Pork & Cider Stew

This is one of the dishes I like to make the most. First, it is really easy and second, it has a unique combination of tastes. The onion, apple and sweet potatoes all combine to make special savor to it. The pepper adds a little bit of kick as do the sage and thyme. Overall, it is one of the best dishes I have ever made in a slow cooker.

Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes or yams
3 small parsnips or carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 cup chopped onion (one large onion)
2-lb boneless pork shoulder (stew meat)
1 large Granny Smith apple, cored, peeled and diced (most any apple will do)
1/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp each dried sage and thyme
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup apple cider or juice

Mix the sweet potatoes, parsnips, onion, pork and apple in the slow cooker. Stir flour, salt, sage, thyme and pepper in a small bowl to mix. Add cider. Stir until smooth and pour over meat and veggies.

Cover and cook on low 7 to 9 hours. I have never had it take that long. When pork and sweet potatoes are tender it is done!

Serve with some dark bread and butter. It is rather sweet, so wines are not good for this dish. Beer works better, something dark. This is great on a cold, rainy winter day in SE Alaska.

Lance's French Onion Soup

Lances Best in the World French Onion soup!!

I intended to save this for later, but a friend asked me to post this.

It is ironic that I am a maker of this soup, as I grew up hating onions. Well, as you can see, I got over it.

This recipe was taken from an old cookbook and adapted to my taste. It makes a great onion soup, one anyone can make and enjoy.

What you need:

6 oven proof bowls
5 or six medium sized yellow or white onions (not sweet onions)
a loaf of French bread...or any crusty bread
about a pound of Swiss Cheese
A bottle of good white wine...
6 cups of beef broth...you can make your own or use beef bouillon
vegetable cooking oil
butter or margarine
A large pot
A medium size pot
Salt and pepper
Sugar
A large ladle
A sharp knife
A corkscrew (If you are using wine that does not require a corkscrew you cant make this soup, so stop now!)
A stove with oven
4-6 hungry people

Start by cutting up the onions, not dicing, but leaving them in half rings or quarter rings. They don't have to be uniform, either. Next, prepare your beef broth, however you decide, bringing to just below boiling. While this is heating put about 2 tablespoons of oil and a big dollop of margarine or butter in the big pot. Add the onions, stirring and coating them. Stir them occasionally, until they are rather limp and transparent. while this is going on open the wine and pour a nice big glass...you didn't think it would all go in the soup did you?? Get the cheese out and grate it (the cheese goes good with the wine, too) The onions are done by now, so add 1 teaspoon of sugar, stirring some more.

By now the broth is hot. Add it to the onions and stir. Drink some more wine. Let it simmer covered for 20 minutes. Add 1/2 cup wine. Salt and pepper to taste. Uncover and simmer another 10 minutes. While you are waiting, cut the bread, butter it and get the bowls out. Pour yourself more wine. Eat some bread...with the cheese now, its great with the wine.

Using your ladle and much care, put the soup in the bowls. If you have had too much wine this can be tricky. Put a piece of bread on top of each bowl, then the cheese on top of that, making sure the bread gets soaked well. Place the bowls in the broiler, about 3 inches below the heat. Broil until the cheese bubbles.

Serve with the rest of the bread and white wine...you probably should have bought two bottles if you have company who likes wine. White Zinfandel goes great with the soup, too. Oh, you can double the recipe pretty easy, and I tripled it once...keep the sugar down, if you do. Everything else is pretty straight across the board...except the wine...only drink one bottle while preparing it.

Enjoy!