SOUP - French Onion Soup

By Aemelia

Ingredients

• 3 pounds of yellow onions
• 1 pound of white onions
• 1 pound of red onions
• 1 pound of Vidalia onions
• 3 shallots
• olive oil
• half a stick of salted butter
• a few sprigs of thyme
• good sherry vinegar
• salt and pepper, more than you might normally add - don't be shy!
• 2 48 oz cans of good chicken stock (of course homemade stock is best, but let's be realistic)
• 2 16 oz cans of good beef stock

Details

Adapted from gourmetgalley.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Put your pot on the stove and coat the bottom in olive oil - medium heat. We use the olive oil here because butter is very high maintenance, and since it's easiest to chop and drop as you go, you won't have to worry while you're finishing the onion prep about the contents of your pot burning.

2. Slice the onions. Wear eye protection, and give your pot a stir every once in a while.

3. Once all of the onions are in the pot, add the salt, pepper, and butter and continue the caramelization process - this part should take about 30 minutes, and the onions will cook down to about half their size.

4. Deglaze your pot with the sherry vinegar - just a quick turn of the wrist should do it.

5. Add the chicken and beef stocks. Bring to a boil.

6. Lower pot to low heat and let the liquid cook off a bit, about an hour or two or however long you can wait (as with most things, the longer the better!)

Now, if you want to really fancy things up, you can take it to the next level by ladling your creation into a crock and adding a slice of crusty bread and a few pieces of gruyere cheese and popping it under your broiler. Simple enough, but not to be left unattended, as that cheese can go from golden deliciousness to a burnt mess in a matter of seconds.