my husband always wants to order french onion soup when it’s on a menu at a restaurant. i wanted to surprise him by making my own homemade version for him, so this was my attempt. I’m not a huge onion fan but still loved this. it was yummy!

ingredients:

• 4 onions, sliced.
• two cloves of garlic, minced.
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2-3 sprigs of thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup of red wine (i used perimeter cab sauv)
• 2 quarts (2 big cartons) of beef broth
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoon salt
• few dashes of nutmeg
• sliced baguette pieces
• freshly grated gruyere cheese (i used a mixture of cheddar, mozzarella and mostly gruyere)

instructions:

1. begin with a stock pot or dutch oven on medium heat. add the stick of butter and let melt. i love to use this pot by lecreuset. thanks to my in laws for that bday present!
2. toss the sliced 4 onions, minced garlic cloves, bay leaves and thyme into the stock pot. cook down until the onions are soft.. about 15-20 minutes, keeping an eye on the onions to make sure they do not burn.
3. add the garlic powder, nutmeg and flour. turn down the heat to medium low and cook for about 6 minutes constantly stirring the mixture. the flour gives the soup a thicker consistency but we cook it so that we can try to rid some of the flour taste.
4. add the red wine and stir. cook the mixture for another 5-6 minutes until the red wine has mostly evaporated.
5. remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaves. add the beef broth slowly while stirring constantly.
6. bring mixture to a boil then turn the heat down to a low simmer and leave for 10 minutes.
7. in the mean time, turn the oven on to broil at 500 degrees F, shred the cheese you want to use and slice the baguette into 1/2 IN thick slices. i only sliced a few pieces for each bowl and then wrapped up the baguette to use another night. align the sliced baguette on a pan and sprinkle with the cheese. (save some cheese for later)
8. place the pan of sliced baguette and cheese in the oven and broil for 3-4 minutes or until bubbly and crispy. remove from oven and set aside.
9. ladle the soup into oven safe bowls and add a few of the cheesy toasts to the top. add more cheese to the top and place the bowls on a cooking sheet. place the cooking sheet in the oven and cook under the broiler until the bowls are bubbling and the cheese has darkened.
10. ta-da! enjoy!

i actually served this soup as an appetizer to a yummy steak dinner. my husband has ben working late every night and i wanted to make a nice dinner to show him my gratitude for his hard work. i marinated some steaks in red wine, worchester, and montreal steak seasoning. then whipped up some mashed potatoes (with a dollop or two of cream cheese of course) and added a ceasar salad with parm crisps on the side.