I've been making this for years. It's been a restaurant favorite of mine since I was a kid. Very easy to make.



First the onion soup:

Just thin-slice up some half onion rings (two onions will do for two servings).

Place them in a medium hot, buttered, pot.

Saute till thoroughly cooked.

Add beef broth (I use one can of condensed Campbell's) and bring to boil.

Add a quarter cup of Madeira wine to the bottom of two oven-safe bowls appropriate for French Onion Soup. They make specialized bowls for this, but all sorts of bowls will do, so long as they are deep and relatively narrow-mouthed.

Add enough soup to each bowl to come up two-thirds to the top. Taste and adjust salt to liking.

Add a hard roll (cut to fit the bowl, if necessary) or a section (or two, or three, depending on dimensions) of a French baguette. Push it down into the soup so it's close to level with the top of the bowl.

Top with either Swiss or Gruyère cheese. I use a good bit.

Place bowls on an aluminum foil covered cookie sheet or baking pan and place into a 400 degree, preheated, oven for 10 to 15 minutes (check after 10 minutes).

Serve.

Looks great,

Man that looks good!

Looks great!

When I was living in NH, we used to drive to Killington, VT, just so I could get a bowl of French Onion soup at Charity's 1887 Saloon. Most restaurants don't get the cheese crisp enough for me.

Since I was a kid, if i saw a good restaurant had that on their menu, I'd order it. Only problem with it is that it's generally very hot when served, and because of all the bread and cheese on top, it takes forever to cool down to where you can eat it. I routinely give it 15 minutes on the counter top before I even attempt to eat it.

Looks great. I haven't made it in years as my wife won't eat it. Like you, if it is on a restaurant menu it gets ordered.

My go-to, courtesy of Andrew Zimmern:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced (7 cups)
2 leeks, whites and light green parts only, thinly sliced
1 cup thinly sliced shallots (2 large)
Kosher salt
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon herbs de Provence
1 bay leaf
1 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
8 cups beef stock or low-sodium broth
Freshly ground pepper
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into chunks
12 baguette slices, cut 1/2 inch thick
4 ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded (1 cup)
Finely chopped thyme, for garnish


In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the olive oil. Add the onions, leeks, shallots and a generous pinch of salt and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until very tender and caramelized, 40 to 45 minutes; stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of water if the onions look very dry.

Add the garlic, tomato paste, herbs de Provence and bay leaf to the casserole and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until fragrant and the mixture is glossy, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and vinegar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, until reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the stock and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the soup is well flavored and reduced to 8 cups, about 45 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Season the soup with salt and pepper and keep warm over very low heat.

Meanwhile, in a very large skillet, melt the butter. Add the baguette slices and cook over moderate heat, turning once, until golden and just crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer the croutons to a plate.

Preheat the broiler and position the rack 8 inches from the heat. Arrange 6 heatproof bowls on a large rimmed baking sheet. Ladle the soup into the bowls and top with the croutons and cheese. Broil until the cheese is melted and browned in spots, 1 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle with thyme and serve.

The only thing I'd change with either of the recipes posted above is the bread. I prefer a hunk of sourdough in my french onion soup.

Good eats fellers!