French Onion Soup and Chocolate Banana Bread

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Did you enjoy your weekend? Are you rested and ready for a great week? I am well rested and ready for a busy week.

I spent the weekend exactly as I envisioned, drinking cocoa and tea and reading a pile of magazines and a good book. Do you know the kind of book I am talking about? The book  you cannot put down, not to eat, answer the phone or to go to bed. I finished it Saturday and then spent Sunday cooking and baking.

I should be honest here, I am an impatient cook and baker. I do not like long and complicated recipes but once and awhile I do make an exception. This French Onion Soup is my exception this week. The recipe is hands down the best onion soup you will ever make. The ingredient list is pretty basic, but the directions look pretty long, so before you decide to write this off please read through the entire thing and you will see it is pretty simple.

The Best French Onion Soup EVER

adapted from Cooks Illustrated

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces

6 large  onions (3 yellow and 3 red onions) sliced

1 tsp salt

2 cups water, plus 3/4 cup for deglazing

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup dry red wine

4 cups low sodium chicken broth

1 cup beef broth

1 can organic beef consume

6 sprigs fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

ground black pepper

Cheese Crouton

1 baguette, cut into 1/2-inch slices 

4 1/2 ounces Swiss cheese, sliced 1/16-inch thick

1 1/2 ounces grated Gruyere cheese (about 3/4 cup)

 

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400°. Generously spray inside of heavy-bottomed large (at least 7-quart) Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray. 

2.  Place butter in pot and add onions and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, 1 hour (onions will be moist and slightly reduced in volume). 

3. Remove pot from oven and stir onions, scraping bottom and sides of pot. Return pot to oven with lid slightly ajar and continue to cook until onions are very soft and golden brown, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours longer, stirring onions and scraping bottom and sides of pot after 1 hour.

4. Carefully remove pot from oven and place over medium-high heat.

5.Using oven mitts to handle pot, cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot, until liquid evaporates and onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes, reducing heat to medium if onions are browning too quickly.

6.  Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until pot bottom is coated with dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary.

7. Stir in 1/4 cup water scraping pot bottom to loosen crust, and cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes.

8.Repeat process of deglazing 2 or 3 more times, until onions are very dark brown.

9. Add wine and balsamic vinegar, stirring frequently, until wine evaporates, about 5 minutes.

10.Stir in chicken and beef broths, 2 cups water, the thyme, and bay leaf  (tied with twine or wrapped in cheese cloth for easy removal from pot) and 1/2 teaspoon salt, scraping up any final bits of browned crust on bottom and sides of pot. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer.

11. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Remove and discard herbs, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

 For the croutons:

Arrange baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet and bake in 400-degree oven until bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside. 

To serve: Adjust oven rack 4 to 6 inches from broiler and heat broiler. Set heat-safe soup bowls or crocks on rimmed baking sheet and fill each with about 1 1/2 cups soup. Top each bowl with two toasted baguette slices (try not to overlap) and divide Swiss cheese slices, laying them in a single layer, if possible, on bread.  Sprinkle each serving with about 2 tablespoons grated Gruyere cheese and broil until well browned and bubbly, 7 to 10 minutes.

Notes: The original recipe calls for using just yellow onions. I decided to use half red because in the reviews that I read it mentioned that adding red onions made the soup less sweet. Also, I added beef consume in place of 1 can of beef broth simply because I had it and did not have enough beef broth.

This soup is fabulous! The soup is creamy, has great depth of onion flavor. Toasting the bread ahead of time allows the crouton to hold up in the soup and not become instantly mushy. And of course the crunchy, yet chewy cheese topping  put it over the top. It is the best French Onion Soup I have ever eaten.

I also baked, I know that is a surprise! If you have a few bananas laying around than come over to my other blog, Once Upon a Chocolate Life and check out my recipe for Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread! It is yummy!

I also wanted to mention two great give aways going on this week! The first is from Dreamy Whites Blog, the give away is for $300.00 to her beautiful shop where you will find all sorts of  antique treasures from France!

The second give away is from the The Magical Christmas Wreath Company and it is for a fabulous set of Fortum & Mason picnic items!

If you do not know these two blogs go over and check them out! I love them both and think you will too! And if you know a give away do let us know!

Have a wonderful week!

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