Scalloped Potatoes with Caramelized Onions

These scalloped potatoes with caramelized onions are a lightened up version of one of my favorite comfort foods, potatoes gratin. 

Instead of cream, this dish calls for broth and caramelized onions to add flavor. The result? An amazingly tasty and light potato dish that goes perfectly with roast beef, ham, or lamb chops.

Creamed Spinach Gratin

This spinach gratin recipe is comprised of an already tasty creamed spinach topped with Gruyere and Parmesan, and then baked. The top is crispy and cheesy, and the inside is creamy and seriously flavorful.

 

 I have made this spinach many times, especially on holidays to accompany roast beef. It kind of reminds me of the side dishes, e.g. creamed corn and Yorkshire pudding, that would be served in the old traditional prime rib restaurants.

Garlic Soup with Gruyère Cheese Toast

This creamy soup is the garlicky version of French onion soup. Even though it is loaded with garlic and onions, the flavor is mellow, smooth, and beyond tasty. 

This soup has so much garlic that you can rest assured that the vampires won't be knocking on your door. 

Garlic and Cheese Country Bread (Garlic & Gruyère Pain de Campagne)

This Garlic Gruyere Pain de Campagne Boule is a big sourdough loaf with a swath of roasted garlic and cheese nestled right under the crust.

To achieve the pockets of garlic and cheese right under the crust, you flattened the final dough and spread it with the roasted garlic and cheese mixture, and then you roll it up into a boule. You then tighten the boule until much of the filling is just under the skin (outer crust) of the bread.

Cheese Straws with Parmesan, Gruyere, and Thyme

These Cheese Straws with Parmesan, Gruyere, and Thyme are a wonderful appetizer, and so easy to make with frozen puff pastry. 

These are delicious with a glass of wine or a cocktail. They are really easy to make using frozen puff pastry, although making your own homemade puff pastry is kind of a revelation.

Quiche Lorraine Muffins

These quiche Lorraine muffins are pretty incredible. They are reminiscent of the quiche craze of the 1970s, in a good way. The combination of lots of bacon and my favorite magical baking cheese, Gruyere, is classic and delicious.

Gruyere, Caramelized Onions, and Watercress Buns

I'm pretty thrilled with these savory vegetable buns with Gruyere, caramelized onions, and watercress.

First, Gruyere cheese is a wonderful thing. It's a hard cheese with a fairly mild flavor, and is totally amazing when melted. Then, how can you resist caramelized onions? Combined with the Gruyere, it's kind of like French onion soup in a roll. I added a handful of watercress for its peppery flavor. These were very tasty.

Senfbrot - German Mustard Bread

The recipe for this Senfbrot, or German Mustard Bread, was discovered by my friend David of Hearth Baked Tunes on a German bakers association website, in German of course, and proportioned for commercial bakers.

French Onion Soup

French onion soup is my all time favorite. I love the caramelized onion flavor, the toasted baguette croutons, and the gooey gruyere cheese on top. The beef broth is sweetly flavored with fresh thyme.

This soup is really tasty, looks elegant, and the base can can be made in advance, making it really easy to prepare for company. Why haven't I made this before (she says, smacking herself in the forehead)?

Thank goodness for Secret Recipe Club led by Sarah of Fantastical Sharing of Recipes, who works really hard to keep things going. It's a group of bloggers who are assigned another member's blog from which to choose a recipe to make once a month. We all reveal whom we had on the same day and at the same time. This was the impetus I needed to make my all time favorite soup.

My assigned blogger is Susan of Food, Baby, Life. She is raising three boys, all under 5 years old, and lives in Australia. She's actually been blogging for almost six years! Now that she is a mom, she likes to cook healthy, but I'll forgive her for that (just kidding Susan!). She also has been an avid Tuesdays with Dorie baker. Just check out her Recipe Index.

I immediately chose Susan's French Onion Soup, and I'm so glad I did. Delicious!

French Onion Soup Recipe

Adapted from Food, Baby, Life, who adapted it from Taste.com 

Serves 6 to 8 as a starter, and 4 to 6 as a main course. 

Ingredients

6 T unsalted butter

4 very large brown onions, peeled and sliced crossways into rings

3 garlic cloves, sliced and crushed

1 tsp sugar

3 T all purpose flour

1/2 C dry red wine

6 C beef stock

1 bouquet garni (a few sprigs of thyme, parsley, and bay leaves tied together or wrapped in cheesecloth)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 good baguette, sliced on the diagonal in 1/2 inch slices

1 to 2 cups of freshly grated gruyere cheese (depending on how gooey you want your cheese to be. Next time, I'm adding more =)

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a large (6 to 8 quart) saucepan or saute pan over medium heat. 
2. Add the onions and garlic and sprinkle with the sugar. Cook, stirring regularly, until the onions are soft and a medium golden color, about 30 minutes (I veered a bit from the original recipe here, and cooked the onions quite a bit longer)
3. Add the flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour is cooked through, about a minute or two. 
4. Add the wine, and cook for another minute or two. 
5. Add the broth and bouquet garni and bring the pot to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
6. Remove the bouquet garni and season with salt and pepper, to taste. 
7. Toast the baguette slices in a toaster, toaster oven, or under the broiler. If using the broiler, toast both sides. 
8. Place an oven rack about 6 to 8 inches below the broiler and turn it on. 
9. Fill broiler safe soup bowls or ramekins with the soup and top with two slices of the toasted baguette. Place a good handful of cheese in each bowl over the toast and soup. Place the bowls on a baking sheet, and broil for about a minute or two, until the cheese is melted and bubbly. If you don't have broiler safe bowls, you can sprinkle the toasts with the cheese, broil it, and place it on top of the soup. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Caramelized Onion and Shallot Braided Bread with Gruyere Cheese and Herbes de Provence

Caramelized onion and shallot braided bread with Gruyere cheese and herbes de Provence. Seriously good bread.

This is a "mock" braid that can be filled with a number of sweet or savory flavors.

For this filling, I used a large red onion and six large shallots, along with dried herbes de Provence. The aroma from the herbes and the onions while they were cooking made me very happy.

If you don't  have herbes de Provence (typically a blend of tarragon, savory, sage, thyme, fennel, dill, chervil, marjoram, rosemary, and basil), you could substitute any number of fresh or dried herbs.

I spread some Dijon mustard down the center of dough, piled on the caramelized onions and shallots, and then topped the onions with about six ounces of Gruyere cheese. After wrapping the filling in the dough with a mock braid, I sprinkled a little more cheese and herbs down the center of the dough.

This bread is wonderful fresh from the oven with a salad and/or soup.

For a sweet version of this bread, be sure to try Lemon Braided Bread with Blackberries. 

To find other versions of this bread, as well as step-by-step photos for braiding the bread, check out Katie's post at Thyme for Cooking. 

She is the Kitchen of the Month for the Bread Baking Babes. On her post, there are links for multiple versions of this bread from the rest of the Bread Baking Babes. I'm baking along as a buddy, and this is my take on this wonderful bread.

Caramelized Onion and Shallot Braided Bread with Gruyere Cheese and Herbes de Provence

Ingredients

Dough

455 grams (3 1/2 C) unbleached all purpose flour

2 1/4 tsp instant yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 1/4 tsp salt

1/2 C water

1/4 C milk

1/4 C vegetable oil

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

Filling and Topping

1 T butter

1 T olive oil

1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced

6 large shallots, thinly sliced

1 tsp sugar

1 T herbes de Provence, plus more for sprinkling (mine is from The Spice House)

6 ounces grated Gruyere cheese, plus another ounce for sprinkling

1 T Dijon mustard

1 egg, beaten with 1 T water

Instructions

1. Whisk the dry ingredients of the bread in the bowl of a stand mixer. 
2. Whisk the water, milk, eggs, and egg whites together in a bowl and add to the dry ingredients. 
3. Mix with the dough hook for about 10 minutes on medium low speed.
4. Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise until doubled, about an hour.
5. While the dough is rising, prepare the onion filling. In a 12 inch skillet, melt the butter and olive oil. 
6. Add the onions, shallots, and sugar, and cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add the herbs and continue to cook, stirring regularly, for about 20 minutes more, until caramelized.
7. When the dough has doubled, place it on a piece of baking sheet sized piece of parchment paper. 
8. Roll it out to a 12 inch by 11 inch rectangle.
9. Spread the mustard lengthwise in the middle of the dough into a 3 inch line.
10. Spread the onion mixture over the mustard. 
11. Sprinkle the 6 ounces of cheese over the onion mixture. 
12. Using a sharp knife, make diagonal 1 inch cuts on both sides of the stripe of onion and cheese mixture. 
13. Lift the parchment with the loaf onto a baking sheet. 
14. Fold the ends over the filling, and then fold the strips over the filling, alternating from both sides, so that the top of the dough looks like a braid. 
15. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
16. Cover the loaf loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled, about 30 to 40 minutes. 
17. Brush the top of the loaf with the egg wash.
18. Sprinkle the center of the braid with about an ounce of grated Gruyere.
19. Sprinkle the top of the cheese lightly with herbes de Provence. 
20. Bake the loaf for about 45 minutes, until nicely browned and the center registers about 190 degrees F. 
21. Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm, or cool completely and wrap in foil to serve later.

Inspired by Canadian Living

Sharing with Yeastspotting. 

Mustard and Gruyere Batons

Welcome to Day #4 of Appetizer Week, a multi-blogger event co-hosted by Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic. With the big football game coming up, we wanted to make sure you had plenty of ideas for your game day spread. Each day we will be dishing up a different set of appetizers. We hope you enjoy this fabulous group of recipes. Tune in each day starting with Monday, January 20 and ending on Saturday, January 25. Lots of great prizes will be up for grabs so you do not want to miss one single day. Follow #AppetizerWeek on Twitter to keep up to date with all our amazing recipes and giveaways!

These Mustard and Gruyere batons are super easy. They are made from frozen puff pastry, and can be assembled and refrigerated a day in advance. Trust me, they are delicious, and very elegant.

Mustard and Gruyere Batons

Makes 10 to 12 batons. Adapted from Ina Garten's Foolproof, which was inspired by Dorie Greenspan's Around my French Table. 

Ingredients

Flour for dusting your working surface

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed overnight in the refrigerator

3 T Dijon mustard

1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water

3 ounces Gruyere, grated

2 T freshly grated Parmesan

Sea salt

Instructions

1. With a floured rolling pin, roll the unfolded puff pastry sheet out onto a floured board to 11 x 13 inches. 
2. Brush half of the sheet with the mustard, brush the edges with the egg wash, and fold the top over and press the edges together. 
3. Chill in a sheet pan for 15 minutes in the refrigerator.
4. Move the pastry back to the board, and cut the pastry into 1 inch by 6 inch strips with a sharp knife or pizza wheel. 
5. Place the batons on a parchment lined baking sheet making sure they are not touching.
6. Brush the egg wash and sprinkle with the Gruyere and Parmesan. Sprinkle with sea salt. 
7. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator overnight. 
8. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and bake the batons for about 18 minutes. 
9. Serve warm (they can be reheated). 

Visit all the other Appetizer Week blogs for more amazing recipes:

• BBQ Flavored Popcorn by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Bacon Wrapped Smokies with Brown Sugar by What's Cooking, Love?
• Mini Chicken Tacos by Clarks Condensed
• Spiced Nuts by My Catholic Kitchen
• Baked Sriracha Bites by Organized Island
• Mini Pita Pizzas by Home Cooking Memories
• Slow Cooker Salsa Pulled Chicken Sliders by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Green Hummus by Mom's Test Kitchen
• Pickled Pepper and Pepperoni Puff Pastry Pizza/Pinwheels by Farm Fresh Feasts
• Baby Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto by Food Lust People Love
• Crispy Baked Green Bean Fries by Dizzy Busy and Hungry
• Low Carb Monster Fingers by Yours and Mine are Ours