I then ventured into making French onion soup. The first time I tried making it, I was shocked at the amount of beef broth that had to go in (9 cups of the stuff!). I went with it anyway, as my general rule with recipes is try them as they are written in the book first, then modify later. It did not go so well. Two reasons: the amount of beef broth was just far too much for me, and I didn't do a very good job with the onions. The next time I tried making it, I halved the amount of beef broth (so 4 1/2 cups instead), but still wasn't successful with the onions part. It was better, but I still wasn't really happy with it.
Then? Bob Blumer's pizza book. One of the pizza recipes that I love making calls for an onion marmelade, which involves browning the onions in a covered pot over medium high heat and stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes. After the initial 20 minutes are up, you remove the cover and cook them further for roughly another 15-20 minutes. The result? Beautifully browned and caramelized onions. I realized that I could do this when making French onion soup and now I finally have a recipe that I love making.
And then? I found a new French onion soup recipe in The Newlyweds' Cookbook (given to us by my matron of honor and her husband). It had some other ingredients added (garlic, thyme, a bay leaf), the most important one being white wine. I love cooking with wine, it just adds that extra punch to any dish. It was ten times better than my first French onion soup recipe...but I think I still need to tinker with it. Like my other recipe, this one also called for an excessive amount of broth (9 cups as well), and there was very little flour, not enough to give it that thick consistency. I'll play with it some more, and share it once I've found that happy medium.
Here is the meal plan for the upcoming week. I've got one new recipe that I'm trying from my latest Food Network Magazine (which I'm thinking I should really just get a subscription for), and I've linked it to the recipe on the magazine's website. The photos below are from the past week's meal plan. Happy cooking!
October 31-November 5
Sunday: Roast lamb racks & risotto primavera
Monday: Shepard's Pie
Tuesday: Frozen lasagne
Wednesday: Thai Chicken Soup (from Food Network Magazine)
Thursday: Nothing (Hubby has to fend for himself while I do parent-teacher interviews)
Friday: Tuna mornay with pasta, salad