French Onion Soup

I was all set to change the pictures over there on the right to warmer-weather food now that spring is supposedly in sight, but I decided to hold off while this Siberian cold snap is in full force.  So, soup is on the menu once again.  What can you do?  Talk to the groundhog.  At least it’s onion soup.  I’ll take a few more days of winter if I can have onion soup all week.  But then we seriously need to start warming things up around here.  Please?  Does anyone have any extra greenhouse gases stored up somewhere?  Or a few bloated cows?  Maybe we could talk.  I’ll bring soup, you bring cookies.  

Julia Child’s French Onion Soup

I used a local maple-smoked cheddar on top, but, I’ll be honest, I kinda missed the Gruyere.

4 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
8 cups thinly sliced onions (about 2½ lbs.)
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. flour
8 cups homemade beef stock, heated
¼ cup Cognac
1 cup dry white wine
8 ½-inch-thick slices of French bread, toasted
¾ lb. Gruyere, coarsely grated

Over medium heat, melt the butter and oil in a heavy saucepan.  Stir in the onions, cover, and cook slowly until tender and translucent, 8-10 minutes.  Blend in the salt and sugar, increase heat to medium-high, and let the onions brown, stirring frequently until they are a dark walnut color, 25 to 30 minutes.

Sprinkle the flour and cook slowly, stirring, for another 3 to 4 minutes.  Remove from heat, let cool a moment, then whisk in 2 cups of hot stock.  Bring to the simmer, adding the rest of the stock, Cognac, and wine.  Cover loosely, and simmer very slowly 1½ hours, adding a little water if the liquid reduces too much.  Season with salt and pepper.

Divide the soup among 4 ovenproof bowls.  Arrange toast on top of soup and sprinkle generously with grated cheese.  Place bowls on a cookie sheet and place under a preheated broiler until cheese melts and forms a crust over the tops of the bowls.  Serve immediately.

Source: Adapted minimally from Julia Child’s The Way to Cook.

Local Food Sources:
Butter: Cabot, Cabot, VT
Cheese: Grafton Village, Grafton, VT
Beef bones for stock: Southboro Belties, Southboro, MA (via Pete and Jen’s Backyard Birds, Concord, MA)
Wine: Truro Vineyards, Truro, MA
Bread: Nashoba Brook Bakery, Concord, MA (via Russo’s, Watertown, MA)

Comments

[Jess]

Are ya kidding? We've got plenty of gas down here in DC, but it's still 34 deg and frosted like an oatmeal cookie! New mantra: It'll be 65 on Saturday...It'll be 65 on Saturday...

[adele]

Mmm... soup.

The weather exasperates me. Even if it does mean I'll be able to squeeze in a braised duck dish before spring.

[Stock Novice]

I want someone with a food blog to write a post exclusively on homemade stock. Not what ingredients go into it, because I'm sure there are plenty of recipe books with that information. But how one lives a life that involves homemade stock being in your refrigerator or freezer. This is a serious question because every time I read a recipe that has homemade stock in it, I want to bang my head on the counter. I currently do not live that life, and do not understand how to transition.

[Tim]

apropos of nothing...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9AMyLoMAmA

Just thought I'd emerge from lurker status for a moment.

peace

[Heather]

One of the happiest days in my life was the day I realized that a cheese-covered crouton needn't be limited to French onion soup. I have many new favorite soups ever since that day.

[Edie]

Soup is great ANY time of the year...especially if it's onion! And I'm not stressing over the home-made stock thing as I take plenty of help from the store. ;-)

[Tammy]

Edie: Nothing wrong with that.

Heather: Which makes today the happiest day of MY life. Bless you, and bless the cheese-covered crouton.

Tim: Hi lurker! Glad you're still lurking about. Thanks for the clip--I do like me some mole. Baila!

Stock Novice: Wish granted. I shall post something hopefully this week. It's mainly a mental transition, but it's a transition nonetheless. Stay tuned.

adele: That was a nice weekend, wasn't it? And, let me guess, today we're back to cold. (Braised duck is a most excellent consolation prize.)

Jess: "Frosted like an oatmeal cookie"...you had me at that part.