For professional-tasting results at home, try these recipes

Originally published Saturday, April 3, 2004
Reprinted with permission

SCHULER'S SWISS ONION SOUP

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 pounds onions, thinly sliced
• 11/2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika
• 6 cups beef stock or low-sodium canned beef broth
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4 teaspoons celery salt
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 8 ounces dark beer
• 12 slices French bread
• 12 slices Gruyere cheese

Cook the onions with the butter in a small stockpot over medium-high heat until the onions are brown but not burned -- about 30 minutes. Stir regularly. Sprinkle in the paprika, add the beef stock and bring to a boil.

Make a roux while browning the onions by whisking the oil and flour together in a saucepan over medium heat. Watch carefully and stir consistently to avoid burning the roux.

It will develop a popcorn smell first and then slowly turn brown. (You want a rich brown color.) Stir the roux into the soup when done and add the celery salt. Simmer for at least two hours.

Shortly before serving, sprinkle bread slices with Parmesan cheese and toast in the oven. Add beer and allow soup to return to serving temperature. Remove from heat.

Ladle soup into individual bowls or serving crocks; top with toasted bread and place a slice of Gruyere cheese in each bowl. Place under the broiler, watching carefully, until the cheese is melted and slightly brown. Makes 12 servings.

VENISON LOIN WITH A COGNAC CHERRY SAUCE

• 4 (4ounce) medallions of venison (from the loin)
• 1/4 cup dried Michigan cherries or dried sweetened cranberries.
• 1 tablespoon clarified butter or peanut oil
• 1/3 cup cognac
• 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup beef stock or beef broth
• 2 tablespoons cold butter
• 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon
• 2 tablespoons chopped scallions for garnish

Soak the cherries in the cognac. Set aside for at least 30 minutes. Salt and pepper the medallions of venison and keep them ready by the stove.

Heat the oil or butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat until the oil slides easily across the pan.

Place the medallions of venison in the pan and sear each side for two minutes, or until meat is browned but the inside is still rare. Remove the medallions from the pan and keep them on a plate by the stove.

Add the onions to the pan and cook them until they begin to soften. Add the garlic and cook 10-15 seconds, stirring constantly until soft, but not brown. Add the cognac-cherry mixture to the pan and cook until the liquid is reduced by half, or, if the cognac flames, the flame burns itself out.

Add the beef stock and reduce by half. Finally, add the fresh tarragon and then the cold butter and whisk until the butter is incorporated and the sauce is thickened.

Reheat the medallions briefly in the sauce. Serve the venison and the sauce with roasted potatoes and seasonal vegetables. Sprinkle the plate with chopped scallions for garnish. Makes four servings. (Recipes from Schuler's Fresh Recipes & Warm Memories," by Hans Schuler and Chef Jonathan Schuler (Huron River Press, 188 pages, $35)

© 2004 Saginaw News.

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