tipsy carbs

My staunchly Baptist nanny eschews alcohol without a second thought. And yet, she recently gave me a recipe for a dish that includes an ENTIRE CAN OF BEER.

(tsk, tsk, Nanny. I'm e-mailing your Sunday School teacher to alert him to your sinful ways!)

Now, she might insist that a 400-degree oven blasts away any trace of mind-altering substance, but I think we both know she's living large. Pushing the limits. Dangling off a precipice. And all under the guise of "beer bread."

This stuff is quite delicious and extraordinarily easy, though of course, if you prepare it, it means a trip to the liquor store. And in Smith County, where Nanny's from, it means a trip over the county line. (See how devoted she is to this supposedly innocent food?) But it's divinely buttery and redolent of a sweet, yeasty taste that will have you coming back for more.

Non-Alcoholic Beer Bread

3 cups self-rising flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 can beer (we like Shinerbock)

Mix ingredients; it'll be sticky. Spray pan, pour in dough, bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Pour 1/4 cup melted butter over top. Bake 15 more minutes. Yummmmmm.

soupe a l'oignon

I’ve been spending some time getting back to my beloved French roots… in the kitchen, at any rate. I’ve been slightly terrified of trying to make my own onion soup -- it’s one of those delicious, hearty French staples that is so classic, and so terribly emblematic of simple, French country cuisine. Hence the terror.

And yet, one unseasonably chilly evening I spilled a quantity of multicolored onions on the counter and got to slicin’. My eyes were pouring by the time I finished, and I had nothing more than a general idea of what to do to make these piquant crescents into a salty, rich soup, but I threw them in a big silver pot, convinced their natural onion goodness would prevail.

It actually worked, too!

Thrown-Together Onion Soup

8-9 onions (yellow, purple and white)
4 cups chicken broth*
4 cups beef broth*
2 cups water
Plenty of S&P
A splash of white wine and Worcestershire

*best if homemade!

Strip, slice and caramelize the onions in a hot pot smooth with olive oil. Pour broth, water and spices over the onions, and bring to a low boil. Simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Top with gruyere or swiss cheese, and serve with crusty bread.