barry thinks it’s cold outside, so go eat some soup!

my parents can attest that growing up i was a very unimaginative child to take out to restaurants. lasagna, caesar salad and french onion soup were my only options of choice, and though i’ve branched out in my eating habits as i got older (thank god), i’ve still retained a fondness for my nostalgic three. so, in saying that, this horrible weather has inspired me to warm up with some homemade onion soup and i’d like to pass along my recipe to you. if you want to get really crazy, caramelize the onions for a few hours ahead of time (you can do them the day before). don’t worry if you’re on some fangled new year’s health regime, just keep telling yourself that this is part of a healthy liquid diet. right….

barry’s random french onion soup.
(i call this my “random” soup because i add whatever i have on hand until it smells and tastes good.)

4 – 5 onions, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. butter

1 – 2 tbsp. sugar

3 sprigs fresh thyme (dried is fine too)

1 carton of beef stock

about ½ c. dry white wine (if you have red wine use that)

about 3 tbsp. sherry, optional (if you have brandy use that)

1 bay leaf

a couple dashes of worcestershire sauce

french bread (regular bread, croutons, etc.)

smoked gruyere cheese and parmesan (swiss works, as does asiago)

salt

pepper

1. sauté onions in olive oil and butter over low heat. add sugar a teaspoon at a time throughout the process, as well as a smidgeon of salt and pepper. once your onions have just started to caramelize, add approx 1 ½ cloves worth of minced garlic. about halfway through the sauté add ¾ of the thyme. by the end of it, your onions should be golden yellow, almost creamy-looking and the smell in your kitchen should make you crave hot dogs.

2. to the onions, add your stock, wine, sherry and worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil. add your bay leaf and the last bit of thyme. reduce heat, cover and simmer for roughly 20 minutes. add salt and pepper to taste and remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs.

3. meanwhile slice french bread and rub with the remaining garlic. broil until toasted. grate cheese.

4. ladle soup into oven-proof bowls and top with bread then cheese. broil until cheese melts and starts to brown.