Onion Soup

Victoria Gastro Pub has posted its Valentine's Day menu. It's an a la carte affair with a handful of items added into the regular menu. Those special items include cornmeal-fried oysters; Madeira onion soup gratinee with braised short rib; roasted sea scallops pancetta; leeks and Beluga lentils; veal tenderloin and, for dessert, raspberry truffle cake. Victoria Gastro Pub is also debuting a few items on its regular menu, starting Friday, Feb. 10. They include sauteed shrimp with crispy speck ham, spaghetti squash and rosemary tomato; a Camembert pizza with balsamic cremini mushrooms and marinated roasted peppers; escargot with roasted garlic lemon brown butter; roasted Duroc pork loin with winter vegetable and Yukon potato hash and a grilled Creekstone Farms fillet.

1-3 days before: 1. Make room in refrigerator and freezer. 2. Go grocery shopping. When home, keep all nonrefrigerated items together, out of the way but easily accessible in the kitchen. 3. Freeze wheat rolls. Day before: 1. Clean kitchen and empty dishwasher. 2. Find necessary spices and remove shaker tops to make measuring easier; place near stove. 3 Put boxes of frozen spinach in bowl and thaw overnight in fridge. 4. If desired, do tomorrow's prep work, specified in items 1-11.

More than 33,000 whitetail deer were bagged by Maryland hunters during 1993's regular firearms season, the third highest total on record. In Harford County, hunters harvested 1,024 deer, most of which were taken during the season's first few days.Although a substantial number of hunters claim they enjoy the taste of venison, you'll often hear a different story from their spouses."Sure we eat venison at our house, but it's always tough and has a gamey taste," said a woman attending the Mid-Atlantic Hunting & Fishing Show at the Maryland State Fair Grounds.

Thompson's Sea Girt HouseThompson's Sea Girt House 5919 York Road, 435-1800. This popular establishment has been part of Baltimore's restaurant scene for more than 100 years. There are many traditional dishes on the menu, as well as touches of Spanish fare, which reflect the change in ownership several years ago. I found the Onion Soup a la Anciana unusual and quite good with its light base and sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Some of the other offerings were not as flavorful. The $13.95 four-course dinner special, which is offered weeknights, draws many diners.

Inexpensive Orzo is a simple pasta, made from wheat flour, that can be used in many recipies. Orzo is found in many Greek dishes, including lamb or tomato stuffing recipies. Greeks also serve orzo in place of rice, serving it with butter and Parmesan cheese. At first glance, orzo is hardly distinguishable from long grain rice and is prepared in a similar manner.In this recipe the orzo is first toasted in butter, giving it a nutty flavor. The soup mix, combined with garlic and mushrooms, creates a savory flavor that's perfect to serve as a side dish instead of rice.

Gabriel's French Provincial InnGabriel's French Provincial Inn, Ijamsville Road, Ijamsville, (301) 865-5500. You go to Gabriel's for the experience, not for the food, which is OK at best. The experience is a seven-course French meal served in the dining rooms of a strange old farmhouse. That includes hors d'oeuvres, soup, a main course, a vegetable course, salad, cheese and dessert. Stay away from the haute-haute cuisine -- salmon and crab in puff pastry was dreadful -- and opt for simpler fare: stuffed veal breast, perhaps, or coq au vin. What more can you say when the highlight of your seven-course meal was the green salad and cheese?

Thompson's Sea Girt House, 5919 York RoadThis popular establishment has been part of Baltimore's restaurant scene for more than 100 years. There are many traditional dishes on the menu, as well as touches of Spanish fare, which reflect the change in ownership several years ago. I found the Onion Soup a la Anciana unusual and quite good with its light base and sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Some of the other offerings were not as flavorful. The $13.95 four-course dinner special, offered weeknights, seems to draw many diners.

TAKE THE CHILL out of winter evenings with these tasty snacks. Both recipes can be made ahead of time and microwaved when ready to serve.Chicken and vegetable toquitos are fun-to-eat mini enchiladas. They are made with a delicious mixture of shredded chicken and cheese.An envelope of vegetable soup mix adds subtle flavor and lots of colorful vegetable pieces.For a festive look, tie the enchilada bundles with chives or green onions.The tostado meatballs get their shape and flavor from crumbled corn tortillas instead of bread crumbs.

SOUTHWESTERN COOKING IS one of the "hot" trends in the culinary world.This flamboyant cuisine evolved from influences by native Americans, Spanish and European settlers and also as a result of adapting Mexican cuisine to appeal to American palates and ingredients.This recipe features a sprinkling of Southwestern flavors and ingredients and was developed for unique holiday entertaining. Simply brush a turkey breast with a flavorful mixture of onion recipe soup mix, lime juice, chili powder, garlic, ground cumin and oregano -- then pop it in the microwave or conventional oven whichever you prefer.

If one dish gave slow-cookers their culinary-backwater reputation, this was it: pot roast with creamy mushroom sauce, unrepentantly unrevised and un-updated, in the 1995 version of "Mable Hoffman's Crockery Cookery."Pot roast with creamy mushroom sauceServes 6 to 81 (2- to- 2 1/2 -pound) boneless beef chuck roast1 envelope dry onion soup mix1 can condensed cream of mushroom soupPlace roast in a slow-cooker. Add soup mix; top with undiluted soup. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours. Serve with mashed potatoes or over cooked noodles.