French Onion Soup

 

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Start to Finish: 12 Hours

 

Ingredients

· 3 tablespoons butter or margarine

· 7 medium onions (about 2.5 pounds), each cut lengthwise in half and thinly sliced

· .25 teaspoon salt

· 4 cups water

· 1 can (14.5 ounces) vegetable broth (1.75 cups)

· .25 teaspoon dried thyme

· 4 slices (.5 inch thick) French bread

· 4 ounces Gruyère or Swiss cheese, shredded (1 cup)

 

Steps

1. In a 12-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are very tender and begin to caramelize, about 45 minutes. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring often, until onions are deep golden brown, about 15 minutes longer.

2. Transfer onions to 3-quart saucepan. Add .5 cups of water to skillet; heat to boiling over high heat, stirring until browned bits are loosened from bottom of pan. Pour into saucepan with onions. Add broth, thyme, and remaining water; heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until onions are very tender, about 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450°F. Place bread slices on small cookie sheet; bake until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes.

4. Place four 2.5-cup oven-safe bowls in 15.5” by 10.5” jelly-roll pan. Spoon onion soup into bowls; top with toasted bread, pressing toast lightly into soup. Sprinkle toast with cheese. Bake until cheese melts and begins to brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

 

From: Vegetarian Meatless Recipes Everyone will Love
By: Good Housekeeping,
Hearst Communications

 

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookie Pizza

 

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Start to Finish: 1 hour 30 minutes
12 servings: 440 calories each
 
Ingredients
· 1 roll (16.5 oz.) Pillsbury Create ‘n Bake refrigerated chocolate chip cookies
· 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
· .5 cup creamy peanut butter
· 1 cup powdered sugar
· .25 cup milk
· 1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed
· .75 cup hot fudge topping
· .25 cup chopped peanuts
 
Steps
· Heat oven to 350°F .
· In ungreased 12-inch pizza pan, break up cookie dough into pieces. With floured fingers, press out dough evenly in bottom of pan of form crust. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
· Meanwhile, in medium bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, powered sugar and milk until smooth. Fold in whipped topping.
· Spread .5 cup of the fudge topping over cooled crust. Spread peanut butter mixture over top. Drizzle with remaining .25 cup fudge topping. Sprinkle with peanuts. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until serving time. Cut into wedges or squares.
 
From: Pizza Night! Top it, Stuff it, Twist it - The Easy Way to go With Refrigerated Dough 
By: Pillsbury,
Wiley Publishing, Inc.

 

Funny Bones

 

Ingredients

· 1 (12-ounce) package white chocolate chips (2 cups)

· 36 pretzel sticks and rods of various sizes

· 72 mini-marshmallows (about 1 cup)

 

Steps

1) Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or wax paper

2) Place the chips in a double boiler over just-simmering water and melt, stirring frequently. As soon as the chips are just melted (there may even be a few solid ones left), remove the pan from the heat and remove the top section of the double boiler so the chocolate's temperature doesn't keep rising.

3)  tick marshmallows onto both ends of the pretzels, with the marshmallows' flat sides parallel to the pretzel.

4) Dip each pretzel in the chocolate and lift out with a fork, letting the excess drip back in the bowl. Lay the bones on the baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes to harden the chocolate. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or at a cool room temperature. 

From: Ghoulish Goodies: creature feature cupcakes, monster eyeballs, bat wings, funny bones, witches’ knuckles, and much more

By: Sharon Bowers

 

National Chocolate Day

Every year National Chocolate Day falls on October 28th. Pretzels, strawberries, cakes, ice cream, frosting, breads, and more: there’s no wrong way to eat chocolate!  Lucky for you, BPL has a variety of chocolate-themed cookbooks to help you celebrate this delicious holiday! Some titles that we recommend include Everything Chocolate : a Decadent Collection of Morning Pastries, Nostalgic Sweets, and Showstopping Desserts; Crazy About Chocolate : More Than 200 Delicious Recipes to Enjoy and Share by Krystina Castella; and Hot Cocoa Comfort: 50 Recipes for Comforting Cups of Chocolate by Michael Turback. Any of these titles can be placed on hold through our website. At BPL, we take this holiday very seriously; stop in during our regular business hours on October 28th. Enjoy a chocolate-themed guessing jar, a kissing booth where we’ll be handing out chocolate kisses, free hot chocolate, staff members dressed as M&M’s, and more!

Gluten-Free Chocolate-Glazed Doughnuts

 

Doughnuts
· 2 ounces dark (70% cacao or higher) chocolate, roughly chopped
· 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
· 3 tablespoons coconut oil
· 2 cups almond flour
· 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
· 1 teaspoon baking power
· .5 teaspoon baking soda
· .5 teaspoon kosher salt
· .25 teaspoon espresso powder
· 2 large eggs
· .25 cup heavy cream
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 
Ganache
· 2 ounces (70% cacao or higher) dark chocolate, chopped
· .25 cup heavy cream

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 12-doughnut pan or two 6-doughnut pans with cooking spray. 6-doughnut pans with cooking spray.
2. Make the doughnuts: In a saucepan, bring 1 inch water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, set a heatproof bowl over the saucepan (make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the hot water), md add the chocolate, butter, and coconut oil. Stir until completely melted and smooth, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
3. In a large bowl, whisk to combine the almond flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder.
   
4. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the eggs, maple syrup, cream, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula to combine.
5. Divide the batter among the doughnut molds, filling each halfway full. Bake until the doughnuts are puffed and beginning to crack, about 12 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and set aside to cool for about 5 minutes. When the pan is cool enough to handle, turn the doughnuts out onto a cooling rack while you make the ganache
6. Make the ganache: Place the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a strong simmer over medium-high heat. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and set aside for 3 minutes to melt. Whisk until the mixture is completely smooth and then let it stand at room temperature for 20 minutes to slightly thicken.
   
7. Dip the top half of each doughnut into the ganache and place on the cooling rack to drip and set. These doughnuts are best when really fresh, but they keep overnight stored in an airtight container.

From Fix It with Food
by Michael Symon and Douglas Trattner

Bodega Sandwich

 

Ingredients
· 6 slices bacon
· 2 Kaiser rolls, sliced as for a sandwich
· 4 large eggs
· Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
· 4 slices American or Swiss cheese
 
Steps
1) Heat a large, heavy-bottom skillet or cast-iron pan over high heat until hot, then add the bacon and cook until golden brown and crisp, adjusting the temperature if necessary so that it doesn’t get burned. If it burns, start over. Using a spatula or tongs, remove the bacon to the lined plate. Open the Kaiser rolls, and place them facedown on the griddle for 2 minutes to warm through and absorb some of that bacon grease. Remove them and park 3 slices of bacon inside each roll.
2) Crack the eggs into a medium mixing bowl, season with salt and pepper, and beat well. You’re not making scrambled eggs here, you’re making a kind of value-neutral omelet, so don’t worry about retaining big curds in the pan. Cook the eggs in the hot bacon grease until cooked through. Top with the cheese, distributed in an even layer, and let cook until slightly melty. Remove the eggs and divide them evenly among the rolls, folding and chopping as necessary. Close the sandwiches, wrap in foil for portability, and serve with shitty coffee.
 
 
From: Appetites
By; Anthony Bourdain with Laurie Woolever

 

Pasta Alla Villana

 

Ingredients

· 4.5 cups (1 lb.) spiral pasta

· 10.5 oz. fresh asparagus

· 2 tbsp. oil

· 4 oz. sliced, smoked ham, cut in thin strips

· 2 chopped garlic cloves

· .75-1 cup vegetable stock

· .75 cup pitted black olives

· .5 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped

· 2 tbsp. chopped fresh marjoram

· 2 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme

· salt and freshly ground pepper

· Fresh marjoram, to garnish

1) Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water according to the package instructions. While it is still cooking, peel the lower third of each asparagus spear and cut the spears into approximately 1-inch lengths.

2) Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Sauté the ham, garlic, and asparagus. Add the stock, cover, and cook for about 5 minutes. Then add the olives, tomatoes, herbs, and drained pasta. Toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3) Serve warm or cold. Garnished with marjoram.

(There are many different types of spiral-shaped pasta such as fusilli,
radiator, and rotini. Any will be delicious in this recipe).

From 500 Salads The Only Salad Compendium You’ll Ever Need
by Susannah Blake/Sellers Publishing, LLC.

Violet's Staff Pick

Children’s Assistant, Violet, chose Disney Villains: Devilishly Delicious Cookbook by Julie Tremaine as this month’s staff pick. Besides being Disney’s biggest fan, she said that she likes this book because it “is perfect for the Halloween season or a themed movie night!” This book was recently published in July 2021 and received 4.3 out of 5 stars from Goodreads and even higher from Target. A recipe from this book that the BPL staff found particularly punny was “Poor Unfortunate Rolls,” Ursula themed, of course. If you’re looking for cute, and slightly comical recipes, this is the book for you! This title can be found in the Adult Department under the call number “641.5 Tre”.

Baklava

 

Ingredients

· 1/4 cup water

· 1/2 cup sugar

· 1/2 cup rose water

· 12 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

· 1/4 cup goat cheese

· 1 cup store-bought baklava, coarsely chopped

 

Steps

1) In a small saucepan, bring the water, sugar, and sugar, and rose water to a boil. Turn the heat to low and gently simmer for 7 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

2) Combine the cream cheese, goat cheese, and 1/4 cup rose water syrup in a bowl. With an electric mixer, beat on medium speed until combined. Taste and add more rose water syrup, 1 tbsp. at a time, if you like, and beat until combined. Form the mixture into a ball and refrigerate until set.

3) About 30 minutes before serving, remove the chilled cheese ball from the fridge. Spread the baklava onto a rimmed plate. Roll the ball in the baklava, pressing it firmly into the ball, until completely covered. Let soften at room temperature for 30 minutes. Serve with almond cookies, pecan cookies, or sesame crackers.

 

From: Cheese Balls: 40 celebratory and cheese-licious recipes

By: Dena Rayess

Chronicle Books

 

Sauce-and-Meatballs Mac and Cheese with Burrata

 

Meatballs

· 1 large egg, lightly beaten

· ¹⁄₈ tsp red pepper flake

· ¹⁄₂ tsp kosher salt

· ¹⁄₂ tsp fennel seed

· ¹⁄₂ slice fresh white or sourdough bread, torn into very small pieces

· 1 oz aged asiago cheese, finely grated

· 8 oz ground pork

· ¹⁄₄ cup ricotta cheese, drained if watery

 

Mac and Cheese

· 8 oz large elbow macaroni

· 8 oz burrata cheese, cut into bite-size pieces*

· 2 cup canned tomato sauce

· ¹⁄₄ tsp cayenne pepper

· 6 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into bite-size pieces

· 6 oz Taleggio cheese, rind removed and cut into bite-size pieces

· 1 cup whole or reduced-fat milk

· 2 cup heavy cream

· ¹⁄₄ cup all-purpose flour

· 2 Tbsp salted butter

· 1 tsp kosher salt

· 1 Tbsp kosher salt

 

For the meatballs:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat it with a thin layer of olive oil.

Measure out 1/2 the beaten egg and discard it or reserve for another use. In a medium bowl, whisk the ricotta and the remaining egg together until
combined.

Put the remaining meatball ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix with your hands or, if you prefer, a wooden spoon. Be careful not to overmix or the meatballs will be tough. Add the egg mixture and stir to combine.

Using about 1 teaspoon of the mixture at a time, form the balls in your hand (you may need to put a little olive oil on your hands to keep the mixture from sticking too much). You want the meatballs to be just ½-inch in diameter. Place them on the prepared baking sheet.

Cook the meatballs in the oven for 10-12 minutes, stirring once or twice, until they are well browned but not hard. Remove from the oven and set aside. Turn the oven down to 375 degrees.

For the mac and cheese:

Butter an 8-inch square (1½-quart) baking dish or pan (or six 8-ounce ramekins). Set aside.

Fill a 4- to 5-quart pot about 3/4 full with water and add 1 tablespoon of the salt. Bring to a boil and add the pasta. Cook, stirring once or twice, until tender but firm, 6-8 minutes, and drain.

Using the same pot you used to cook the pasta, melt the butter over medium heat. Slowly whisk in the flour and stir constantly until a paste forms, 30-45 seconds. Continue stirring for 1-2 minutes more, until the mixture starts to darken slightly and smell a bit nutty. Slowly whisk in the cream, milk, and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt and cook until the mixture starts to thicken and is just beginning to bubble around the edges, 5-7 minutes. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Add the Taleggio, mozzarella, and cayenne. Stir until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth but not too runny. It should be similar in texture to cake batter. If it’s soupy, continue cooking until it thickens. Add the pasta and meatballs and stir to combine.

To assemble, spread about 1 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of the pan. Pour the pasta
mixture into the pan. Pour the remaining tomato sauce on top of the pasta and top with the burrata. Place the dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until bubbling and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes before serving.

From Mac & Cheese, Please! 50 Super Cheesy Recipes
by Laura Werlin/Andrews McMeel
Publishing, LLC.