A soup sort of day

Since there was nothing to put in the slow cooker today, soup was the next best option. I have also been meaning to replicate the balsamic onion marmalade from W-S, so a date with the food processor was in order. And since slicing onions en mass was already on the prep list, it only seemed logical to make onion soup.

French onion soup is a tad old-fashioned, but how can you argue with soft, caramelized onions, no-knead bread croûtons and melted cheese? That's right. You can't. At one point in my life when I was in full 'food-combining' mode, I would order the soup without cheese and extra croûtons. The cooks all thought I was mad, but that is how I liked it. Now I am willing to risk a bit of a stomachache to get the full experience. The really great thing about making this soup yourself is that when you are scraping the last bits of deliciousness from the bowl, you can go right back to the broiler for a bit more. Not possible in a restaurant, although I do recall a table ordering 4 lobster gratin appetizers at the beginning of their meal and 4 more for dessert. They weren't sharing, either.

French Onion Soup

2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced

2 T. butter

2 t. flour

black pepper

2 c. beef stock

1 c. chicken stock

1/4 c. sherry or Marsala

1 T. soy sauce

salt, to taste

croûtons or toasted bread slices

grated Swiss or mozzarella

Melt butter in a medium saucepan and saute onions until softened, abut 8-10 minutes. Add flour and as much pepper as you like and stir well. Add both stocks, sherry and soy sauce, bring to a boil then simmer 15-20 minutes. Check for seasonings and add salt if desired.

Ladle soup into 4 heavy bowls, add bread and cheese and broil for 2-3 minutes until melted.

(still tweaking the onion marmalade...)