French Onion Soup

Life decided to go by in a flash from July to November. In a matter of months I:

• Partied with 25 of my closest relatives in Beavers Bend National State Park in Oklahoma.
• Contemplated on moving in with a boy for the first time in my life.
• Comforted my best friend in Florida.
• Turned 25.
• Experienced the musical phenomenon Wicked.
• Decided life was moving too fast and took a day off from it.

It was time to take a break, unwind, and let the cooking do the talkin'. Sometimes it's nice to be quiet, pensive, and let my hands do the work -- not my mind. So naturally comfort food was produced and consumed.

French Onion Soup

Nothing says fall quite like French onion soup. It warmed my heart and stilled my mind. Even if it was for a moment.

You'll need....
4 large onions
1 cup white wine (I used Riesling, it's what I had on hand)
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups beef stock
2 cloves minced garlic
worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon thyme
1/2 stick butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
italian blend cheese (any cheese will do: swiss, provolone, gruyere, whatever's your favorite!)
french bread, cut into 1 inch slices

I also used sea salt to season the onions as they cooked. It's about to get smellin' good y'all!

Cut the onion in half and then slice in thin strips. You may start crying and your eyes will burn but it's worth the pain.

Throw the onions into a large pot with 1/2 stick butter and about 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Throw in a generous sprinkle of sea salt and pepper. Heat should be medium high. 

Let the onions sweat in the pot. The goal is to get these cooked down to a nice golden brown so I threw a lid on the pot and stirred every 5 minutes so they cooked evenly.

This is about 10 minutes in. By now your kitchen should smell amazing. Your neighbors might even be knocking on the door asking about the sinly aromas sneaking out of your front door.  

Make sure to scrape off the brown bits at the bottom. Those are the flavor nuggets! I let the onions cook down about 25 minutes until they got to this color. At this point, pour in a generous cup of white wine. I had Riesling on hand so that's what I used. I would recommend using a nice pinot grigio for this soup though. Mmm, nothing like a good pinot and onion combination! 

Turn down the burner to medium heat and add 4 cups of chicken stock.

Add in 4 cups of beef stock. Do you like my fancy new measuring cup? It's silicone and I love it. Oh, the simple kitchen pleasures in life.  

 Press two cloves of garlic and add into the pot.

I added about a tablespoon of thyme. Parsley would also be good in this soup. Or both! Your choice.

Add a few dashes of worcestershire sauce. Your taste buds will thank you later.

 Let the pot come back up to a boil, about 10 minutes. 

The best way to serve up this soup is by topping it with slices of french bread. My sis toasted the slices under the broiler brushed with some garlic butter before we added it to the ramekins.  

Top off with a handful of your favorite cheese. We used an italian blend but any white cheese will do! Put everything under the broiler for about 3 minutes until cheese is melted and browned.

Oh, baby! 

The bread soaks in the soup from the bottom. Let your spoon hit the crunchiness of the bread and the soft onions and melty cheese. Happy fall!