A Boil and Bake

Have you ever considered baking your soup and boiling your dessert?

Even though it sounds like a cockamamie idea, the results are worth the eccentric procedure. This is the technique to follow.

SWEET BROWN BUTTER STEWED APPLES

4 large green apples

1/4 cup butter

1 cup water

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup light-brown sugar, firmly packed

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed until smooth in 1/4 cup water

Heavy whipping cream

This dessert takes only about 15 minutes to prepare and cook, and it keeps the good taste of apple enhanced with rich flavors. Serve the apples warm with a little cream.

Peel and slice apples and set aside.

In 2 1/2- or 3-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat, tilting pan to swirl butter over bottom so butter browns evenly and doesn’t burn. As soon as butter turns medium-caramel color, add apples, water, sugars and salt. Stir to mix and coat all apple slices.

Reduce heat to medium-low, cover pan and cook until apples soften, 5 to 7 minutes. When apples have softened, stir in cornstarch slurry and stir constantly until liquid is thickened and clear. Remove from heat. Taste for sweetness. If you have used very tart apples, you now may add sugar to taste. Serve warm with 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream on top, if desired.

Makes about 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

220 calories; 179 mg sodium; 21 mg cholesterol; 8 grams fat; 39 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams protein; 0.46 gram fiber.

BAKED ONION SOUP

5 medium onions, peeled and sliced, about 1/8-inch thick, then cut into pieces about 1 inch long

5 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup chicken broth

1 quart milk

2 tablespoon flour, mixed until smooth with 1/2 cup water

Salt, pepper

This soup requires someone to be home for about four hours, but there’s not much work after slicing the onions and putting them into the casserole. The low oven temperature, 275 degrees, brings out the deep flavor of the onions. This soup is good for two days; don’t keep it longer because the flavors begin to fade and change.

Put onions in 3-quart casserole. Pour butter over and toss to coat well. Cover casserole and bake at 275 degrees 3 hours. Add chicken broth. Bake slowly 1 hour.

After about 50 minutes, scald milk in saucepan. Stir in flour mixture and stir until slightly thickened. Remove casserole from oven. Stir in hot, thickened milk. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve immediately, or let cool and refrigerate, then reheat when needed.

Makes about 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

216 calories; 311 mg sodium; 38 mg cholesterol; 13 grams fat; 18 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams protein; 0.56 gram fiber.

Handpainted Pompeii pottery dinnerware by Rubino’s Art Village from Feast, Pasadena.