Sandra Waugh's French Onion Soup

I first sampled this authentic French Canadian recipe (taught to me by an anglophone from Quebec) as a teenager. I had been out tobogganing with two of the Waugh children and about 15 other youths and the Waugh family had us all back to their home afterwards where Mrs. Waugh had cooked up a huge vat of this soup. It was delicious!

Mrs. Waugh graciously shared her recipe with me, and it has been in high demand at my dinner parties ever since.



Ingredients:

• 3 huge Spanish-type onions
  
• 1/4 cup butter
  
• 1.8 litres beef broth
  
• 1 garlic
  
• 1 bunch spring onions
  
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
  
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  
• freshly ground black pepper
  
• 1/2 cup dry wine
  
• freshly baked bread
  
• freshly grated mozzarella cheese
  
• freshly grated Swiss cheese

Directions:

Slice Spanish onions thinly.


Sauté onions in butter until onions turn soft and translucent.


Peel papery skins from garlic and slice cloves thinly.


Wash and slice spring onions.


Combine sautéed onions, garlic, spring onions, beef broth, corn starch, sugar and black pepper in a large, heavy-bottomed pan and heat to boiling, stirring frequently to combine flavours and keep the onions from burning on the bottom of your pot.

Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for one hour or more.
Add wine during last half hour of cooking.

To serve:

Place thick slices of fresh bread in the bottom of oven-proof bowls.
Pour soup over bread to fill bowls.
Top with grated cheeses.
Grill under the broiler for a few minutes to brown cheese.
Serve immediately (on a trivet or other heat proof mat!)

Smoked Salmon Pasta Bake

I was never a fan of "macaroni and cheese". Not as a child, nor as a starving student, nor a starving artist, nor a wilderness camper in the middle of Algonquin in the pouring rain with nothing else to eat. There's simply never been a time in my life when consuming those boxed dinners of macaroni noodles and powdered "cheese" product seemed like a good idea. When I recently came across Clever Karen's recipe for "Grown Up Mac n' Cheese" however, my eyes were opened to the potential of this (much-maligned-by-the-insta-food-industry) dish and I was inpired to try my own hand at a "macaroni & cheese" creation. This was the result.



Ingredients:

• 1 lb (dry weight) whole wheat rotini
  
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
  
• 1 cup tzatziki
  
• 150 g chèvre
  
• fresh dill
  
• 3/4 cup grated aged Cheddar cheese
  
• 3/4 cup grated Lancashire cheese
  
• 3/4 cup grated Montery Jack cheese with hot pepper flakes
  
• 3/4 cup grated Swiss cheese
  
• 200 g smoked salmon, torn into small pieces
  
• freshly grated parmesan

Directions:

Cook pasta until al dente.
Cream together ricotta, tzatziki and chèvre in a large bowl.
Stir in Cheddar, Lancashire, Jack & Swiss cheeses and dill.
Add pasta and salmon to cheese mixture and combine well.
Transfer contents to a large lasagna pan or other oven-proof dish.
Cover with foil and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.
Remove foil, top with grated parmesan and bake uncovered for a further 10 minutes.
Serve warm.