Captain Dons Onion Soup With Garlic Flavored Croutons Recipes

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.

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.

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.

CROUTON-TOPPED GARLIC SOUP

Steps:

• In a small skillet, cook garlic in oil over low heat for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the heat; set aside., In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook onions in butter until softened. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes or until deep golden brown. Add the broth, thyme, bay leaf and reserved garlic. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Stir in cream; heat through. Discard bay leaf., For croutons, place bread in a small bowl. Combine the oil, rosemary, salt and pepper; drizzle over bread and toss to coat. Place in an ungreased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally., Divide soup among four bowls. Top with croutons, cheese and parsley.

CROUTON-TOPPED GARLIC SOUP FOR TWO

Steps:

• In a small skillet, cook garlic in oil over low heat for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the heat; set aside., In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, cook onions in butter until softened. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes or until deep golden brown. Add the broth, thyme, bay leaf and reserved garlic. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Stir in cream; heat through. Discard bay leaf., For croutons, place bread in a small bowl. Combine the oil, rosemary, salt and pepper; drizzle over bread and toss to coat. Place in an ungreased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally., Divide soup among two bowls. Top with croutons, cheese and parsley.

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.

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.