Onion Soup with Scallion and Gruyere Croutons

3 large yellow onions, halved and sliced (pole to pole)
3 red onions, halved and sliced
6 shallots, halved and sliced
3 leeks (white parts only), halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise
3 cups scallions (greens reserved for croutons), sliced
1 large garlic clove, minced
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 750ml bottle red wine
1 small bunch thyme (12 sprigs) cut into 4" lengths
6 quarts beef stock, homemade or low-sodium canned
1 baguette, sliced into 1/2-inch coins
1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

In a 12-quart stockpot, saute the onions, shallots, leeks, scallion
whites, garlic and a heavy pinch of salt in 2 tablespoons oil until
the onions begin to caramelize. Deglaze with red wine. Add the
thyme and stock to the pot. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat
to low, and simmer for at least 1 hour. Adjust the seasoning with
salt and pepper.

While the soup is simmering, preheat the oven to broil. Toss the
bread coins with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and place flat on
a sheet pan. Toss the scallion greens with the Gruyere, and top
each coin with the mixture. Bake on a rack in the middle of the
oven for 3 minutes and then transfer to the broiler to lightly
brown the tops. The cheese should be bubbly. Ladle the soup into
bowls and top with croutons.

Serves 6-8

Red Pepper Aioli

Ingredients:

1 red bell pepper
3 cloves garlic
1 egg yolk
¼-cup champagne vinegar
Juice from 1/2 lime
2-1/2 cups grapeseed oil
¼-cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions:


Roast pepper over open flame until charred on all sides.

Place in container and cover with plastic wrap and let cool for two hours.

Remove skin and seeds from pepper without rinsing in water.

Place in blender with egg yolk, vinegar, lime juice and salt and pepper.

Puree first then slowly add all the oil.

Re-season and chill.

Red Pepper Aioli

Ingredients:

1 red bell pepper
3 cloves garlic
1 egg yolk
¼-cup champagne vinegar
Juice from 1/2 lime
2-1/2 cups grapeseed oil
¼-cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions:


Roast pepper over open flame until charred on all sides.

Place in container and cover with plastic wrap and let cool for two hours.

Remove skin and seeds from pepper without rinsing in water.

Place in blender with egg yolk, vinegar, lime juice and salt and pepper.

Puree first then slowly add all the oil.

Re-season and chill.

Valentines day cocktails

The Lover Recipe
Channel the erotic spirit, passion and lust of Casanova with an amorous aperitif from the coast of Amalfi.

Ingredients:

1 bottle chilled Prosecco
1/2 oz. Limoncello
1/2 oz. vodka
1/2 oz. Cointreau
Dash of grenadine, for color
Maraschino cherry

Preparation:

In a shaker of ice, pour Limoncello, vodka and Cointreau and shake for 20 seconds. Pour this medley into a tall fluted glass. Fill the rest of the glass with Prosecco. Add a touch of grenadine and stir gently.

Drop a maraschino cherry into the glass, serve and repeat:

"Love sought is good, but given unsought is better." — Shakespeare, Twelfth Night




Chocolate-Covered-Cherry Cocktail



Ingredients:

1 oz. Baileys Irish Cream
1 oz. Kahlúa
Dashes maraschino syrup
Chocolate-covered cherry

Tools:

Rocks glass
Shaker
Strainer

Fill a shaker half full of ice. Add 1 oz. Bailey's, 1 oz. Kahlúa and a few dashes maraschino syrup. Shake and strain over new ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with a chocolate-covered cherry.




Almond Joy Martini



Almond Joy Martini
This adults-only drink tastes like an Almond Joy candy bar, with a mixture of chocolate vodka, hazelnut liqueur and coconut rum.

Ingredients:

1 oz. chocolate vodka
1 oz. Frangelico
1 oz. coconut rum

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake until well blended, then strain into a chilled martini glass.