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Mystery Of Onion Soup Is No Longer A Top Secret

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By JEFF HOUCK, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 17, 2007

In November 2005, Binky Jilek of Plant City wrote to ask for the recipe for a soup served at the Outback restaurant.

'It is my husband's favorite. They call it creamy onion, but I know there is also cheese in it,' Jilek wrote.

Janice Hautsch of Tampa has come through in a big way two years later with a recipe for Walkabout Soup. The recipe comes from Todd Wilbur's 1997 book 'Top Secret Recipes' (Plume, $14).

'Maybe this is what the reader was looking for,' Hautsch wrote.

A few weeks back, Myrtle Sandel asked for a cocoa brownies recipe. Christine Ragany of Clearwater sent in her recipe for Black Forest Brownies.

'When my now-grown daughter was home, I baked these brownies often for her and her friends,' Ragany writes.

Carol Kingsley had been in search of a chocolate pudding recipe from scratch. Carol Perry of Seminole sent her Dutch-New England Chocolate Pudding recipe from the 'New England Cookbook' by Eleanor Early. The book is out of print - the book first published in 1954 - but used versions are available on Amazon.com.
OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE WALKABOUT SOUP

8 cups water

8 beef bouillon cubes
3 medium white onions
1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Heat the water to boiling in a large pan. Add the bouillon cubes and dissolve.

Cut the onions into thin slices, then quarter the slices. Add to the broth. Add salt and pepper.

Bring the mixture back to boiling, then turn the heat down and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour.

While stirring, sift the flour into the soup. Continue to stir if any large lumps of flour develop. Be careful when you stir; aggressive agitation or using a whisk may tear the onions apart. As the soup continues to cook, any lumps should dissolve.

After 30 minutes of additional simmering, add the cream and 1 cup cheddar cheese. Continue to simmer the soup for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.

Serve the soup hot after sprinkling a tablespoon each of shredded Monterey Jack and cheddar on top.

BLACK FOREST BROWNIES

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter

1 cup baking cocoa

4 eggs, beaten

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup maraschino cherries, drained

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

For the icing:

1/2 cup butter, soft

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups confectioners' sugar

6 tablespoons baking cocoa

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in cocoa until all smooth. Blend in eggs, sugar and extracts. Stir in flour mixture, cherries and nuts. Pour into a greased 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.

For icing: blend together all ingredients except nuts until smooth. Spread over hot brownies. Sprinkle with nuts. Let cool.

Yeild: 3 dozen brownies.

DUTCH-NEW ENGLAND CHOCOLATE PUDDING

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 cups rich milk

1 cup sugar

2 squares baker's chocolate, melted

4 egg whites

Whipped cream, for garnish

Cherries, for garnish

Combine cornstarch with a little of the milk.

Heat remaining milk in saucepan. Add sugar. Add milk and cornstarch paste. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened and smooth. Add chocolate.

Beat egg whites until stiff and fold in. Cook a minute longer. Then remove from heat and cool.

Serve in tall glasses, topped with whipped cream and garnished with a cherry.

Looking for a recipe? Have one to share? Write to Jeff Houck, The Tampa Tribune, P.O. Box 191, Tampa FL 33601, or jhouck@tampatrib.com. Recipes are not tested.

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