January 31, 2005

One of the things I didn't like after my stroke was about cooking. I always loved to cook. Not that I was a chef, but at least a good cook. Like when I was young, I always entertaining friends for a dinner -- although many of them never asked invited me to their homes. Think they were not good cooks, since they always said that my food was as if I was a gourmet. I never wanted to hear that, because some times I felt that my food was not the best.

They loved my stuffed rock hen, Quiche Lorraine. Billi Bi soup, Chateaubriand, bouillabaise, shrimps in wine, Coquille St. Jacques and other things, and as always, they said that I made the BEST onion gratinee soup. One of the problems about cooking in Puerto Rico when I moved there in 1991 is that is too hot. But now, since I moved back to the East Coast with the cold weather, I was happy because it is easier to cook -- no sweating in the kitchen, like in Puerto Rico. So, now I decided to go back to my recipes which takes a lot of time to cook.

On Saturday, the angels of Heaven started to sing "Hallelujah!" because I finally found what I needed to do. An old love appeared -- to cook. It was cold and I had been thinking of making my onion soup for several weeks and my shrimp in wine. The angels send me to two different supermarkets to find the most important thing on my onion soup, gruyere cheese. A problem is that always the price of gruyere, too expensive - $13.99 a pound. I got a sale for $6.99 a pound. Then they send me to Pathmark where they was a sale of extra large shrimps for just $5.99 a pound. Party time.

I was excited. At 1 p.m., I cleaned the shrimps and put the shells on a pot to make Bil's shrimp broth. No! Not a broth from a can, but from my own work. Most people throw out the shells and that is a mistake. Put some shallots, oregano, garlic, peppers, bay leaves and a little saffron in the pot with a little butter to brown the shells. Then put on a 1/2 cup of white wine until it halfway and then put two or three cups of good chicken broth until it boils, then simmer it for at least 30 minutes. Drain the shells and reserve the broth.

After that I had to start my onion gratinee soup. I love onion gratinee soup. When I go to a restaurant, I will always order it. Sadly, some of them are terrible and some are okay and maybe, once in a while I may find it in a good restaurant. For example, I go to a restaurant in Ronkonkoma regularly. The first time the onion soup was okay, but the last time was the worse soup I ever had, think that they made the onion soup with ketchup. Really! Will never ever order it again in that restaurant, yet there is a great French restaurant in New York City where the food is always good, especially the onion soup. But as all restaurants, a food can be bad -- depends how the cook feels, I guess.

So I started my onion soup. Had to peel a pound and a quarter of sweet onions. Then melt a 4 ounces of butter, put on the onions and season it with a little salt, pepper, a little garlic and a 1/4 teaspoon of mustard and sautee, stirring all the time, for 30 minutes until they are brown. Put on 2 teaspoons of flour and mix it well. Then put on a 1/2-cup of white wine and four cups of beef broth. (Many years ago, I always made my own beef broth, but it's not worth it, especially since I found Swanson broth.) Bring to a boil and simmer for thirty minutes, stirring regularly. The soup is almost finished so you can finish it later.

Sadly, many people use Lipton or Knorr -- one, two, three with water in just 10 minutes. Problem is that they are always salty. So, anyway, when you close to eat, put the soup on a cup and put a slice brown bread with a little parmesan cheese on it. Then the most important thing is to cover the cup with gruyere, and then finally, broil the soup for just one or two minutes. Please, don't burn the cheese.

And finally, the best time arrives to enjoy the soup. Was it worth it after 1-1/2 hour of work? You better believe it. My two caregivers said, "Oh my gosh, Bil, you are back!"

Yes, I was happy, especially since I did not have to clean the pots, dishes and other things in the kitchen, especially after they said that the entree was out of this world which was another hour of cooking. So I am happy that the angels are with me to show me how I love to cook.