French Onion Soup

A few weeks ago I picked up my first Bountiful Basket.  I love the concept.  Monday at 10 AM I check the web site and give them my contribution.  Saturday morning I go and pick up the order.  You never know what you are going to get and that week there were 10 onions in the basket.  I love this recipe for French Onion Soup that I got from Cooks Illustrated so this is what I made.  I froze the soups in small one cup containers that fit perfectly in my French Onion Soup bowls.  When I'm ready, I pop one of the frozen soups out,  put it in the soup bowl and microwave it for a couple of minutes until it is bubbling.  Meanwhile, I preheat the oven broiler.  Once the soup is warm I top it with the croutons and the cheese, pop it under the broiler for a couple of minutes until the cheese is melted and brown and then enjoy this soup.  I hope you like it as much as I do.

French Onion Soup, from Cooks Illustrated

3             tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces

6             large yellow onions (about 4 pounds), halved and cut pole to pole into 1/4-inch-thick slices

  Table salt

2             cups water, plus extra for deglazing

1/2          cup dry sherry

4             cups low-sodium chicken broth

2             cups beef broth

6             sprigs fresh thyme, tied with kitchen twine

1             bay leaf

   Ground black pepper

1             small baguette, cut into 1/2-inch slices

8             ounces shredded Gruyère cheese (about 2 1/2 cups)          

                                                                                                                       

1. For the soup: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Generously spray inside of heavy-bottomed large (at least 7-quart) Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray. Place butter in pot and add onions and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, 1 hour (onions will be moist and slightly reduced in volume). Remove pot from oven and stir onions, scraping bottom and sides of pot. Return pot to oven with lid slightly ajar and continue to cook until onions are very soft and golden brown, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours longer, stirring onions and scraping bottom and sides of pot after 1 hour.

2. Carefully remove pot from oven and place over medium-high heat. Using oven mitts to handle pot, cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot, until liquid evaporates and onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes, reducing heat to medium if onions are browning too quickly. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until pot bottom is coated with dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary. (Scrape any fond that collects on spoon back into onions.) Stir in 1/4 cup water, scraping pot bottom to loosen crust, and cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes. Repeat process of deglazing 2 or 3 more times, until onions are very dark brown. Stir in sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until sherry evaporates, about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in broths, 2 cups water, thyme, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, scraping up any final bits of browned crust on bottom and sides of pot. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Remove and discard herbs, then season with salt and pepper.

4. For the croutons: While soup simmers, arrange baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet and bake in 400-degree oven until bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

5. To serve: Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on baking sheet and fill each with about 1 3/4 cups soup. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.