Late Night Dessert Tapas

Alissa is doing some late night work tonight, so I decided to make a quick dessert with whatever I could find- so this is what I came up with!

This is lightly toasted raisin bread with caramelized sugar bottom, topped with diced apples coated in cinnamon and honey- garnished with a fresh apple slice. A splash of lemon on the diced apples juice helped accent the sauce. I also threw a dash of nutmeg in for fun.

French Onion Soup & Side Salad

June 30th, 2009-

Today we made homemade French Onion Soup- simply done with the crock pot. I had recently seen some recipes for it, and it seemed simple enough to make.

The Salad

I coupled it with a salad made with Romaine lettuce, crumbled gorgonzola cheese, and a homemade dressing made from Miracle Whip, olive oil, pepper, garlic powder, sugar, and a dash of salt. I topped the salad with homemade croutons from the leftover french loaf. Those I made by dicing the bread, adding a splash of olive oil, pepper, and garlic power- then roasting in the oven for 5 minutes. Finally, I garnished it with a a shaved carrot (for color and content).

The Soup

2 medium Yellow Onions (thinly sliced)

1 tablespoon Butter

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon of pepper (or to taste)

6 cups of Beef Broth

2 tablespoons of Worcheshire sauce

1/8 cup of dry white wine or sherry

1 loaf of french bread

1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

Either in the crock pot (approximately 30-45 minutes) or in a skillet (10 minutes) combine the butter, olive oil, sugar, and sliced onions and simmer on medium heat (or high in the crock pot) until onions begin to have golden edges- do not completely brown the onions.

Put in crock pot and then add the pepper and the flour. Mix together, put the lid on, and cook an additional 15 minutes on high.

Then, add the beef broth, dry white wine (or sherry), and Worcheshire. Stir together and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on high 2-3 hours- stirring occasionally. Low & slow cooking is always the better option!

Slice the french bread, top with the cheese and brown in the oven or broiler. Serve and drop cheesy bread into bowl.

As my wife would say: ¡Buen provecho!

This one, we'll certainly make again.

Before We Dine

Today, my wife and I begin an endeavor to blog our dinner and dining experiences. Although neither of us have formal culinary training, we both have an appreciation for foods from around the world.

Dining, whether at home or in a restaurant, is a cultural practice. Food in my family is a hybrid experience that has extended across cultural boundaries for years. For me, dining with my wife and others is an act of fellowship. The experience is much less about the texture and presentation of the meal and much more about how the meal changes the setting and influences the tone of the experience.

Further, each culture and region often has items in their diet that are strikingly similar to other cultures- I call these convergent foods. For example, in the Mexican tradition there are tortillas. Similarly, traditional meals from India include naan, while the equivalent across the middle east and greece is pita.

Thus our adventure begins! We hope to bring you both the best and the worst of our meals and dining experiences. As always- feel free to comment, suggest, recommend, and of course, enjoy!