over vanilla skies

                                 French Onion Soup

There’s nothing better on a cold, rainy night than a bowl of cheesy, melty, piping hot french onion soup. It’s just one of those awesome comfort foods that never go out of style. This recipe is so easy and tastes delicious.

Here’s what you need:

7 onions, sliced pole to pole (half vidalia, half white)

6-7 garlic cloves, finely diced

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme

1/2 cup dry red wine

6-7 cups beef broth

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

1/2 stick butter

4 slices from a loaf of rustic, crusty french bread

1 cup gruyere cheese, shredded

1/2 cup swiss cheese, shredded 

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What to do:

Melt the butter in a saute pan over med-high heat. Add sliced onions & thyme sprigs and cook for about 7 minutes, then add the garlic.             TIP: this may sound weird, but i use 2 pans in the beginning, dividing the onions/thyme up between them. i find there’s just too many onions to fit in one pan. once they start wilting and caramelizing, i combine all the onions back together into one pan.

Cook the onions down until they are tender and caramelized. Cooking time will vary on different stoves, but it can take anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hour. You’ll know they’re done when the onions are nice and browned, wilted, and sweet. You’ll want to make sure you stir them occasionally, don’t just walk away and ignore them for an hour - otherwise they’ll burn and cook unevenly. 

About 15 minutes into cooking, add a few splashes of balsamic vinegar (a little goes a long way, so don’t add too much!). This will help sweeten the onions and give them a deep brown color. When the onions are done, remove the thyme sprigs. You’ll still see specs of thyme in the mixture, and that’s perfect - just make sure you remove the stems. 

Now add the red wine and simmer until it’s reduced to a glaze-like consistency, about 3 minutes. Stir in the beef broth, dijon mustard and a few drops of Worcestershire sauce (it has a very strong flavor, so a few drops is all you need). Simmer for 20 minutes, then season with salt and pepper. 

At this point, the soup is ready! All you have to do now is assemble the soup bowls. 

Preheat the broiler (on LOW not high) and place 4 slices of crusty, rustic bread in the toaster. 

Arrange 4 ramekins on a baking sheet (if you don’t have ramekins, you can use any kind of soup crock bowl as long as it’s broiler proof). Ladle the soup into each bowl, about 2/3’s to the top. 

Then place a slice of toasted bread over each soup bowl, making sure the bread fits into the ramekin on top of the broth. Grab a generous handful of cheeses and top each bowl of soup.

Place in the oven for a few minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and browned. Don’t walk away at this point…it takes only a few seconds for the soup to go from golden brown to burnt!! :) 

When it’s ready it will look something like this:

And that’s it!

A comforting bowl of cheesy french onion soup, really delicious and so easy to make!! My husband and parents said this recipe was better than any french onion soup they’ve ever had at a restaurant, so be sure to try it. Your guests will be impressed, and your tummies will be full!!

To complete the dinner I paired my soup with homemade grilled chicken caesar salad and a basket of the remaining crusty french bread (for extra soup-dipping purposes)  :)

Enjoy!!

* Check back soon, my next recipe will be sweet-savory Bacon & Date Scones. So yummy!!