Savor The Season
— BY JESSICA VARONE
Looking for the perfect French Onion Soup recipe for the winter season? Entertaining host extraordinaire Alex Hitz shares a favorite from his new cookbook Occasions To Celebrate.
Five-Onion Soup
Makes 8 servings
4 tablespoons butter
4 shallots, roughly chopped
The white part of 1 leek, roughly chopped
1 red onion, roughly chopped
2 onions, roughly chopped
The white parts of 1 bunch green onions,
roughly chopped
2 quarts chicken stock
1 ½ cups heavy cream
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
16 thin slices French baguette, buttered, and toasted 1 cup grated Gruyère cheese, firmly packed
In a large, heavy stockpot over medium-high heat, melt the butter. When the foaming has subsided, add the shallots, leek, and onions. Turn the heat to medium-low, and stir the mixture frequently, until the onions are soft, and have turned deep golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Add the chicken stock, and simmer
the mixture, uncovered, until the onions are very soft, another 20 minutes.
Transfer the soup to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, and puree it until it’s smooth. This may need to be done in batches. Return the soup to the stockpot, add the cream, salt, and pepper, and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer the soup for another 20 minutes until the soup has thickened.
When it’s time to serve, preheat the broiler. Divide the soup into eight individual oven-proof ramekins. Add 2 toasted baguette slices to each ramekin, overlapping them slightly if necessary, and top them with 2 tablespoons of Gruyère cheese. Broil the soup on the top rack until the cheese is brown and bubbly, 3 to 5 minutes, before serving.
ALEX'S TOP HOSTING TIPS
What’s the perfect party size?
“Whether you’re hosting an intimate group of 40 or upwards of 250, there’s no main difference. Either way, it’s a lot of work. All you need is just a little more food.”
Number one tip to help hosts relieve stress?
“Do absolutely everything ahead of time. Do all the food ahead of time and just heat it up. Number one, it tastes better. And number two, there's a lot less stress. And if you’ve screwed something up, you've screwed it up three or four days beforehand, so you have time to fix it, rather than right then when everybody's there.”
What is your secret to entertaining well?
“Never stop smiling. That's how you do it. Never stop. Anything can go wrong and will go wrong and does go wrong. Do everything ahead of time and never stop smiling. By the way, if you're a nervous host or hostess, nobody ever died reading an etiquette book. Manners are the only things that cost nothing and pay off tenfold every time.”
—by Jessica Varone
Photos by: Iain Bagwell