Tag: great quotes

This Impressive French Onion Soup made simple, is delicious and homey.

Classic French Onion Soup

This Classic French Onion Soup recipe is simple, delicious and very impressive. Many times you are in a high end establishment and there are items on the menu that you only order in restaurants because they seem intimidating. These items are held in high regard and you assume it must be hard to make. If you give this Classic French Soup Recipe a try, you will be surprised at how easy it is.

Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.

-Ludwig Van Beethoven

I was always afraid to make French Onion Soup because I have had great versions in restaurants and some pretty bad ones, so I was convinced it must be hard to make. This recipe breaks it all down and makes it very easy. I was surprised by the simplicity and it has made me more willing to try recipes that I was previously intimidated by. Sometimes with the right recipe and a little love, you can make something memorable. This Classic French Onion Soup recipe is from my late father and brings back so many memories. I have seen variations of this recipe over the years but basically it is all very similar. This recipe is a little scaled down from some I have seen, but this variation is quicker and still a showstopper.

DIRECTIONS:

Heat a heavy, stock pot (I use my dutch oven) over medium-low heat and add the 4 Tbsp. butter. Add the sliced onions. This will seem like too many onions, but trust the process, they will reduce quite a bit. Cover the pot and cook for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. I find sometimes it takes longer so trust your gut. Onions should be clear and tender.

Turn the heat up to medium and add the sugar. Continue cooking until onions are golden brown. Make sure to keep stirring so they do not stick to the pot. 

Reduce heat down to medium-low again and add the flour. If you are gluten free, you can substitute the flour for corn starch. Cook for approximately 3 minutes until it becomes a thick paste. Stir in about a cup of the broth and thin out the paste. If I do not have beef stock in the house, I substitute two 15 oz. cans of Campbell’s Beef Consomme and three cups of water. Add the rest of the stock, sage (optional) and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 30-40 minutes. I remove the bay leaf now. (I sometimes forget the bay leaf and sage quite and it is still wonderful). Add salt and pepper to taste. 

French bread – Preheat oven to 350°. Slice french bread into 8 1.5 inch slices. Drizzle with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Cook the bread until golden brown (usually about 10 minutes on each side).

If I am in a hurry, I will add the cheese now, directly on the bread and continue baking in the oven until the cheese is melted. Add the bread to a bowl and pour the soup over it and serve it. 

If time is not an issue, I will add the toasted bread without the cheese to an oven-safe bowl and pour the soup over it. Add the cheese to the top of the soup and bread. Return to the oven until cheese melts and finish with the broiler for a few minutes to brown the cheese. 

If you are interested in some of our other favorite recipes, please check out the Recipes page of my blog Sunday Chefs for more tried and true family recipes.

This French Onion soup recipe is simple, classic and a showstopper

French Onion Soup Recipe

This French Onion soup recipe is simple, classic and a show stopper
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Appetizer, dinner, lunch
Cuisine: French
Ingredients Notes

Ingredients
  

Soup Recipe
  • 4 tbsp. Butter
  • 4 Large white onions – Sliced thin. 4-5 yellow onions will also work, but I prefer the white. Not Vidalia onions.
  • 1 tsp. Sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. Flour – I substitute corn starch here to make it gluten free.
  • 6 cups Beef Stock – Sometimes I substitute 2-15 oz. cans of low sodium beef consomme and 3 cups of water for the beef stock.
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2-3 Tbsp. Cognac – Optional
  • 1/2 tsp. Ground Sage
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Cheese Bread Recipe
  • 8 slices French Bread About 1 in. slices works well
  • Olive Oil
  • 8 oz. Grated cheese Cheddar, Gruyere or Swiss
  • 2 oz. Parmesan Cheese grated

Notes

Heat a heavy, stock pot (I use my dutch oven) over medium-low heat and add the 4 Tbsp. butter. Add the sliced onions (this will seem like too many onions, but trust the process, they will reduce quite a bit). Cover the pot and cook for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occassionally (I find sometimes it takes longer so trust your gut). Onions should be clear and tender.
Turn the heat up to medium and add the sugar. Continue cooking until onions are golden brown. Make sure to keep stirring so they do not stick to the pot. 
Reduce heat down to medium-low again and add the flour. Cook for approximately 3 minutes until it becomes a thick paste. Stir in about a cup of the broth and thin out the paste. Add the rest of the stock, sage (optional) and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 30-40 minutes. 
I remove the bay leaf now. (I forget the bay leaf and sage quite a bit and it is still wonderful). Add salt and pepper to taste. 
French bread
Preheat oven to 350°. Slice french bread into 1.5 inch slices. Drizzle with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Cook the bread until golden brown (usually about 10 minutes on each side).
If I am in a hurry, I will add the cheese now directly on the bread and continue baking in the oven until the cheese is melted. Add the bread to a bowl and pour the soup over it and serve it. 
If time is not an issue, I will add the toasted bread without the cheese to an oven-safe bowl and pour the soup over it. Add the cheese to the top of the soup and bread. Return to the oven until cheese melts and finish with the broiler for a few minutes to brown the cheese. 
Allergy information: contains wheat. (you can substitute corn starch for the flour to make this gluten-free. 
 

Some tips I’ve learned along the way – dealing with Breast Cancer.

I am a Breast Cancer survivor, warrior, patient, person that has been through a lot. I don’t like any of those terms. What I do know is I could not have done it without the help of friends, family, medical professionals and people who I did not know then but now consider family. Paying it forward and giving out tips and tricks on how to deal with cancer seems like the right thing to do. It is the least I can do for this wonderful life that I will do anything to keep enjoying.

July 2017, at my daughter’s high school graduation party, I felt a lump. A very distinct, like someone had stuck a marble in my bra kind of lump! How come I had never felt that before? How could I have missed it? There was no question, this was bad. My feeling was not “Oh no, I have a lump”, it was “Oh no,I have cancer!” I knew immediately what it was and that it was bad. 

The mammogram showed nothing, but they could feel it so they knew it was there. So we moved on to an ultrasound. The doctor looked at the screen and turned to me and said “I am sorry, I don’t need a biopsy to tell me this is cancer.” There it is ..you are never the same again.  

Keep putting one foot in front of the other. That’s all you need to do right now.

-Unknown

So, on my kids first day of school, I had a double mastectomy/reconstruction, followed by 12 weeks of Taxol and 14 Herceptin infusions, ending in October 2018. I had Stage 1 Triple Positive Breast Cancer and it had not reached the lymph nodes. No family history and I had never missed a mammogram. They told me if I had not found it when I did, I would have been Stage 4 in about six weeks. The rate of growth measured that it had only been there about two weeks when I found it!

When you are diagnosed with any kind of Cancer you freeze... What do you do? Where do you begin? Here are a few tips I learned when going through Breast Cancer. I hope they help, because Cancer Sucks.

There are so many more stories to tell: The 4 ports because that was a disaster; baldness, pretending to feel okay; starting a new job that introduced me to LIVESTRONG; wonderful friends who convinced me to join them in starting a Pan Mass Challenge Kids ride to raise funds for Dana Farber Cancer Institute; finding out who your true friends are;  Shannon, who I barely knew and who showed up at my door with presents and a shoulder to cry on; and many more.

I am a very lucky person, I have wonderful family and friends who rallied around me and got me through it. Someone once told me “It’s the club you never wanted to join, but you are in it now and you are not alone and we can do this, if we support each other!”  Now it is my turn to do the same for the people in my life. 

I am a different person, a better person. I know I should say survivor but I still deal with it every day, the PTSD, neuropathy, lymphedema, Tamoxifen and its side effects. Honestly, to say I HAD cancer seems weird. I don’t think I will ever feel that it is truly gone. But my motto the whole time was and still is “Fake it till you make it” and that is what I do for my children, so they don’t have to worry about all this.

Don’t quit. Suffer some now and live the rest of your life a champion

-Muhammad Ali

When you are diagnosed with any kind of Cancer you freeze... What do you do? Where do you begin? Here are a few tips I learned when going through Breast Cancer. I hope they help, because Cancer Sucks.

Now we are coming up on the 5th anniversary of my diagnosis and once again a friend asked me for some tips on how to deal with it all because her friend has just been diagnosed. It really just never ends.

I had made a list of little tips that I would give someone if they asked but now I am just going to put it up here for everyone to see to make it easier. I have created a page on my blog Sunday Chefs that contains some other tips called Cancer Support. I would love to hear any tips that anyone else has.

I will say that the journal was the most practically helpful. Whether it is this one that I made … You Can Do This My Friend, a breast cancer journal and planner to keep your thoughts, questions and life in order or any old notebook that you want to use, it was a lifesaver. You are so tired and overwhelmed, it was so good to be able to look back over and write down questions to ask at appointments and to have everything in one place. I highly recommend that everyone get one, for any health issue they may be dealing with.

Note: 50% of proceeds from You Can Do This My Friend, a breast cancer journal and planner to keep your thoughts, questions and life in order are being donated to Mass General Cancer Center.

Easy Linguine With Clam Sauce

When I was a young girl we had a summer house on Cape Cod and my godfather would go clamming and make steamers.  I loved them… I would eat more than most of the adults.  Then I got a little older and turned into a squeamish teenage girl and that was the end of that.  Well this dish made me love clams again.  I was so intimidated to make it, but my husband told me to give it a try. It is so easy to make and everyone is always impressed with how it looks even if they won’t eat it. This one is so good, all my children eat love it!

Set a large pot with salted water to boil for the pasta. Cook the pasta and reserve a cup of the pasta water for later. Heat the oil in a large skillet with a cover. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté until garlic is translucent. Add the white wine and simmer a few minutes. If you can use a good wine. It always helps to use a good white wine. But if you don’t have it, anything will do. Add the reserved water. Bring to a boil. Add the clams and cover the pan. (I always buy my clams at our local fish monger, Fresh Catch. The employees are great and always help me find quality stuff). Leave the cover on and cook for approximately five minutes. Until the clams have all opened. If you need a few more minutes, take it. If after that there are any clams that have not opened, discard them. Add the juice of half of a lemon. Frankly, in my opinion the more lemon the better, so on my plate, I always add more. Take off the heat and add the pasta to the pan and very gently toss. At the last minute, add the parsley, some lemon zest and serve. Garnish with lemon and grated parmesan cheese. This meal is so easy and I was always so afraid to make it. If you swap out the linguine for a gluten free version it makes a great gluten free meal.  I have even done this recipe on the grill outside and it works great. This meal is fantastic paired with a great with a Chardonnay and crusty bread. Enjoy!

Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink in the wild air

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Easy Linguine With Clam Sauce

Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course: Appetizer, dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian, Mediterranean
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb. linguine Regular or Gluten Free (reserve a cup of the pasta water)
  • 2 lbs. clams Washed and scrubbed clean to get ride of the sand that may have been left on.
  • 3 cloves garlic Diced
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1/2 cup White Wine I use a good Chardonnay
  • 2 tbsp. Fresh Parsley Chopped. In a pinch you could use dry but fresh parsley is a game changer here.
  • 1/4 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
  • 1 Lemon
  • Salt and Pepper To taste.
  • Shredded Parmesan Cheese To taste.

Method
 

  1. Set a large pot with salted water to boil for the pasta.
  2. Cook the pasta and reserve a cup of the pasta water for later.
  3. Heat the oil in a large skillet with a cover.
  4. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté until garlic is translucent.
  5. Add the white wine and simmer a few minutes.
  6. Add the reserved water. Bring to a boil
  7. Add the clams and cover the pan.
  8. Leave the cover on and cook for approximately five minutes. Until the clams have all opened.
  9. If you need a few more minutes, take it. If after that there are any clams that have not opened, discard them.
  10. Add the juice of half of a lemon.
  11. Take off the heat and add the pasta to the pan and very gently toss.
  12. At the last minute, add the parsley, some lemon zest and serve.
  13. Garnish with lemon and grated parmesan cheese.

Notes

This meal is so easy and I was always so afraid to make it. If you swap out the linguine for a gluten free version it makes a great gluten free meal. 
Goes great with a Chardonnay and crusty bread. Enjoy!
Allergens: Shellfish, Dairy, Gluten (Does work good with gluten free past also)

Fishermen’s View, Sandwich Ma

This week we were driving home from Cape Cod and got stuck in a massive traffic jam. One of the Cape Cod Canal bridges was closed and all the traffic was diverted to the other one. After two hours of following Waze all over the place, we decided to stop for something to eat. After consulting Google to see what was close by we were very lucky to be around the corner from Fishermen’s View Seafood Market and Restaurant in Sandwich, MA.

“The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its nets of wonder forever”

– Jacques Cousteau

Located directly on the Cape Cod Canal in beautiful Sandwich, Ma., Fishermen’s View Seafood Market and Restaurant was a very pleasant surprise and my favorite new find. The amazing outdoor deck was full, so we were welcomed in to their beautiful dining room. With walls of windows overlooking the canal you felt like you were outside. Since this was our first experience with indoor dining since the pandemic, we were watching things very carefully. The staff all work masks, the place was spotless and the tables were spread far apart. We felt very safe with the procedures they had in place.

We started the meal with a perfectly portioned order of steamers and some of their piping hot, homemade cornbread. It was a great start. My daughter ordered the children’s chicken and french fries. It was a huge order and we were all picking at it because it was so good. Above and beyond the normal chicken and french fries for kids at most restaurants. My husband got the Double Decker burger and it was huge and wonderful.

I got the crab cake appetizer as my meal. Now let me explain that I am crab cake snob. I order them whenever they are on the menu. The crab cakes at Fishermen’s View were without a doubt the best crab cakes I have ever had. As we were leaving, the staff let us know that the bridge had been cleared and gave us some tips on avoiding the traffic. The owner also came by and thanked us for stopping by. All in all it was a wonderful experience.

If you are looking for great food, reasonable prices, good service and a fabulous view, stop by Fishermen’s View Seafood Market and Restaurant in Sandwich, Ma. It is my new favorite.