French Onion Soup

This recipe is sort of a compilation of a few different recipes as well as me tweeking things from times I've made this in the past.  I actually didn't have any beef stock when I made it last night. However, I had homemade chicken stock, and it worked great.  This soup is so good with a salad on a cold night.  I think I could eat it every week!

French Onion Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

3 pounds onions, sliced thinly  *I like yellow*

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp dry thyme or 1 sprig fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

8 cups beef broth

1/2 cup Sherry

1 cup dry white wine

salt to taste  *I say to taste on this because it really depends on how salty your broth is*

pepper to taste

1 loaf crusty bread *You can use leftover bread in the freezer as well as day old bread*

1 1/2 cups grated gruyere cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a large stock/soup pot saute the onions on medium heat until very golden brown.  You may think they're starting to burn, but a dark brown color is what you want. Add the garlic in the last couple minutes of browning.  

Pour in the sherry and wine and scrap the brown bits up off the bottom of the pan.  This is where the flavor is! Let the wine and sherry simmer for about 5 mintues.  You can see how brown mine is here before I even added the broth.  Also, I doubled the recipe so at this stage yours will probably look less liquid-y than mine.

Add in thyme, bay leaf, and broth.  Simmer on low heat for 25 minutes.  Add in salt and pepper to your taste.  

While the soup is simmering toast the bread and grate the cheese.  You can really use any cheese that you like, but I love love love gruyere cheese.  Ladle soup into crocks or bowls.  Top with toasted bread and cheese.  Place under broiler for 5 minutes or so to melt the cheese like this:

Enjoy!

To see some more delicious recipes check out these fabulous blogs:

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Tuesdays at the Table

Tasty Tuesday

Have a great day!!