French Onion Soup

Julia told me to do it.

Each person who journeys into more advanced cooking goes through a Julia Child phase.  We watched her shows as kids and she has had a bit of a renaissance after that movie with old whats-her-name.  One show that I particularly loved was the one on French Onion Soup.

I seem to recall that she said that you have to "make it your own" -- or something to that effect.  Well, I did.  My major change is not carmelizing the onions.  I find that it is too dangerous since the minute you start to burn them the soup is ruined.  Besides, Julia's carmelizing steps involve adding flour, salt and sugar.  None of this is necessary if you simply cook the onions at a low temperature for a loooong time.

As far as onions go, yellow is better than white in my book.  I have done it with all Vidalia or Maui sweet onions, but I think it is best with a mix of sweet and yellow onions.  The wine that I use could easily be replaced with a lesser amount of Sherry or Congnac.  Bay leaf might be a cool idea as well.  You should find out what works for you.

This recipe takes awhile but is worth it. Serves 6.

You'll need;

• 6 cups thinly sliced onion (about 3 medium or 2.5 big onions) 
• 1.5 sticks of butter (I mix salted and unsalted)
• 32 to 40 oz of beef stock (low sodium maybe)
• 1/3 cup white wine (JC* says don't cook w/it if you wouldn't drink it)
• 1 tsp  salt and 1 tsp pepper
• 6 one inch thick french bread slices
• ~1 cup of fresh grated parmigiano (or swiss, or gruyere)

*Jesus might have said this too, but I doubt it since he was a carpenter and they tend to drink beer.

Saute the onions in a big pot with one stick of butter (the salted one) over med-high until translucent.  This takes at least 10 minutes.

Don't worry, it'll cook down.

Break up the nested onions.

Turn the heat down to low and add the remaining half stick of butter.  Put on the lid and cook the onions for an additional 30 minutes stirring occasionally.  Just chase them around every so often, don't molest them!

Meanwhile prep the bread by making sure that your "croutons" fit into the tops of your serving bowls.  Lay them out on a baking sheet and brush a bit of olive oil on each side (the bread, not the bowls). I once thought about oiling one side and rubbing garlic on the other...

I didn't have 1in french bread so I used sourdough slices.

Bowl size doesn't matter.

Toast bread lightly in the oven. Both sides if you are a perfectionist.

325F oven.  Watch closely, they brown on the bottom.

Grate a bunch of parmigiano onto each crouton.  Grate a bunch more into a bowl for later.  Use a normal grater, this is no time for the microplaner.

This is a little more than a cup...

Now that the onions have cooked alone, add the stock, wine, salt and pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil while stirring occasionally.  Once it boils reduce heat and simmer 30 min.

The happy pot simmers.

After the 30 minutes, taste and adjust seasoning.

Put the croutons back into the oven to melt the cheese.

Ladle up the soup.  Don't worry, you have plenty of time before this is cool enough to eat.

Float a cheesed crouton in each bowl and sprinkle more cheese on it, or let your guests do this at the table. No additional garnish, it'd just get in your teeth.

I ate both these bowls immediately after photography...

 ...and then took a 45 minute nap.  How French!

The cheese will melt from the soup's heat.  I do not recommend putting bowls of soup into the oven to melt the cheese.  They become too hot to work with.  If you were to spill one while removing or serving it you would see the inspiration for Napalm.

The secrets of this soup are to

• Kill the onions to death.
• Watch the salt (less is more).
• Use plenty of butter.
• Serve hot.