Hearty French Onion Soup

I love autumn in New England, especially because I get to enjoy my favorite soups. This soup is so filling that you can have just one bowl as a meal. It makes a great weekend lunch, or a simple weekday dinner. I just love the pull of the cheese with each spoonful.

The secret to this dish is a rich stock. This time I made it using lamb stock for a full flavor, but you can use chicken, beef, or turkey stock. I also used my Tasty Crouton Recipe instead of toasted french bread to add more flavor.

Ingredients:
For 2 BIG servings

• 1 Cup Dry Red Wine
  
• 2 Quarts Lamb, Beef, Chicken, or Turkey Stock
  
• 1/2 Cup Croutons or sliced toasted French bread
• 6 oz Swiss Cheese, shredded
  
• 2 Cups Mushrooms, sliced
• 1-2 Onions, sliced and separated.
• 1 tbsp Chopped Garlic
• 1/2 tsp Fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp Cumin
• 2 pats of butter.
• 1/2 tsp salt, only if the stock has no salt. If you use a commercial stock that contains salt, omit this.
  
• 1 tsp of Soy Sauce
• 1/2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce.
  
• 1 tbsp General purpose flour

Directions:

1. Place the wine and stock into a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Keep boiling while you perform the rest of the steps. You will want to reduce it to about half of its original volume.
   
2. Pre-heat a large fry pan and cover the bottom with olive oil.
3. Add the sliced onions and fry until they are golden brown.
   
4. Slide the onions to one side of the and pan melt the butter in the open side.
5. Add the mushrooms to the butter and mix in. Stir in the garlic.
   
6. Saute the mushrooms until brown, mix with the onions.
7. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture, mix in and saute until brown.
8. Stir the pepper and cumin into the stock. Add the Soy, Worcestershire and salt (if any) to the stock.
   
9. Pour the mushroom and onion mixture into the stock, bring to a simmer. The flour will thicken the broth.
   
10. Add some croutons (or toast) to each oven safe bowl, sprinkle with some cheese
11. Ladle the soup into each bowl and top with the rest of the cheese.
12. Place the bowls on a cookie sheet and broil on high for 3-5 minutes.
13. Let stand for at least 5 minutes before serving.

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Copyright © 2007, 2008 Lizabetti.com, All Rights Reserved

New England Lobster Grill

Summertime in New England is very under rated. We have some great weather. Hot, but not for long. While we have had lots of rain this year, it has been a spectacular season for lobster. Prices are good, the shells are thin and the meat is buttery tender this time of year. Ti's the season. I have have enjoyed making boiled lobster for many years, but a few years ago I began to grill it. Let me tell you, I may never go back. Not to worry though, this technique is totally humane and the little dears never feel a thing.

I got this idea several years ago when I was in Japan. Among my favorite meals is Japanese grill, where you sit near the chef at the bar and he grills stuff and serves it to you. One of the great dishes I enjoyed was the grilled lobster. However, the Japanese chef had no qualms about bisecting the poor thing live, but the fire was so hot that it was not alive for long. Watching this was fascinating and the meal was delicious, but I came up with a tamer, more humane way to do this. I basically boil the lobsters for 1 minute prior to processing them. I cooked this dish on an apple wood fire in the Stone Pony, my outdoor stone oven, but you can use a good kettle grill or a gas grill too. If you want to experiment with cooking it on an open fire, I recommend you dig a pit for safety, also have a hose handy.

Ingredients:

• Lobster
  • 1 Live Lobster per person, I find that 1.5-2 pound lobsters are ideal. I prefer them bigger.
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp chopped garlic
  • 1 handful fresh chives
  • 1 pinch fresh oregano
  • 1 pinch fresh parsley
  • substitute your favorite fresh herbs, these are what I grow in the garden
• Sides
  • 1 ear of fresh corn per person (leave the husk on)
  • 1 medium Yukon Gold potato per person
  • 1/2 bunch of mustard greens, Swiss chard, or Chinese broccoli
  • 1 stick of butter

Directions:

1. Soak the corn, husk and all in cold water and wash the potatoes thoroughly.
2. Light the grill. Place the corn and potatoes on the warming rack at least one hour before cooking the lobster, cover the grill. Flip after half an hour.
3. Mix the olive oil, herbs, and garlic in a bowl.
4. Boil a large pot of water.
5. Boil each lobster for 1 minute, not enough to cook them, but long enough to kill them.
6. Drain the lobster and cut down the middle of the front from the head through the tail.
7. Spoon the herb mixture into the crevice. Don't forget to remove the rubber bands off the claws.
8. brush the remaining herb mixture onto the mustard greens
9. Turn up the heat of the grill and place the lobsters stomach side up on the grill. Cook for 3-5 minutes.
10. Flip the lobsters, place the vegetable on the grill. Cook an additional 3-5 minutes.
11. Place the butter in a bowl, add some olive oil and microwave for 30 seconds. Add some chives to the butter. The olive oil helps make the butter more liquid and tastes good too!
12. Serve the lobster over the vegetable with the corn and potatoes on the side.
13. You are now in heaven.
14. For those of us who like to have seafood chowder, don't toss out the lobster shells when you are done indulging. The shells make a fine stock which can then be used to make any seafood sauce or chowder.

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Copyright © 2007, 2008 Lizabetti.com, All Rights Reserved

Grape Leaves

This is my absolute favorite middle eastern dish. It is claimed by cultures throughout the Mediterranean, but each country flavors them a little bit differently. My version is closest to the Egyptian style with some minor changes. My aunt used to make this for me when ever I visited her, and it was always a treat. The great thing about this dish is that it is a complete meal. The leaves are an excellent source of fiber and vitamins, while the stuffing contains meat and rice to make it into a nutritionally balanced food. The leaves reheat fine in the microwave and they can be eaten cold. This makes the leftovers a great workday lunch.

Most people make this dish with store bought grape leaves in a jar, which works fine because the leaves are well preserved in a brine. However, in the summer you can make these with fresh grape leaves. In making this dish I used wild grape leaves that grow in my back yard. These leaves grow wild throughout New England and other parts of the country. You should select leaves that are not too thick. For some of the leaves I used my home grown Concord grape leaves, which also work fine. This dish is quite easy to make, though most people are intimidated by the rolling of the leaves. For this reason I have broken it down to very simple steps with lots of pictures. You should be able to make this dish start to finish in less than two hours, including cooking time. If you follow my illustrated steps for rolling the leaves you will have no trouble, in fact the rolling won't take longer than 15 minutes. A great complement to this dish is Lizabetti's Yogurt Cucumber Dip.

Ingredients:

• A large bowl of fresh picked grape leaves, about 50-100 leaves depending on size and quality. You can substitute 1 jar of store bought grape leaves.
  
• 1/4 cup Lizabetti's Mediterranean dry rub
  
• 1 cup toasted pine nuts
  
• 4 tbs chopped garlic
  
• 1 lb ground lamb, substitute beef if desired, or omit for a vegetarian version
  
• 3 cups jasmine rice
  
• 1 12 oz can of tomato paste
  
• 1 quart of tomato juice
  
• 1 cup beef, lamb, or chicken stock. Omit for a vegetarian version
  
• 2 large juicy limes
  
• Fresh herbs to taste. I used parsley and chives because they were in season and growing in my herb patch.

Directions: Prep The Leaves

1. Pick the largest leaves on the vine, large leave are easier to roll. If you don't find wild leaves in your own yard, you can find them throughout the countryside in New England.
   
2. Rinse the leaves, salt and soak in cold water. This helps get rid of any outdoor grub. Leave them soaking for 15-30 minutes.
   
3. Dump the water and rinse off the salt. The leaves are now ready for rolling.
4. If you are using store bought leaves, simply rinse them to get rid of the brine.

Make The Stuffing

1. Mix the dry rub and half the garlic into the ground meat. If making vegetarian mix the dry rub right into the rice.
   
2. Pre-heat a pan and brown the meat. If you are using lamb or a fatty beef, there is no need for oil. You do not need to completely cook the meat in this step as it will be cooked further in the grape leaves. Many people use the meat without browning, but I think that it enhances the flavor especially when using lamb.
   
3. After the meat is browned, mix in the pine nuts. Drain any excess grease.
   
4. Place the meat in a mixing bow and mix in the rice and the rest of the garlic. Be sure to mix thoroughly.
   
5. Add the tomato paste and mix thoroughly.

Roll 'em Up

1. Lay some leaves down in the base of large, deep pan. This will keep your stuffed leaves from sticking.
   
2. Place the leaf shiny side down on your work surface.
   
3. The key to rolling is not to use too much stuffing in each leaf. Place 1 teaspoon of stuffing at the base of the leaf.
   
4. Fold one side of the leaf over the stuffing, then the other
   
5. roll the leaf from the bottom up. Keep it tight at all times.
   
6. Arrange the leaves in a circular pattern at the bottom of the pan. As you complete each circle, begin another circle inside it until you complete the layer. Be sure to put them seam side down so they do not fall apart.
   
7. Repeat this process for subsequent layers. Usually I end up making 3-4 layers with this recipe.

Sauce and Cook

1. Mix the tomato juice, stock, and one of the limes in a bowl. Add the fresh herbs.
   
2. Pour the mixture over the grape leaves.
   
3. Place a plate face down over the grape leaves. this will prevent them from moving.
   
4. Cover the pan. Cook over medium heat for 35-45 minutes, or until the liquid is all absorbed.
   
5. Remove the plate and squeeze the second lime over the pan.
6. Let stand covered in the pan for about 15 minutes.
7. Serve with Lizabetti's Yogurt Cucumber dip.

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Copyright © 2007, 2008 Lizabetti.com, All Rights Reserved