French Onion Soup

1 1/2 pounds red onions, peeled and halved
1/3 cup margarine or butter
3 cubes beef flavored bouillon
4 cups water
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 ounces Swiss Cheese, or Gruyere
1/4 loaf French bread

Slice onions, thinly. Melt butter in 2 quart Dutch oven. Slowly cook onions in butter until lightly browned, about 20 mins. Add Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper to soup. Stir. Add the wine and reduce to half. Add the boullion and the water and a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Shred the cheese. To serve soup, place a think slice of French bread into the bottom of each individual ovenware serving bowl. Ladle soup into bowls. Top with a thick layer of shredded cheese. Place under broiler or microwave until cheese melts.

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Great Chunky Tomato Soup

3 tablespoons butter
4 cups canned chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 medium onion -- peeled
1 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh dill -- washed and snipped into small bits with the shears
6 large ripe tomatoes -- washed, and cored
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar

On a cutting board, dice the onion and tomatoes with a serrated knife.

Heat butter in a medium-sized pan and sauté the onion until transparent, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, 1/3 cup of the dill, sugar, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Lower the beat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve hot. Ladle into soup bowls and top with a spoonful of yogurt. Sprinkle with remaining fresh dill.

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Garlic-Potato Soup

**5 heads of garlic

Remove outer skin from garlic heads (do not peel or separate cloves). Wrap each head separately in aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour; let cool for 10 minutes. Separate cloves, and squeeze to extract 1/4 cup of garlic pulp; discard the skins.

2 slices bacon, diced
1 cup onion, diced
1 cup carrot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups diced Idaho potato peeled
4 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Cook bacon in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until crisp. Add onion, carrot, and minced garlic, and sauté 5 minutes. Add potato, broth, salt, pepper, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender; remove bay leaf.

Combine garlic pulp and 2 cups potato mixture in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Return puree to pan; stir in milk and butter, and cook over low heat until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat, and stir in chopped parsley.

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N.E.Clam Chowder

2 slices of bacon
1 onion, chopped
1 cup of celery and leaves, chopped
1/2 tablespoon of flour
2 cups of fish stock
2 medium potatoes, diced
1 teaspoon of my dry rub seasoning
1 cup of milk
1 cup of whipping cream
2 six-and-a-half-ounce cans of chopped clams

Fry bacon in a large saucepan. When it's crisp, take out the bacon. Put the onion and celery into the bacon crease and saute til it's translucent. Stir in the flour, then pour in the fish stock and stir til it's thickened. Dump in the potatoes and seafood seasoning, bring to a boil, cover, turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the milk, cream, clams, and clam liquid, then take it off the fire til you're ready to serve it. When it's time to eat, heat through, ladle into big bowls, and crumble the bacon on top.

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Won Ton Soup

Won-Ton Soup:

3 wontons, uncooked (see below)
1 1/2 cups Vegetable Stock
dash Pepper
dash Salt
1/2 Tb Soy Sauce
2 drops Sesame Oil
green Onion, diced (optional)
Mushroom, diced (optional)

Simmer stock. Boil water. Add wontons. Boil for 1 minute. Drain. Combine stock, wontons, pepper, salt, soy sauce, sesame oil, onions and mushrooms.

Note: This is for one serving. Increase accordingly.

Vegetarian Won-Tons

2 Tb Water
1 Tb Rice Wine
2 Tb Soy Sauce
2 ts Cornstarch
1 ts ground Ginger
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 md Carrot, finely shredded
1/2 cup fresh Bean Sprouts, chopped
1/2 lb Tofu, minced fine (replaces beef/pork)
Salt
Onion Powder
Oil for deep frying
64 Wonton Wrappers

Directions: Mix water, wine, soy sauce and cornstarch in a bowl. Heat 1 Tb oil in wok over medium-high heat (add more as needed during cooking). Stir-fry ginger and garlic in hot oil for 30 seconds. Add carrot and sprouts; stir fry for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from wok. Heat 1 Tb oil in wok. Add tofu. Stir fry. Remove. Stir sauce; pour into center of wok. Cook and stir until bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Return tofu and vegetables to wok. Stir to coat with sauce. Remove. Salt to taste. Cool. Fill wonton wrappers with mixture and wrap.

Heat 1 1/2 to 2 inches cooking oil in wok or pan to medium-high. Fry, a few at a time, in hot oil until golden, turning once. Remove from oil. Drain on paper towels. Keep warm in a 300 degree oven while frying remaining food. Serve warm with sweet-and-sour sauce or Chinese mustard.

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Yellow Pepper Soup

1/8 cup olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoons capers, rinsed
pinch of red pepper flakes, or to taste
2 large yellow bell peppers, cored, seeded, and cut into big pieces
pinch of salt
1 cups vegetable or beef stock

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until golden, stirring often--for about 10 minutes. Add 1 Tablespoon of capers and the red pepper flakes, and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring often. Add yellow peppers and salt, cover, and cook 10 minutes, shaking often. Add stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes--until the peppers are soft.

Puree the mixture, then strain back into the saucepan. To hold, refrigerate at this point. When ready to serve, warm up over low heat, ladle into bowls, garnish each with a few capers, and serve.