ManCave Test Kitchen

So, you’re at the store, and there’s a giant scallion staring you in the face.  It looks like it could be something you want to eat, but you don’t  know what to do with it.  Well, this isn’t a giant scallion, it’s a leek…and you can’t treat it like scallion, really, but you can make some awesome stuff with it.  This recipe is derived from a recipe from the fabled Tavern Room at the Greenbrier Hotel in White Sulphur Springs, WV.  While I can’t post the actual recipe, because I have been sworn to secrecy,  I can tell you that “The Cream of Five Onion Soup” was on that menu from the day it opened until the day it closed, and is still on some of the menus at the hotel.  While this recipe is more like a French Onion than a cream soup, it’s still very rich and is a great alternative to a heavy cream soup (which mind you, I love, we all do…admit it)  I will give you fair warning,this is NOT a fast recipe, and it takes some attention, but it is well work the effort.  This recipe will give you about a gallon.

• 1 1/2 lbs. Vidalia Onions, sliced thin
• 1 1/2 lbs. Red Onions, sliced thin
• 1 Bunch Leeks, sliced thin, and washed
• 4 cloves Garlic, sliced thin
• 3 cups red wine
• 3 quarts beef or chicken stock
• 2 tbsp chopped Lemon Thyme (Standard thyme is ok too if you can’t get it)
• 1 tbsp butter

1. Start my setting up a heavy pot on a medium high flame.  Get a couple tablespoons of olive Oil hot, them add your butter.  Just let it melt a bit then add some of the onions.  You do want the butter sizzling, and oil smoking just a bit before you add them.  
2. Stir the onions a good bit initially  until you hear the sizzle die down.  You want these to caramelize, but just like meat, if you add them all at once, you’ll just get a watery mess.  Cook these for about 15 minutes, then add some more onions.   Repeat this until all of the onions and leeks are caramelized and cooked way down.  This is the part that’s going to take the most time.
3. Now add your wine and thyme.  Let the wine cook down to a syrup.  Stir the pot every minute or so.
4. Now add your stock and let it reduce by about 1/4 on a low simmer.

I like to serve this with grilled bread and some brie.  You can use anything out of the ordinary though, just because it’s out of the ordinary.  If you like, you can also puree this soup and add some cream to add some serious richness.

Happy Eating

-The Doctor

One of the major crops that’s grown in my area is corn.  (No I’m not in the Mid-West, but I’ll give you a hint, crabs are THE STAPLE where I am).  Not just and old yellow corn either,  but white Silver Queen corn.  When you go to a traditional crab boil, this is what’s cooking next to the potatoes, sausage, and all of the other goodness in the pot.  The downside is that the only thing most people know how to do with this beautiful corn is cook it on the cob. Is that all there is??? NAY I SAY, I SAY NAY!!!!  This corn is very starchy and milky and makes an excellent soup.    This recipe is one of my own, there’ no huge story behind it. I created it for a friend of the blog who is lucky enough to get this my the bushel almost every week from her co-op.   It’s not a heavy chowder, but still very still very rich and satisfying.  This will recipe will make 3 quarts.

• 4 oz ham (any kind you like) small diced
• 2 heads garlic, with just the very top cut off
• 5 ears silver queen corn
• 1 c. white wine
• 1.5 qt chicken stock
• 1/2 small onion, small diced
• 4 ribs celery, small diced
• 2 small red bliss or yukon gold potatoes, small diced
• 3 tbsp , chiffonade (or chopped, doesn’t have to be fancy)
• 1/4 c. sour cream

1. Start by turning you oven up to about 475.  While you’re waiting for your oven to heat up, brush your corn and garlic with oil.  When your oven is hot  enough, place them in a foil lined pan and roast for about 15-20 minutes.  The corn and garlic should look like this: 
2. While the corn and garlic are roasting, grab a heavy pot and  set it to medium heat with some oil.  (olive oil, vegetable oil, whatever)  Start sweating you onions and celery.  When they’re nice and translucent, cut the heat until it’s time to add your corn and garlic.
3. When the garlic and corn are nice and golden brown, take them out of the oven. Let them cool just a bit, then squeeze all of the garlic out of the heads and into the pot.  Take the corn and cut down the cob, removing all of the kernels.  Both the kernels and the cob are going in the soup.  (HUH!?!?!?!, Yes, simmering that corn cob is like simmering a bone, tons of flavor there)
4. Add your wine and potatoes and bring everything up to a simmer.  Let this go until the wine is almost dry., then add your stock and ham.  Bring everything back up to a simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
5. Here’s the fun part.  Reach into the pot with a pair of tongs or something (that’s not you fingers) and remove the cobs.   Take out 1/3 of the soup and drop it until a blender.  Pulse the blender until the soup is smooth, then add the puree back to the soup.
6. To finish the soup, whisk in the sour cram, and add the basil while everything is still hot.

There you go, there’s more to do with corn that eat it off the cob, not that there’s anything wrong with it, but we all need variety here and there, right?  As always, feel free to play with this, you can use different types of hams, replace the ham with sausage, or evern crab or lobster if you’re feeling adventurous.  If you want more corn recipes  let me know in the comments.

Happy Eating

-The Doctor