French Onion Soup

How we make it.

5 sweet onions, thinly sliced
6 tablespoons butter
6 sprigs thyme leaves, stripped
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup bourbon
1/2 cup sherry
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
6 cups beef stock
Garnish: toasted bread cubes, shredded Gruyere

Heat a large heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add butter, sliced onions, pepper and thyme. Not salt yet. Salt will stop the onions from browning by pulling the moisture out of them. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden-brown for 20-30 minutes. Once onions have browned, add salt and flour, cooking for a minute or so more. Pour in bourbon and sherry, scraping up brown bits from the pot with a wooden spoon. Let cook for 2 minutes and then add beef stock and Worcestershire, stirring to combine. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium low and let simmer for 30 minutes, partially covered. When ready to serve, pour into bowls and top with toasted bread, shredded Gruyere and thyme. Place under broiler for few minutes until cheese is bubbling.

Why we make it.

When I was a chubby little girl my family would have lunch most Sundays after church at TGI Friday's. I would order a steaming cheese covered crock of French onion soup that had to be cut with a knife. I chased it with chicken fingers and onion rings. Who was watching me? No one, apparently. That was probably for the best because that soup had so much stringy provolone the eating process was not appropriate for the Sabbath. I still love French onion soup. Nothing delights me more than finding a good one out, except maybe making a great one in. You are going to smell like onions for a while if you make this. I do think it's worth it. This soup takes time but is incredibly easy if you don't mind peeling some onions. Topped with crunchy, toasted bread cubes and a reasonable amount of Gruyere, this deeply savory beef broth soup is intensely comforting without being intensely fattening. And I like that. I like to make a large pot and garnish as I go, bowl by bowl. It's almost February, which means you can slurp this sexy soup with your Valentine soon, if you like. That's why I made it.