French Onion Soup

Here is the second outcome of my day without work :) French onion soup for dinner!

This recipe is delicious. And not only that, but it's easy to make and will leave you with leftovers. I know sometimes when you hear the word leftovers it sounds disgusting, but the good thing about soup is it gets better over time. I actually made my soup in the afternoon so that it was able to sit for a few hours and then we heated it up for dinner. 

As you may have seen in other recipes, I don't like to spend a lot of money on food. So I find ways to substitute some of the cheaper stuff for the expensive ingredients without ruining the flavor. For this recipe, I used a mix of onions to add some different flavors (and yellow or sweet onions are a lot cheaper than white onions so I use more yellow onions). Also, instead of buying Gruyère cheese, I used a mix of white cheddar, mozzarella, and parmesan on top. 

One other good thing about this recipe is that you can multitask while you're making it :) In fact, I made my Rueben Sandwiches while I was cooking the soup. So basically what I'm saying is you have no excuse for not trying this recipe :)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 1/2 pounds yellow onions, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 cup dry white wine

8 cups beef stock

2 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced (or 3/4 teaspoon dried)

1 bay leaf

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 crusty baguette

2 2/3 cups shredded Gruyère cheese (I used a combination of different cheese)

In a large, heavy sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, stir well, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. 

Uncover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally until tender and deep golden brown, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir until combined. 

Gradually stir in the wine, then the stock, and finally the thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, uncovered, until slightly reduced, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaf.

Meanwhile, preheat the broiler. Have ready some soup crocks (make sure they're able 

to go in the oven). Cut the baguette into slices so that 2 will fit inside each crock 

(you can toast the slices in the oven if you'd like).

Ladle the hot soup into the crocks. Place 2 bread slices, overlapping if necessary, on top of the soup. 

Sprinkle each crock evenly with about 1/3 cup of the cheese. 

Broil until the cheese is bubbling, about 2 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Inspired by Comfort Cooking by Rick Rodgers.