Would you believe it if I told you I picked these french onion soup bowls at a yard sale? Have I told you how much I love yard saling? Have I told you how much I love french onion soup? Don’t you love it when two things that you love come together to create a magical, serendipitous moment, like finding beautiful french onion soup bowls at a yard sale? I do. Also, I want to point out that they don’t make french onion soup bowls like this anymore. They’re all modern now and they down have the lip inside the bowl so it’s a lot harder to cut your bread and cheese with your spoon. Do you know what I’m talking about. Anyways, these were a fabulous find and do you want to know what the best part is? I got six for $3! Isn’t that incredible?!
I think I’ve built it up the soup and the bowls enough, time to get down to business.
Ingredients
- 2 Spanish onions
- A lot of butter – 2 tablespoons to start
- 1½ tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons garlic
- 1 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 5 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of beef Better Than Bouillon*
- 1/2 cup half and half cream
- 2 tablespoons brandy
- 1 ciabatta baguette
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 2 teaspoons parmesan
- 4-5 slices of gruyere cheese
*If you’ve been following me for a while you’ll know about my love of Better Than Bouillon, which is a broth substitute. So, if you don’t have Better than Bouillon you can just use 5 cups of beef broth.
Directions
- Caramelize the onions. This will take at least an hour. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and 1½ tablespoons of garlic to a big pot over low heat. Cut your onions in half, slice thinly and then add to your pot. Stir regularly as they cook until they are soft and browned. Add more butter as needed when the onions start to dry out.
- Add sugar and flour to your onions and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until the flour has browned.
- Add your broth and bring to a boil. Decrease heat until your soup is gently simmering and stir occasionally for 30 minutes.
- While your soup is simmering, make your baguette crouton. Slice baguette into 1 inch slices and preheat your oven to 375°. Mix 1 tablespoon of butter, 2 teaspoons garlic, parmesan, oregano together and spread onto the baguette. Bake in the over for 15 minutes. There should be one slice for each soup you they should be crisp and toasted. Delicious!
- Add cream and brandy to your soup mixture. Stir well and heat through.
- Ladle your soup into your french onion soup bowl, pop your crouton on top and then top it all off with cheese.
- Broil for about 10 minutes or until that cheese is beautiful, brown and bubbly.
- Eat.
I’m drooling all over the place just writing this. You guys are going to love it! Let me know your thoughts.
