Dining at Sardi's

Sardi’s looks lovely this time of year, don’t you think? The old dame of the theater district was closed for quite some time after the pandemic and I was thrilled to finally return after so long and catch the bustling restaurant while still gussied up in all its holiday splendor.

When I was a theatrical agent representing actors, I often went to Sardi’s before the opening of a Broadway show—and sometimes my associates and I would sneak back in during intermission to grab a drink at the bar.

On this visit, the memories collected around me as my friends and I were ushered to our corner banquette, where we were flanked by caricatures of several of my former clients among the hundreds of other actors on the walls of fame.

It was cold out and French onion soup seemed the perfect antidote to the chill. I couldn’t help but think too of the times my husband and I, on varying occasions, served a French onion soup that left our guests gasping. The secret seemed to lie in the brandy we liberally ladled in as a substitute for the sherry. I forget who had given us the bottle, but we quickly ran out. When we went to get more, we realized why our soup was so good—the Courvoisier XO brandy we’d been generously gifted was very fine indeed and at $135 a bottle, it was rather the kind you’d sip and savor, instead of pouring into a soup.

A happy accident! And I’m not recommending you go nuts over your soup with such extravagance, but I do think you might use a more modestly priced brandy instead of the sherry suggested below. In any event, this recipe is sure to lead to many ovations, standing or otherwise.

Soupe à l’Oignon (French Onion Soup)

Adapted from Saveur magazine, Issue 107
SERVES 6

Ingredients:
1 cup white wine
1⁄2 cup plus 3 tbsp sherry
10 tbsp butter
1 tsp sugar
3 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
6 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
6 sprigs thyme
2 fresh bay leaves
2 qts Beef Stock
12 1⁄2"-thick slices baguette
2 cloves garlic, smashed
6 cups grated gruyère cheese
2 cups finely grated parmigiano-reggiano

Method:
1. Heat oven to 425°. Combine wine, 1⁄2 cup of the sherry, 8 tbsp. of the butter, sugar, onions, and salt and pepper in a 9" × 13" casserole dish and braise, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the onions just begin to brown, 40–45 minutes. Remove casserole from oven, cover with foil, and continue braising in oven, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 1 hour more. Keep the onions warm.
2. Meanwhile, tie parsley, thyme, and bay leaves together with kitchen twine to make a bouquet garni. Put bouquet garni and stock into a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes. Remove and discard bouquet garni. Stir in remaining sherry and cook for 5 minutes more.
3. While the broth simmers, spread the baguette slices with the remaining butter. Toast in a skillet over medium heat, turning once, until golden, 5–7 minutes. Rub the slices generously with garlic and set aside. Discard any remaining garlic.
4. Heat broiler with rack 6" from element. Arrange 6 heatproof bowls on a foil-lined sheet tray, divide onions and broth between bowls, and stir together. Place 2 baguette slices in each bowl; top each with about 1 cup gruyère and about 1⁄3 cup parmigiano. Broil until cheeses are browned and bubbly, 3–5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Thanks to @chrislabas for the snaps!

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

My friend's birthday coincides with New Year's Eve, so what else to do but throw a New Year's Eve Birthday Around The World Buffet Party! Baby and I had invited somewhat of an international roster and folks from out of town were also coming, so we planned on a buffet where our friends could come and graze as they pleased instead of cramming in around the table. This was a great idea as people really did filter in and out through the evening, arriving at different times. As far as the menu was concerned, we knew we wanted to make French onion soup which served as the base before we ventured further across the globe. We also had planned to serve a different course every hour on the hour, leading to a midnight Champagne toast but things rarely work out that way.

Classic prawns in pints from England were actually easier-to-procure shrimp and the Lobster Bisque Dip I whipped up, with chunks of lobster, grilled corn, and a diced mango finish was simply from New England (more on that later). It was served with kettle crisps but the shrimp also found its way in the dip too!

The French onion soup enriched with Cognac was ladled out from a marvelous tureen with individual gruyere cheese toasts to top our guests' little cups. For our Italian pasta course, Sam Sifton's Mushroom Lasagna from the New York Times was an absolute time-consuming chore--thank goodness I made it the day before--but it should sit in refrigeration over night anyhow. I feel it was worth it though, nearly blushing over the ensuing compliments. There was barely any left and what was went to other homes, sealed in Tupperware. Baby used a recipe for ragu from Saveur to complete the course. This meaty sauce with beef chuck and pork shoulder also incorporated chicken livers and pancetta. He even made his own ricotta cavatelli for a perfect pasta foil!

Here it all deliciously came together, with a judicious shaving of Parmesan cheese:

Behold the octopus!

We wanted something lighter to serve after all that pasta, so Baby tackled this slimy sea creature with abandon to create a Greek dish, with red wine and sliced wild fennel. The olives in the dish were salty to be sure but even the squeamish amongst us tried it and I believe we had a few converts.

Before midnight we served a simple marble bundt cake to celebrate our friend's birthday. We had planned on Swiss chocolate fondue but we were just too exhausted by that point and everyone else was too tipsy to care.

Blow out the candles and make a wish...!

French Onion Soup

Back in high school, my friend Vickie and I went to Hyannis, MA with the Key Club one weekend and somehow got away from our group for a rare, stolen moment as we ducked into a beautiful French restaurant poised on the water. I don't know what we were thinking but once we were seated and looked at the menu, we realized we couldn't afford a thing. We hardly had any money on us and it would be years before either of us had a credit card--but instead of just running out of the joint, simply embarrassed, we ordered simply: they served me a plate of Escargots Bourguignonne, Vickie ordered a bowl of French Onion Soup and we ended up cautiously giggling while sharing both of the wonderful dishes.

I suppose the irony lay in wait until I made this truly incroyable Soupe a la'Oignon. Baby and I used cognac instead of sherry as that's what we had in the house and with a lick of inventiveness served the soup at our party in a single, large tureen with individual cheesy toasts (topped with gruyere and parmigiano-reggiano) on the side for dipping into the excellent, fragrant broth.

And, knowing what was set before us ahead of time, we didn't have to worry about skipping out on the bill!


Soupe à l'Oignon (French Onion Soup)
Adapted from Saveur magazine
SERVES 6
"Braised onions, bread, and melted cheese are the main components of this timeless dish, which epitomizes the robust cuisine of Parisian brasseries. To make it, you'll need six sturdy ceramic bowls that may be safely placed under the broiler. This recipe is based on one in Bistro Cooking by Patricia Wells (Workman, 1989)."

Ingredients
1 cup white wine
1⁄2 cup plus 3 tbsp. sherry
10 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. sugar
3 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
6 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
6 sprigs thyme
2 fresh bay leaves
2 qts. Beef Stock
12 1⁄2"-thick slices baguette
2 cloves garlic, smashed
6 cups grated gruyère cheese
2 cups finely grated parmigiano-reggiano
1. Heat oven to 425°. Combine wine, 1⁄2 cup of the sherry, 8 tbsp. of the butter, sugar, onions, and salt and pepper in a 9" × 13" casserole dish and braise, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the onions just begin to brown, 40–45 minutes. Remove casserole from oven, cover with foil, and continue braising in oven, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 1 hour more. Keep the onions warm.
2. Meanwhile, tie parsley, thyme, and bay leaves together with kitchen twine to make a bouquet garni. Put bouquet garni and stock into a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes. Remove and discard bouquet garni. Stir in remaining sherry and cook for 5 minutes more.
3. While the broth simmers, spread the baguette slices with the remaining butter. Toast in a skillet over medium heat, turning once, until golden, 5–7 minutes. Rub the slices generously with garlic and set aside. Discard any remaining garlic.
4. Heat broiler with rack 6" from element. Arrange 6 heatproof bowls on a foil-lined sheet tray, divide onions and broth between bowls, and stir together. Place 2 baguette slices in each bowl; top each with about 1 cup gruyère and about 1⁄3 cup parmigiano. Broil until cheeses are browned and bubbly, 3–5 minutes. Serve immediately.

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #107

Photo: Andre Baranowski