French Onion Soup A La Karen

Karen sends her posts from Burbank, CA

Here's what I did to come up with this recipe.

First I made The Barefoot Contessa's French Onion Soup a few times. (Although I never used Veal stock because who the hell sells that and I just couldn't bring myself to hunt it down......sort of speak.)

Then I made Paula Deen's French Onion Soup a few times.

Then I made this one because they said it's The Best French Onion Soup Ever.

Then I made this one because I enjoy Allrecipes.com

And then a few more.

Photo of me about a year ago taken by my unbelieving Hubby.

The most difficult part, for me, about making French onion soup is chopping the onions. I've tried doing it while running water, wearing glasses, holding my breath, just powering through it and then I borrowed Hubby's respirator. NONE of these things stopped me from crying. Then a friend told me to just shut my mouth while chopping. (I'd rather wear the respirator) This actually worked pretty well. Ah the jokes from Hubby, they just never stop.

After all this research I came up with my version. Hubby has tried them all and he said this is the best French Onion Soup he's ever had. I have to agree.

Ingredients

* 3 pounds of onions, halved and slice 1/4-inch thick

* 1 stick of unsalted butter.

* 1 bay leaf

* 1/2 cup of dry Vermouth

* 1/2 cup of Brandy

* 1 1/2 cups dry white wine

* 4 cups of chicken stock

* 4 cups of beef stock

* salt (to taste)

* pepper (to taste)

* Fresh loaf of French bread

* Gruyere cheese

Directions

In a large stockpot on medium-high heat, saute onions with the butter and bay leaf until golden brown. (This takes me 40 to 50 minutes sometimes.) Deglaze the pan with the Vermouth and Brandy and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Add the white wine and simmer uncovered for 20 more minutes. Add the chicken and beef broth. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove and discard bay leaf.

Slice French bread into 1 inch slices.

Ladle soup into ovenproof bowl, add one slice of French bread with slices of Gruyere cheese on top. Place ovenproof bowl on a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake at 350 degrees F for 5 minutes under a hot broiler.

For my 4 year old, I don't put the dish in the oven. I just put some cheese in the soup and it kind of melts on it's own and cools down the soup at the same time. He has been known to down 3 bowls of this soup in one sitting. (Obviously all the alcohol is burned off during cooking time.)

Serve with the rest of the bread.

Délicieux!