Wedding, Holidays, Stress, Oh My! {Saved by the Pastry!}

So, yea, as I mentioned before I totally got bored of blogging- been in a bit of a rut. Also the past month or so, after Hurricane Sandy, my other half has been working literally non-stop so I'm not used to cooking for just myself!

I basically have so much on my mind. Planning our wedding is fun, but still need to do it. Finally got my dress, which I am super happy I was able to decide on one! And where the hell did December just come from?? Like out of freaking no where. Time is just flying by (and it's a bit scary honestly).  Oh hey there Christmas...

Then we have this money saving thing- because idealistically we would love to be able to buy a home in the next year- I even said it would be ok before the wedding (yea, I know, nuts, maybe).  So yes we dabble in looking for homes when we get a chance.

We did get our tree last weekend! Which I absolutely LOVEEEEE fresh Christmas trees- like LOVE them. Brendan suggested we get a fake one this year- um no. (Glad he decided on a real one again-loveyou!)

Hmmm, what else is on my mind. Oh yea, the fact I will probably need to up my game and find a better paying job next year or so.  And of course I have about 12 million other things floating around in my head- but I'll spare you all ;)

I also need to change the name of this blog- I did once before way back- and it is such a pain in the ass- so I figure I will pay for a real domain name- but now what catchy fun name to call it? How do I sum up this blog? I'm not a good idea starter- but following through on things and making them run smoothly is usually my specialty.  Sometimes it's almost depressing I don't have the drive to do things sometimes or figure whatever I think of will be wrong or not good enough- it's weird- like I said, we all get in ruts.

I've never wrote a post like this before on my blog- but almost felt like throwing everything on my mind down. Then we can see later on how it all works out.

One good thing this Christmas is that I'm cooking for my fam at our house. I'm pretty excited- turkey, green beans, mac and cheese, stuffing, etc etc plus lots of wine.  My dad makes amazing appetizers and I JUST saw the most amazing (and easy!) dessert recipe I'm gunna do:

Croquembouche

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/laura-calder/croquembouche-recipe/index.html

From French Food at Home (if you've never watched her show on Cooking Channel, I happen to love it) it's   profiteroles stuffed with home made pastry cream and dipped in easy caramel sauce then stacked up. HOW FREAKING AWESOME- like could there not be a more perfect Christmas dessert centerpiece? It's basically a decadent puffy creamy sweet sticky Christmas tree! I CANNOT wait to make this.

Oh yea- the name is French- its crow-kem-boosh- and it means "crunch in the mouth".  It's made from choux (pronounced "shoe") pastry- which most people would know because eclairs are made from it.  Even if you are a non-baker I've made profiteroles (the puff balls) before- super easy, comes together real quick, and with easy ingredients. 

French Onion Soup

This has to be my favorite soup. I could eat this whole batch! I'm not going to lie- this soup takes a long time to make.  The onions need to cook down for about two hours and then I like to simmer the soup for at least another 30 minutes for the flavors to marry.  I always hear Julia Child's voice in my head: "If you don't let it simmer and marry then all you have is onions and stock, not French Onion Soup."  The end result is so worth it, believe me.  Pretty healthy for you considering the small amount of cheese and bread that is involved and the rest is basically just onions and water! Oh yea and this is also a super cheap meal that feeds a lot!

It is pretty cold out today in NY so why not spend your Sunday cooking up this delicious soup for the family! or just yourself ;)

Couple notes here:  The wine optional, but I like the depth of flavor red wine brings to the soup.  You can use fresh stock but I always have bouillon cubes on hand (just taste before adding salt considering these are packed with sodium).  The cube ratio I use is one cube to one cup of water. I like to use a combo of beef and chicken to make it a touch lighter, but tradionally it is all beef stock.

The classic cheese for FOS is Gruyere but I can never seem to find it, so I substitute Swiss which is just as good.  I buy the 1 pound wedges of Jarlsberg Swiss so I just grate whatever I need- I love lots of cheese so grate to your preference.

Ingredients

• 5 large yellow onions, I like them sliced- but anyway you want to cut them is fine.
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 1 tsp of flour
• 1/2 cup of red or white wine (optional)
• 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme (or a tsp of dried)
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 beef boullion cubes
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 6 cups of water
• Swiss cheese, grated
• french baguette, sliced

Directions

1. In a large soup pot add the oil, butter, all the onions and salt.  Cover and cook on low for 1-2 hours.  I know this seems long but you HAVE to cook them really low or they will never caramelize correctly and you will just end up with burnt onions.  I use a hair higher then my lowest flame setting.  I just leave them alone and check every 30 minutes- checking more often towards the end.  Here are pics at the beginning, one hour, one hour and a half, then 2 hours.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Sprinkle the onions with the flour and let cook out for about 1 minute.
3. Now deglaze with the wine if you are using.
4. Then add everything else except for the cheese and bread.  Bring to a boil then to a gentle simmer.  I simmer for at least 30 more minutes but I have ranged from 10 minutes to 60 minutes before I ate, so I guess depends on how much patience you have.  Remember longer the better though.  If the liquid level gets too low, just add more water.  Also remember to taste before serving. 
5. After the soup part is done- which by the way is very good on its own, but to make it even better we add cheese and bread.
6. While your soup is simmering turn on your broiler.
7. Toast your sliced baguette and grate your cheese.
8. I have these cute little ramekins but any bowl will do.  Ladle in your soup then top with one or two pieces of bread then top with about 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese .
9. I put the ramekins or bowls on a baking sheet in case of boil-overs and pop under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese is brown and bubbly!.
10. Careful handling the ramekins or bowls they are extremely hot! Safety first then stuff your face with this delicious soup!