My Husband's Special Birthday Meal

My husband just celebrated his birthday, it's a tradition that we make each other a meal for our birthdays. I gave my husband some options and he decided on Rustic French Onion Soup for his dinner and for dessert Bacon Bourbon Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

This french onion soup is a very simple (there was some tears shed but only from slicing the onion :)) and very tasty recipe. I was a little worried it wouldn't come out good because I'm use to making french onion soups with more herbs. This one used simple ingredients and still turned out fantastic, even the next day!

Rustic French Onion Soup:


Ingredients:
Serves 8
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 lbs medium yellow onions (about 5), thinly sliced
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
8 cups Beef Stock
2 cups local dry red wine
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
2 cups cubed baguette, toasted
41/2 cups shredded Gruyère cheese (about 1 lb)
2 tsp minced fresh thyme

Directions:
In a large, heavy pot, heat butter and oil over medium-low heat. Add onions, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 20 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add sugar and salt; sauté, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot, until onions are softened and a deep, rich brown, about 15 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium, sprinkle with flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes. Gradually whisk in 2 cups of the stock, then add the remaining stock and wine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer for about 30 minutes to blend the flavors. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary.
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Divide baguette cubes among 8 individual ovenproof bowls. Fill bowls with onion soup and sprinkle each with a thick layer of cheese. Set bowls on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake until cheese is browned, about 8 minutes. Garnish with thyme.

We left out the thyme, only because we forgot and were so hungry from smelling the wonderful aroma all afternoon, we couldn't wait to eat. We also used red cooking wine since it was all we had, it tasted great. My 7 year old daughter even enjoyed the soup both days with us she really loved the broth from it.




 My Husband is not a big fan of cakes so when I told him about the Bourbon Bacon Chocolate Chunk Cookies he was all for it. These cookies take a bit longer to make then the traditional chocolate chip cookies, but are a great spin on the traditional.

Bourbon Bacon Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 pound center cut thick bacon, 1/2-inch diced
2 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup reserved bacon fat, chilled
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tablespoons Bourbon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (I used Hershey's dark chocolate bars)

Directions:

In a large skillet, cook the bacon until the bacon pieces are golden brown and crisp. Remove the bacon from the skillet and onto a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Reserve the bacon fat in the pan. You'll need 1/2 cup of the bacon fat- spoon it into a 1/2 cup measuring cup and refrigerate it until it has solidified.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. In a separate large bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the butter, bacon fat, sugars, bourbon and vanilla. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Beat in the flour mixture. Then stir in the bacon and chocolate (hint: if you want your cookies to look really pretty, save a few bacon and chocolate pieces to add to the top of each cookie dough blob before baking). Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment or silpat-lined baking sheets- about 2 inches apart.
Bake 9 to 11 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned. Let stand on the cookie sheets for about 5 minutes, then remove the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days, or store in a covered container or zip bag in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.

The bacon fat gives the cookie a bacony flavor throughout however, if you don't want all the bacon flavor just the bacon bits in it, omit the bacon fat and replace with another 1/2 cup of butter (making it a full cup/one stick in the recipe instead). We found that if the bacon isn't crispy enough it turns out to be chewy, chewy wasn't bad but I feel it would of been better crispy, so make sure that you get your bacon nice and crispy. My husband, kids and I all enjoyed this cookie, it was a good change from the normal.

On my next post: Getting ready for the holidays, I'll have three different cranberry sauce recipes. Why buy the canned stuff when these recipes are easy and much tastier!