plan A: surgeon

Confession: I never make a plan B. I pray/think/consider well my plan A, but I cannot attest that my confidence in this said plan rests entirely on such “preparation.” I suppose it is a gut feeling/peace about plan A (or a wholehearted fixation on my perceived best option) that drives me so rapturously towards it. I realize that it is not only an avoidance of failure, but a perhaps failure in itself to acknowledge that possibility at all. If something is just so right, why would there need to exist a lesser option?

I am not sure if you can tell, but most of my life has gone according to plan…but not a plan I once indisputably carved out, as it has, several times, been commandeered. Now please, I am not without hardships, but none such obstacle has yet so rocked my world as to discourage me from a relentless approach to life on plan A terms. Subconsciously adaptive? Maybe. My Christianity constantly reorients the perspective from which my adherence to plan A functions so well. I make whatever life befalls me my best possible outcome.

So when I fret about Match Day, don’t pay me much heed. Just give me a few months, and I will realize what Plan A was all along (and man, do I sure hope it matches my current plans to be a surgeon one day).

I made this soup in order to get a few people to come sit at my table. I plan to do this more in 2014: make dinner with the intention of attracting guests, in from a cold night, out from a funk, over for some sustenance. No production necessary, just simply to create a forum for conversation and comfort. 

French Onion Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 medium onions, thinly sliced

kosher salt

¼ cup dry white wine

1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce

6 cups beef stock

Four ½ inch thick slices of baquette

¼ cup shredded Gruyere cheese

In a large cast iron pot, heat the oil on medium-high. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and pieces are beginning to brown, about 7-10 minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt and turn the heat down to Low/medium Low, and continue to cook until onions are golden, about 25-30 more minutes.

Add in the wine and soy sauce and cook over moderate heat until evaporated, using the liquid to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. add in the stock and bring soup to a boil for about 1 minute. Turn heat down to low, and simmer soup, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes until slightly reduced. Taste the soup and season as needed with salt.

Preheat your broiler with an oven rack about 6 inches away. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and top each piece with 1 tablespoon of cheese. Broil until cheese is melted and just starting to brown (watch this step carefully as it will only take 1-2 minutes!). Ladle the soup into 4 bowls and top each with a piece of cheese toast. Serve hot!