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French Onion Soup

This is one of my favorite soups. It has a rich broth, caramelized onions, and topped with French bread layered with bubbly golden cheese. Makes me want to go make some right now...Mmmmmm!

Ingredients:

• 2 14.5 oz cans beef broth
• 1 10 oz can beef consommé or condensed beef broth
• 3 medium-large Vidalia onions or sweet onions
• 6 slices of French bread, sliced about 1 inch thick
• 1/2 cup sherry
• 8 oz gruyere cheese, shredded or sliced provolone cheese
• 1/4 cup of  parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 2 tbs butter
• 5 dashes worcestershire sauce
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme (1 stem) or a couple dashes of dried thyme, optional
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. Cut onions in half and slice thin.
2. In a Dutch oven or large saucepan heat to medium heat. Add butter and sliced onions. Cook until onions are a deep golden color (caramelized). Stir frequently to prevent burning. This will take about 30-40 minutes, or longer. The onions should be on the dark side of golden (brown) and not light colored. You want to cook them long enough to bring out the natural sugars in the onions.
3. Add sherry to the pan with onions and deglaze by scraping the bottom of pan. Cook until the sherry is absorbed into the onions.
4. Add beef broth, consommé, worcestershire sauce, and a sprig of thyme. Season with salt if necessary and a few rounds of freshly ground pepper.
5. Simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes for the flavors to meld. 
6. While the soup is simmering, lightly butter and sprinkle French bread slices with a little bit of parmesan cheese. Broil until the cheese is melted and bread is toasted.
7. Line a cookie sheet with a piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup. Place oven safe soup bowls or ramekins on cookie sheet.
8. After soup has simmered for 30 minutes, remove thyme sprig and ladle soup into 6 soup bowls or ramekins, then float French bread on top. Sprinkle the top with gruyere cheese, sprinkle with just a little bit of parmesan cheese and then broil until cheese is bubbly and golden.

Comments:

- This recipe fits perfectly into a quantity of 6 ramekins that are 6 oz each. Target and Walmart carry them for affordable prices.

- The consommé adds an extra richness to the broth. It is found in the soup section and I usually buy the Campbell's brand. If you can't find consommé, you can use Campbell's beef broth (condensed) that is found in the soup aisle also. The beef broth found in the soup aisle is typically condensed, which is more concentrated than regular broth. 

- Depending on the size of your soup bowls, it may only serve 4.

- I did not have one of the cans of beef broth and used chicken broth instead and it still turned out good.

Tips:

- Be sure to take the time to caramelize the onions as indicated above.

- If you don't have sweet onions, add about a tsp of sugar as they are caramelizing.

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