i've been craving a bowl of french onion soup since going to Mon Ami Gabi a month ago (remember my bowl of french onion in my 7 simple things post here). instead of going out and getting some, i decided to try and make my own. i searched everywhere for Mon Ami Gabi's recipe on the internet but had no luck.. i did come across this french onion soup recipe from Balthazar's restaurant in NYC. after a quick trip to market, i started the prepping at 7pm and by 9:45pm the soup was ready to serve. the recipe is made to serve 6 bowls.. which was exactly what mine came to. I will say it fulfilled the craving! although i don't think you can go wrong with a soup topped with toasted bread and melted cheese:) i'd definitely use this recipe again.

all you need:

* 1/4 cup olive oil

*4 medium yellow onion, peeled, halved through the stem end, and sliced 1/4 inch thick

*1 tablespoon unsalted butter

*1 garlic clove, peeled, and thinly sliced

*4 sprigs of thyme (unfortunately i forget this ingredient at the store)

*1 tablespoon salt

*1/4 freshly ground white pepper

*3/4 cup dry white wine

*2 quarts of chicken stock

*6 slices of country bread, toasted

*2 cups of gruyere cheese, coarsely grated

click below for the full recipe:

Balthazar's French Onion Soup

I went to a farmers market this past weekend and picked up a bunch of beautiful red and green peppers. I've been craving my dad's favorite recipe for stuffed peppers (taken from Cook's Illustrated with Julia Collin). This was my first time making them myself, and definitely not my last! A real simple recipe that did not take long at all. We had enough stuffed peppers for days!

you will need //

4-6 medium red or green peppers, trim off tops, cores, and seeds discarded.

2 cups of long-grain white rice

1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup)

12 ounces of ground beef

1 tablespoon of minced garlic

1 can (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained, 1/4 juice reserved

1 cup of ketchup

1 1/2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese

*Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and bell peppers. Cook until peppers begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Remove peppers from pot, drain off and place peppers cut-sides up in 9-inch square baking dish.

*Return water to boil; add in rice and cook until tender (about 13 minutes). Drain rice and transfer to large bowl.

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, heat a 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until hot, add oil and swirl to coat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add ground beef and cook, breaking beef into small pieces with spoon, until no longer pink. Stir in garlic.

*Transfer mixture to bowl with rice, stir in tomatoes, 1 cup of cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir together ketchup and reserved tomato juice in small bowl.

*Divide filling evenly among peppers. Spoon 2 tablespoons ketchup mixture over each filled pepper and sprinkle each with spoon full of remaining cheese.

*Bake until cheese is browned on top - about 25 to 30 minutes.

enjoy:)