Another relaxing day...

We had another morning to sleep in together. Then we ventured to Giant Eagle to get essential groceries (and Erik then vowed never to go again when the church crowd was present). While we watched some of the NFL pregame previews and the Steelers game, Erik stayed downstairs in his theater room while I went to the Craft Room to finish some organization. I made some great strides in my recent desire to purge unnecessary papers. Unfortunately, I stopped around 4pm then picked it back up at 9pm but was too tired to really put everything away so I have some stuff to do tomorrow (or in the interim, if I shall go into labor, Erik was instructed to just shove everything into a box until I have time again).

It truly turned out to be a beautiful afternoon and we washed our cars and I was able to capture the essence of fall at our house by taking some photos of our porch and entryway with our cute little maple tree whose leaves are turning a brilliant red (see tomorrow's MiCasa Monday post for pictures of our house during my favorite season of the year). We watched New England pummel the Titans and made constant remarks of Tennessee's 0-7 status since stomping on the Terrible Towel. We ordered Brooklyn her first Penguins jersey and then made a few other Amazon Blu Ray purchases to prep for the upcoming maternity leave video nights.

Erik made a wonderful French Onion Soup (recipe below). This is truly one of our favorite recipes and usually makes its appearance in the fall and at various points throughout the colder weather. Finally, we spent some time relaxing in bed with Crosby....I swear that girl just slept all day.


French Onion Soup ala Alton Brown
Ingredients
5 sweet onions (like Vidalias) about 4 pounds
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups white wine
10 ounces canned beef consume
10 ounces chicken broth
10 ounces apple cider (unfiltered is best)
Bouquet garni; thyme sprigs, bay leaf and parsley tied together with kitchen string
1 loaf country style bread (we used croutons)
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
1 cup Fontina or Gruyere cheese, grated

Directions
Trim the ends off each onion then halve lengthwise. Remove peel and finely slice into half moon shapes. Set electric skillet to 300 degrees and add butter. Once butter has melted add a layer of onions and sprinkle with a little salt. Repeat layering onions and salt until all onions are in the skillet. Do not try stirring until onions have sweated down for 15 to 20 minutes. After that, stir occasionally until onions are dark mahogany and reduced to approximately 2 cups. This should take 45 minutes to 1 hour. Do not worry about burning.

Add enough wine to cover the onions and turn heat to high, reducing the wine to a syrup consistency. Add consume, chicken broth, apple cider and bouquet garni. Reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.

Place oven rack in top 1/3 of oven and heat broiler.

Season soup mixture with salt, pepper and cognac. Remove bouquet garni and ladle soup into crocks leaving one inch to the lip. Place croutons on top of soup and top with grated cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly and golden, 1 to 2 minutes.