Marion Cunningham, renowned for her revision of the The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, turns her attention to the novice cook. Cunningham's passion for simple, home-cooked dishes, along with her extensive teaching experience, is evident on every page. In Learning to Cook, 150 recipes and 100 color photos are woven through 11 chapters with tempting titles like "Soup for Supper," "Easy Fish," "Meals Without Meat," and "Thank Goodness for Chicken." Cunningham's recipes
If you have never thought of the oven as your friend, this onion soup will convince you. Slide the bowl into the oven and after 30 minutes, stir for a moment, cover, and ignore it for 2 1/2 hours. The oven quietly does the work. The last step will take about 6 minutes, and you will have the best onion soup you have ever tasted.
About 8 cups
5 medium-size yellow onions
5 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick plus 1 tablespoon)
1 1/2 cups plus 1/2 cup water
4 cups milk
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Pepper to taste (optional)
Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
Peeling and Chopping the Onions: Cut the onions into slices 1/8 inch thick. Put the onions into a 3-quart casserole with a lid. Or you can use a Pyrex bowl, covering the top snugly with aluminum foil during cooking.
Adding the Butter and Water: Cut the butter into small bits and dot it over the onions. Put the lid on the casserole, or crimp aluminum foil snugly on top of the mixing bowl. Put the casserole or bowl into the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Now remove the cover and stir the onions so the butter coats all the onion. Cover again, return the dish to the oven, and bake for 2 1/2 hours.
After 2 1/2 hours, add the 1 1/2 cups of water, stir, cover again, and bake for another 45 minutes.
Just before the onions finish baking, put the milk into a good-size pot and turn the heat to medium-high.
Put the flour and the 1/2 cup of water into a jar with a lid, screw on the lid, and shake vigorously until the flour and water are well mixed.
Stay right by the stove and watch the milk. Heat it just short of boiling, called scalding. It's ready when you see a ring of tiny bubbles form around the edge. At that point, pour the flour and water into the milk and stir briskly until blended smoothly together. Add the salt, and cook, stirring, for 4 or 5 minutes, until the flour blends and thickens the milk. This will give your soup a pleasing texture, like heavy cream.
Remove the casserole from the oven, set it on a heatproof counter, and pour the milk over the onions. Stir to mix. Taste for salt and add if needed. Stir again and serve hot.
