Left Bank French Onion Soup

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
4 yellow onions cut in half, then sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup sherry
2 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon peppercorns
2 cups chicken stock
4 cups beef stock
salt, pepper
Sliced baguettes
Emmenthal or Gruyere cheese shredded


Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Heat butter and oil in a large heavy bottomed soup pot.  Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally,  until caramelized.
2. Add white wine and sherry.  Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half.
3. Tie the thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns in a square of cheesecloth to make a sachet.  Add, along with stocks; simmer for 1 hour.  Remove sachet from soup. Season to taste.
4. Brush baguette slices with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake until crispy, 5-10 minutes.
    NOTE: on next few days when baguette becomes stale 20-30 seconds in the microwave will make it soft.
5. To serve, fill warm soup bowls with onion soup, float two or three baguette slices on top and add a generous sprinkling of cheese.  Slide under the broiler and cook until the cheese melts and caramelizes.

Recipe is from San Jose Mercury, David Bastide executive chef, Left Bank Brasserie, San Jose.  

Pork Chops in Dijon Sauce

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 center-cut rib or loin pork chops, boneless or bone-in (whatever you prefer), about 1 1/4 inch thick
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped shallots or green onions
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3/4 cup chicken stock*
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp chopped parsley (optional)

*If cooking gluten-free, use homemade chicken stock or gluten-free packaged stock.

METHOD

1 Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels. Sprinkle salt and pepper all over them. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Stir in the butter. As soon as the butter has melted, add the pork chops to the pan and sear them, about 2-3 minutes on each side. Reduce the heat slightly if the chops brown too quickly.

2 Remove the pork chops from the pan and pour off most of the fat. Add the green onions or shallots and cook them on med high heat until softened, about 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup of the wine and bring to a boil, deglazing the pan by scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the stock and return chops to the pan. Bring sauce to a simmer, reduce heat, cover and cook until chops are cooked through (145°F internal temp), about 10 to 15 minutes.

3 Remove the pork chops to a warm platter; cover with foil to keep warm. Add the remaining half cup of wine. Increase the heat to high to boil the pan juices. Reduce the juices by half, about 3 minutes. Add the heavy cream and boil 3 minutes more, until sauce reduces and thickens, and scraping the pan with a wooden spoon leaves a trail. Remove from the heat and whisk in the mustard and parsley. If you want, add more mustard to taste. Place chops on a bed of sauce and serve.

Macadamia Nut Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

This is a wonderful recipe that I dressed up with a product I found on Maui. Hershey's Kisses with Macadamia nuts.

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
1 cup coarsely chopped white chocolate
1 Hershey's Kiss for each cookie.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Makes 48 cookies.