My First Attempt at a French Onion Soup

This recipe I have to admit, is not one that I conceived out of thin air--I found it on Laura Calder (a Food Network Chef)'s page on foodtv.ca. Brilliant website by the way! If you have never ventured into the Food Network World, you must.

I have been wanting to make it since the winter but despite its simple recipie, it calls for a few ingredients that I have had to slowly aquire: cognac, and red wine. I don't usually have any alcohol my kitchen other than white wine so recipies like this one get pushed to the back burner.

One day a few weeks ago, my room mate Natalia announced that she had a bottle of cognac stowed away in the back of her room and she generously donated it to my food endeavors! Its a brilliant bottle that looks like something a pirate or retired professor would drink. (I think so anyway). So that was one ingredient down, and the red wine was the only missing element. Luckily my best friend Leah came up for a weekend and absolutly FORCED me to get a bottle of Jackson Triggs red wine. (Complete lie...It was my idea- I felt it would be classy to also invest in some stemless wine glasses!) Safe to say I had it in the back of my head the entire time that the remaining wine was getting chucked into the soup. And that is exactly what happened.


But after all of that, I ended up using only 1 Tbsp. of cognac, and 1/2 Cup of Red Wine. It was worth it.

The soup was simple, but really yummy. Definitely would make a great winter afternoon dish.

Ingredients:

3/4 pounds onions, very thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. cognac
1/2 cup red wine
3 cups beef stock
Salt and Pepper
Some crusty bread
Grated gruyere cheese, for garnish

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a soup pot and saute the onions until very soft, at least 15 minutes.

2. Add the cognac and red wine and wait one minute.

3. Add the stock. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Check the seasonings.

4. Ladle the soup into oven proof bowls and set on a baking sheet. Top each with a slice of crusty bread and sprinkle the top generously with cheese. Broil until the top is lightly brown.