a classic! french onion soup!

The story:

Ok, I guess now that I am back on the recipe horse I'm on something of a binge but here goes. French onion soup, who doesn't like it? It' s rich, oniony, and oh so cheesey! Who can say to no to such a dish? Especially when its got the croutons in the there...right so now I might be drooling a little but it's totally worth it. French onion soup doesn't have to be terribly complicated to make and even a simple one is gonna be so much better than one of those intolerable powder mixes or canned soup versions. Here's a tweaked version that I created when I was craving the soup but had some extra items in the fridge that needed to be used up.

Ingredients:

2 cans of veggie stock (the missus insists on beef but thats a no no to me)

2-3 large yellow or white onions ( vidalia works but it changes the sweetness of the dish)

4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme (a must have for the dish)

1/2 cup of water to thin it out

1/4 of dry sherry cooking wine ( I like mine to have that extra oomph)

1/4 cup of unsalted butter

2 tbs of flour

1 cup of croutons (can be bagged salad croutons if fresh bread ones arn't available)

1/2 cup gruyere cheese

1/4 cup swiss cheese

Optional ingredients:

1/4 cup of roasted sweet corn (canned works too, but bbq or oven roasted adds a smokeness)

1 Jalepeno

Start by dicing the onions finely. Take a med. sized pot, one large enough to hold all the ingredients when cooked, and bring up to med. high heat. Put the butter in the pot and let it melt until it starts to brown. Then add the thyme, ripping off the leaves into the pot and throwing away the stems. Allow that to sit for 30-40 seconds and then add all of the onions. Mix the onions well, so that they are all coated in the browned butter. Let them reduce and carmelize for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Now its time to add the corn and the pepper if you're choosing to include them. Mash the corn just a little, so that when it cooks in the broth the starch helps thicken it a bit. Once the onions become translucent, its time to add the sherry. Add the wine, stirring well. After about a minute add the broth, and alot it to come to a slow boil. Now its mostly a waiting game. I tend to like to let it sit, on a med. low heat, so that the flavors come together. After 15 or so minutes, its should be about time for the rue. Take the flour and the water and mix thouroughly in a seperate bowl. Once its fully blended add to the soup on the stove. Bring the soup back up to a low boil, letting the mixutre thicken the soup. It should reach the proper consistancy in about 4-5 minutes. Now comes the best part the bread and cheese!! Fill a bowl roughly 2/3 full with soup, adding the croutons on top. Once those have settled in, add the cheese to it in a roughly 2:1 ratio of gruyere to swiss. There are now two way to go with it. If your bowl is heavy duty or a nice ramikin you can place it in the oven under the broiler to do the cheese up right, or if not, you can simply mix the cheese into the soup and eat it as is!

eat and enjoy!