Haviland Fruit Bowls...This Week's Find

When I was packing up my parents' things in preparation for selling the house, I did so in haste. I was careful, don’t get me wrong, but I tried not to dwell on individual items, just pack them up as quickly and carefully as I could. I am still unboxing things, and just the other day unboxed these beautiful fruit dishes (if that is indeed what they are), that you saw in this post. I was with my mother when she bought these, having no idea what she would ever do with them, just bought them because she liked them, but didn’t realize that they were Haviland.

What treasures! Like my mother, I have no idea what I’m going to do with them, but I suspect I will use them for cold salads or soups. They are a bit more dainty and delicate than what I’m used to, but I find, these days, then you can pretty much mix everything with everything.

Aren’t these lovely?

To see last week’s unique find, click here.

Famous-Barr's French Onion Soup



Hot from the broiler, Gruyere-laden French Onion Soup

During it's heyday, Famous-Barr, a major department store in St. Louis (sadly, now it's become Macy's) had a wonderful chef create an even more wonderful version of French Onion Soup. It was thick and rich, and came from the kitchen in a McCoy pottery brown drip soup bowl (like the one pictured here, itself a genuine McCoy) bubbling with melted Gruyere cheese atop two slices of French baguette. It was heaven in a bowl! The store used to sell the soup frozen, along with packages of grated Gruyere cheese and fresh baguettes so you could reproduce that onion-y goodness at home. But over the course of time, the gourmet food section in the store closed, followed closely by the bakery and candy departments. Fortunately the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published the recipe so onion soup fanciers could make this version at home. I've had a lot of onion soup in my day, even in Paris, but this recipe beats them all.

FAMOUS-BARR'S FRENCH ONION SOUP

5 lbs onions, unpeeled

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1/2 teaspoons black pepper, freshly ground

2 tablespoons paprika

1 bay leaf

7 (16 ounce) cans beef broth, divided (recommended Swanson's)

1 cup dry white wine

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

French baguettes

Gruyere cheese

Peel onions and slice 1/8 inch thick, preferably in a food processor. Melt butter in a 6-quart (or larger) stockpot. Add onions; cook, uncovered, over low heat for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. (The long cooking time makes the onions mellow and sweet.) Stir in pepper, paprika and bay leaf; saute over low heat 10 minutes more, stirring frequently. Pour in 6 cans broth and wine. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Dissolve flour in remaining 1 can broth. Stir into boiling soup. Reduce heat and simmer slowly for 2 hours. Adjust color to a rich brown with caramel coloring, season with salt. Refrigerate overnight. To serve, heat soup in microwave or on stove top. If desired, pour into ovenproof crocks or bowls. Top with a slice of bread and a sprinkling of grated cheese. Heat under the broiler until cheese melts and bubbles, about 5 minutes.

Leftover soup can be frozen.

 

Foodie Friday is hosted by Michael at Designs by Gollum.