French Onion Soup

The weather here is cool and rainy. A perfect time for a great French Onion Soup. This is a great recipe. Original recipe from the Jersey Tomato on Allrecipes.com One thing you can try is to use sherry instead of the red wine. I have tried this with very good results. This recipe makes 2 servings. Original recipe was for four. Thanks to Jersey Tomato for such a great recipe. If you have time the other thing you can do to make this outstanding is to make your own broth.



2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large red onions, thinly sliced
1 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
24 fluid ounces of chicken broth
7 ounces beef broth
1/4 cup red wine1-1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 sprig fresh parsley
1/2 sprig fresh thyme leaves
1/2 bay leaf
1-1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 thick slices French or Italian bread
4 slices Gruyere or Swiss cheese slices, room temperature
1/4 cup shredded Asiago or mozzarella cheese, room temperature
2 pinches paprika

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in salt, red onions and sweet onions. Cook 35 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are caramelized and almost syrupy.
2. Mix chicken broth, beef broth, red wine and Worcestershire sauce into pot. Bundle the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf with twine and place in pot. Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard the herbs. Reduce the heat to low, mix in vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Cover and keep over low heat to stay hot while you prepare the bread.

3. Preheat oven broiler. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and broil 3 minutes, turning once, until well toasted on both sides. Remove from heat; do not turn off broiler.

4. Arrange 2 large oven safe bowls or crocks on a rimmed baking sheet. Fill each bowl 2/3 full with hot soup. Top each bowl with 1 slice toasted bread, 2 slice Gruyere cheese and 1/4 of the Asiago or mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle a little bit of paprika over the top of each one.

5. Broil 5 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown.