French Tomato Soup

French Tomato Soup
French Recipe Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 6 tomatoes, peeled and quartered
* 1 large potato, peeled and quartered
* 6 cups water
* 1 bay leaf
* 1 clove garlic, pressed
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup long-grain rice

French Recipe Instructions :

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions in butter until tender and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, and continue cooking for 10 more minutes, stirring frequently. Add the potato, and 2 cups of water. Season with the bay leaf, garlic and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes.
2. Stir in the remaining water, and bring to a boil again. Discard bay leaf, and strain the solids from the broth, reserving both. Puree the vegetables in a food processor or blender, and stir them back into the broth. Bring to a boil, and add the rice. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. Serve hot.

French Recipe Coquilles Saint-Jacques

French Recipe Coquilles Saint-Jacques
It features scallops and mushrooms, sautéed in butter with seasonings, and then made even richer with a Gruyere and breadcumb topping.
French Recipe Ingredients:

* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1 1/2 pounds sea scallops
* 4 tablespoons butter
* 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
* 1 cup chopped onion
* 2/3 cup dry white wine
* 2 tablespoons Cognac
* 3 tablespoons bread crumbs
* 2 tablespoons butter, melted
* 1/3 cup grated Gruyere cheese
* 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

French Recipe Instructions:

Mix the flour, salt, curry powder, and cayenne pepper together in a large bowl. Add the scallops to the bowl and toss the mixture together until the scallops are completely coated in the spiced flour mixture.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallops to the butter and sauté them, turning once, until they are golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes; transfer the scallops to a plate and cover to keep warm.

Add the mushrooms and onions to the skillet and sauté, stirring frequently, over medium-high heat for 4 minutes, until they start to turn light brown. Add the white wine to the pan and scrape the bottom of the pan with a metal spatula to get all the brown bits off the pan and into the sauce. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer until the sauce has reduced by half. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the Cognac and scallops.

Preheat the oven broiler. Divide the scallop and sauce mixture between 6 scallop shells or small ovenproof serving dishes. Mix together the bread crumbs, melted butter, and Gruyere cheese; divide and spoon the mixture evenly over each dish of scallops. Place the dishes about 5-6 inches from the broiler and cook until the scallop mixture is hot, bubbly, and browned on top. Sprinkle with lemon juice and serve immediately.