While my mother is away, I decided I've been cooking enough of her recipes recently that it would be okay if I jumped in for one day.
I decided to make two soups for my girlfriend: a Butternut Squash Soup and a French Onion Soup. The Butternut Squash soup was relatively simple to make (minus having trouble locating a squash in the Kroger due to labeling "Buttercup Squash").
The French Onion soup however posed a few more challenges. The main challenge was onion chopping. I can chop with the best of them, but four onions left me in tears in the kitchen. After that, there was no way onions cooking for an hour was going to bother me. The recipe said 45 minutes, but I sure do like my sauteed onions, I gave them a little extra time (your choice). After cooking the onions down, I started to add the other portions of the broth. This part just involved sitting and waiting to eat it, which was a challenge in and of itself. Finally, when the soup was done I decided to give it an elegant presentation, involving a piece of fresh bread on top with swiss cheese, placed under the broiler. Let's just say, it was a hit! Plus, I have days worth of leftover soups. French Onion may seem intimidating (I guess any dish that is "French" sounds difficult). But the French Onion recipe here is simple enough for a late friday night but delicious enough to eat all weekend.
Ingredients
2 lb onions, about 4 large, peeled, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced across
1 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
3/4 tsp each salt, pepper and sugar
1/2 stick butter
1 Tbsp flour
3/4 cups cooking white wine (you can buy this with vinegars at the grocery)
5 cups beef broth (you can use bouillon cubes, cans or box)
sliced French bread
sliced Swiss cheese
Directions
Cook onions, thyme, bay leaves, salt, pepper and sugar in butter in a heavy pot over low heat, stirring frequently, until onions are soft and golden brown, about 45 minutes.
Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
Raise heat to medium and stir in wine and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
Stir in broth and water, simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes.
While soup simmers, put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
Arrange bread in 1 layer on a large baking sheet and toast, turning over once.
Discard bay leaves.
Ladle soup into oven-proof bowls*. Top with toasts and cheese. Broil 4 to 5 inches from heat until cheese is melted and bubbly, 1 to 2 minutes.
*(Or toast bread with cheese and add to soup in bowl if your bowls aren’t oven proof.)
