The fools!
I have made it before with home made vegetable broth. It was really quite good.
I like that product too. Trader Joe’s still has them, although they were out for a couple of months. Last I saw, Costco has them too (as of a month or two ago), but I think it’s a seasonal item for them.
Caramelize yellow onions
Remove onions, and deglaze pan with brandy, then add 1:1 beef and veal stock, bay leaves and thyme, simmer then add more brandy, simmer. Add salt to taste.
On the rare occasions I make it: fully caramelized (not toothsome at all) onions and a mixture of chicken and beef broth. I use this Anthony Bourdain recipe but my onions have never been done in 20 minutes, more like 60.
I also like this horribly named variation for a heartier main dish soup - it adds sliced marinated beef and soba noodles.
I had never had French Onion Soup until last week, when DH made some that was outstanding, and I hope he makes it again this winter.
Vegetarian version because that’s how we roll.
Reported here:
He used mushroom flavour BTB. He sauteed the onions until they still retained a little texture. Added lots of gruyere. Baguette slices with more gruyere for the top. Some kind of white wine per whatever recipe he followed.
Got the brown and cream crocks (no handles, just the little ears, for easier storage) from Amazon. There are many sizes and colours of this shape of crock available.
ETA: these crocks are freezer, oven, microwave safe, though I would not go straight from freezer to oven.
I thrifted my soup mugs. We like them with a big handle. I think I paid $2 each…but they go under the broiler and in the micro with no issues
No tooth (butter and OO), lamb broth (roasted bones), sherry, bay leaf, thyme. Any toasted crunchy bread with baby Swiss. My wife bought the bowls just for this dish, much to my chagrin ( I hate single use appliances, and serviceware). Top five comfort foods for us.
That was my wife’s defense. Cheap and broiler friendly. That last part told me she did some reading. Still got 'em, and they are perfect for FO soup. Fat handles are a must. So dang hot.
Become a cookware junkie. Embrace the single use tool that is truly incomparable. They can be so much fun. What else ya gonna do with a Madeleine plaque? Madeleines are such a delight! Ditto for tortilla presses and so many more!
A definite garage sale junky, I picked up 6 of these which stack, three on two in my space. Oven/broiler proof and rustic looking. Probably paid around $5 for the 6. I’m good.
I would annoy the hell out of you - I have cookware, dinnerware and serveware for every season of the year and table linens to go with them…it can be exhausting
They’re good for chili, too
I use Alton Brown’s recipe which uses super caramelized onions, apple cider, chicken broth, fresh thyme, and white wine. I top with toasted baguette slice and shredded gruyere or Swiss.
Is that you, mom? I hear you. I’m a utilitarian thinker, she likes the seasons. God bless her. Hard to get cranky with folks I love. In the end, I’m glad she got them. One dish wonder, but I make the soup more frequently, now; which I’m sure was in her head as she perused the bowls.
I spend the time to go full brown on that pile-o-onions. I don’t mind a little tooth; but my love prefers the full brown. Hey, while I’m making the soup, she’s stacking wood. Mumma gets what she wants.
SMH. I have brothers exactly like you. I am the mama bird…what more can I say??
Don’t go changin’, mama. They love you the way you are. I always grouse about helping her get Thanksgiving, Christmas, whatever stuff out. The place looks so much more inviting with it, though.
I have seasonal tableware and accoutrements. People love it, but I’m going to let the stuff go. Less work for the executor of my estate …
I have eaten more french onion soup made by my vegetarian SIL than any other kind, and it’s always delicious.
She uses BTB mushroom too, and occasionally a little of a different stock base for fullness of flavor. Bay leaves. Yellow onions caramelized for a long time in a heavy dutch oven. Baguette rounds with Gruyère on top, more Gruyère at the base of the bowl.
However, I do not get this as a complete meal (which is how she serves it). I’m always hungry an hour or two later. (I’m also not a big fan of Gruyère, so there’s that.)
It’s a very heavy dish, for being mostly water.