Applebee’s French Onion Soup

3 Tbs vegetable oil
6 medium white onions, sliced
8 cups good quality beef broth
1 cup water
2 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
5 hamburger buns
10 slices provolone cheese
10 teaspoons shredded parmesan cheese

Heat vegetable oil in a large soup pot or saucepan over medium high heat. Add the sliced onions and sauté for 20 minutes until the onions begin to soften and start to become translucent. Add the beef broth, water, salt, garlic powder and black pepper to the pan and bring the mixture to a boil. When soup begins to boil, reduce heat and simmer
for 45 minutes.

To make the croutons, separate the bottoms from tops of the hamburger buns. Set aside the bottoms, and cut the crown of the tops to make them the same size and shape as the bottoms. This gives you 10 big croutons. Preheat oven to 325F. Place the bread in the oven directly on the rack and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until each piece is golden brown and crispy. Set aside.

When the soup is done, spoon about 1 cup into an oven safe bowl. Float a crouton on top of the soup, then place a slice of provolone cheese on top of the crouton. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of shredded parmesan cheese over the provolone. Place the bowl into your oven set to high broil. Broil the soup for 5 to 6 minutes or until the cheese is melted and
starting to brown (you may need to broil longer if you are making more than one bowl at a time). Sprinkle an additional 1/2 teaspoon of shredded parmesan cheese over the top of the soup and serve. Repeat for the remaining bowls.

Sbarro Chicken Francese

5 boneless 5 oz. chicken breasts
5 eggs
3 oz. Romano cheese
1 tsp dried parsley
1 cup flour
Pinch of white pepper
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 pound butter
Juice from 2 lemons
1 1/2 cups oil (10% olive oil, 90% vegetable oil)
Lemon slices and chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Pound chicken breasts flat and cut in half. Set aside.

Scramble eggs in mixing bowl. Add Romano cheese, parsley, and white pepper. Blend and set aside. Put flour in a large shallow bowl.

In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Check temperature by dipping a corner of a chicken piece in oil. If it boils slowly, oil is ready.

Coat both sides of a piece of chicken with flour. Dip chicken in egg mixture, making sure all flour is covered with egg. Let excess egg drip off, then place chicken in hot oil. Repeat
with 4 more pieces. Fry each side of chicken until a light blond color. Remove from oil to a serving plate − keep warm. Repeat with other chicken pieces.

Bring chicken stock to a light boil. Add butter, stirring continuously, until melted. Add lemon juice and cook for 1 minute while stirring continuously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with lemon slices and chopped fresh parsley.

The Cheesecake Factory’s White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake

For crust:
1½ cups chocolate cookie crumbs or 20 crumbled Oreo cookies (filling removed)
1/3 cup margarine, melted

For filling:
½ cup raspberry preserves
¼ cup water
4 x 8 oz pkgs cream cheese
1¼ cups granulated sugar
½ cup sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
5 eggs
4 oz white chocolate, chopped into chunks

For garnish:
2 oz white chocolate, shaved
Whipped cream
Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
Place a large pan or oven-safe skillet filled with about ½” of water into the oven while it preheats. This will be your water bath.
Combine the raspberry preserves with ¼ cup water in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 1½ minutes on high in your microwave. Stir until smooth. Strain to remove the raspberry seeds (toss ’em out), then let the strained preserves sit to cool, then put the bowl in the refrigerator until later.

Measure 1½ cups chocolate cookie crumbs, or crush 20 Oreo cookie wafers (with the filling scraped out) into a medium bowl. Mix in 1/3 cup melted margarine. Press the crumb into a 9″ spring form pan that has been lined on the bottom and side with parchment paper. Using the bottom of a drinking glass or similar, press the crumb mixture flat into the bottom of the pan and about 2/3 the way up the side. Wrap a large piece of foil around the bottom of the pan to keep the cheesecake in the water bath. Put the crust in your freezer until the filling is done.

Use an electric mixer to combine the cream cheese with the sugar, sour cream, and vanilla. Mix for a couple minutes or until the ingredients are smooth and creamy. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl and then add them to the cream cheese mixture. Blend the mixture just enough to integrate the eggs.

Remove the crust from the freezer and sprinkle 4 oz of white chocolate chunks onto the bottom of the crust. Pour half of the cream cheese filling into the crust. Drizzle the raspberry preserves over the entire surface of the filling. Use a butter knife to swirl the raspberry into the cream cheese. Just a couple passes is fine, you don’t want to blend the raspberry and cream cheese together too much. Pour the other half of the filling into the crust.

Carefully place the cheesecake into the water bath in the oven. Bake for 12 minutes at 475°F, then turn the oven down to 350°F and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the top of the cheesecake turns a light brown or tan color. Remove the cheesecake from the oven to cool. When the cheesecake is cool, use the foil from the bottom to cover the cheesecake and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Before serving, sprinkle the entire top surface of cheesecake with 2 oz of shaved white chocolate. To serve, slice the cheesecake into 12 equal portions. Apply a pile of canned whipped cream to the top of each slice and serve.