Day 54, French Onion Soup

I did say I was going to attempt to caramelize onions, and today I did. I actually did successfully too. I'm not very patient, and prefer to make things that take near a half hour to make, but this is well worth the wait.

French Onion Soup

6-8 medium onions, approximately 2 pounds

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

32 oz beef stock, approximately 3 cups

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

pinch pepper to taste

1/2 baguette, cut into 3 inch pieces

4 slices Provolone cheese

Cut onions into thin slices. Heat olive oil and butter in a large frying pan on medium low heat. Add onions to frying pan and cook for 45 - 50 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until caramelized. Add Worcestershire sauce, pepper and beef stock to onions; bring to a boil. Place 2 slices of bread in a heatable bowl, preferably a ceramic tureen. Add soup over bread. Place a slice of cheese over each bowl. Either take a kitchen torch to brown the cheese, or place bowls on a baking sheet and broil 3-4 inches from top of oven for 1-3 minutes, until cheese is browned.

Serves 4

Onions at beginning: translucent stage

Onions at midpoint: beginning to caramelize

Onions at end stage: caramelized

Bread in bowl before adding soup

I have tried to copy the french onion soup that TGIFriday's has made and I think I'm getting closer. I'm not patient, but to have good french onion soup, you need caramelized onions. It takes about 45 minutes to properly caramelize onions. I have attempted to caramelize onions before, but have not taken my time and not gotten them the way I wanted. If you're in a hurry, make the soup the day before and refrigerate the mix up to adding the broth step, reheating the soup and adding it to the bread and cheese when needed.

Flavor Rating: Excellent, my husband loved it and wanted a second bowl.

Ease of Preparation: Hard, onions take a long time to caramelize and there is an added step to brown the cheese.