Our week was a deluge of endless ‘black friday’ ads and rain. Not sure when this Black Friday exploded out of control, but it can stop any time, as can the rain.
There was also a winter storm advisory from the weather service. A ‘Snowmageddon’ was supposed to blanket the Pacific Northwest.
For us it was a no-show-mageddon, though some nasty weather hit coastal areas. By week’s end, rain had obliterated any snow accumulation and we were left with cold, wet and gray days.
That is not a complaint. Really.
While we didn’t get out much this week, we weren’t totally dormant.
This pre-winter weather is a perfect time to enjoy soup or stew. And really, what is the difference . . . tomayto, tomahto.
This week we ladled bowls full of steamy French Onion soup. A classic topped with slices of toasted baguette and melty Gruyere cheese. We’ll share the recipe. It’s not a quick cook, but well worth the extra steps.
A couple of years ago JQ picked up a copy of Cook’s Illustrated “All Time Best Soups” and with that began Soup Sunday at the Schommer house.
In the process many of the book’s pages were stained and it’s margins filled with hand scribbled notes . . . signs of a good cook book.
Skies and the ground have cleared and the weatherman is calling for slightly warmer and much sunnier days ahead. So next week we’ll return to our favorite streams and backroads . . . though we are still braced for winter.
French Onion Soup
Ingredients
SOUP
- 4 lbs onions sliced through root end into ¼ inch pieces
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter cut into 3 pieces
- salt and pepper
- 2 cups water plus extra for deglazing as needed
- 1/2 cup dry sherry
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups beef broth
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme tied with twine
- 1 bay leaf
CROUTONS & CHEESE
- 1 small baguette cut into ½ inch slices
- 8 oz Gruyere cheese shredded (2 cups)
Instructions
For the soup
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Generously spray inside of Dutch oven with vegetable oil spray. Add onions, butter, and 1 tsp salt.
- Cover and bake until onions wilt slightly and look moist, about 1 hour.
- Stir onions thoroughly, scraping bottom and sides of pot. Partially cover pot and continue to cook in oven until onions are very soft and golden brown, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours longer, stirring onions thoroughly after 1 hour.
- Carefully remove pot from oven and place over medium-high heat. Using oven mitts to handle pot, continue to cook onions, stirring and scraping pot often, until liquid evaporates, onions brown, and bottom of pot is coated with dark crust, 20 to 25 minutes. If onions begin to brown too quickly, reduce heat to medium. Also, be sure to scrape any browned bits that collect on the spoon back into the onions.
- Stir in 1/4 cup water, thoroughly scraping up browned crust. Continue to cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6-8 minutes. Repeat deglazing 2 or 3 more times, until onions are a very dark brown.
- Stir in sherry and cook until evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, beef broth, 2 cups more water, thyme bundle, bay leaf, and 1/2 tsp salt, scraping up any remaining brown bits. Bring to simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes. Discard thyme bundle and bay leaf and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, return to simmer before proceeding.
Croutons and soup prep
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Lay baguette slices on rimmed baking sheet and bake until dry, crisp, and lightly golden, about 10 minutes, flipping slices over halfway through baking.
- Position oven rack 8 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set broiler-safe bowls on baking sheet and fill each with hot soup. Top each bowl with 1 to 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with grated Gruyère cheese.
- Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around the edges, 3-5 minutes. Sprinkle lightly with chopped parsley and serve.