French Onion Soup With Vidalias
By: Tina Marie
Published: Tuesday, January 11, 2011 - 10:34am

Ingredients




1 I adapted an Alton Brown recipe which called for sherry, which we didn't have, and quantities to serve e
3 sweet onions (I used Vidalias)
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups white wine
10 ounces canned beef broth
3/4 cup chicken broth
a bit of apple cider per your taste
Bouquet garni; thyme sprigs, bay leaf and 1/2 inch French bread, sliced into pieces
salt and pepper
fontina cheese, sliced or grated

Preparation

1 Trim the ends off each onion then halve lengthwise. After removing peel,  finely slice into half moon shapes. 2 Melt butter in a skillet or deep pan then add a layer of onions.  Sprinkle with a little salt. Repeat layering onions and salt until all onions are in the skillet. 3 Let onions sweat down for 15  minutes. After that, stir occasionally until onions are caramelish in color and reduced to approximately 2 cups.  This should take 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on your stove. 4 Add enough wine to cover the onions and turn heat to medium, reducing the wine to a syrup consistency. Add broths, apple cider and bouquet garni. Reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes. 5 IF you have crocks that will withstand the broiler then place oven rack in top 1/3 of oven and heat broiler.   My crocks can't withstand broiler temps so I just heated our oven to 400 degrees. 6 Cut bread in rounds large enough to fit mouth of oven safe soup crocks.   Toast the bread in the oven or just use a toaster. 7 Season soup mixture with salt and pepper. Remove bouquet garni and ladle soup into crocks leaving one inch to the lip. Place toasted bread on top of soup and top with grated Fontina cheese. 8 Safety Note:  Place crocks on a cookie sheet for easy removal from the oven.  Hot soup sloshing across your wrist is a disaster on so many levels.  The pain, the seared flesh, the flying hot crockery and clean up.  No soup to eat...... just use the cookie sheet. 9 Broil until cheese is bubbly and golden, 1 to 2 minutes. OR just place the cookie sheet and crocks in tghe 400 degree oven.  When cheese is melted - you have this to put on the table