of dipping them in chocolate. When that wasn't going to happen, I opted for the next best thing - or really, an even better thing - sugared strawberries. Served over a slice of pound cake, they were oh so tasty, and the freshness of the dish was the perfect finish for the somewhat-dense dinner we had.
All in all, this was such a wonderful meal...definitely something I was proud of (and am looking forward to making again!).
Where I am: home
What I'm reading: Weeknights with Giada by Giada DeLaurentiis
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