French Onion Soup

One day, as I was strolling through the aisles of my local grocery store, I came across these awesome soup mugs that were on sale.  These mugs are the bomb!  They are oven proof, come with sturdy plastic covers, and they are red!  Perfect for work lunches! 

Now that I had these awesomely cool mugs, what the heck am I going to put in them?  Well, my favorite soup, by far, is french onion soup.  (Seriously, who doesn't love a good french onion soup?) 

Houston, we have a problem.  I've never made french onion soup before and didn't have a good recipe.  Determined to use these mugs, I scoured through all of the best chefs recipes, along with reading tons and tons of reviews.  The result was a concoction of a pretty darn good french onion soup, if I do say so myself!

This soup is satisying and sophisticated. 

Here's what you'll need...

1 stick of butter
4 onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 fresh thyme sprigs (dried is fine as well)
1 cup red wine
1 tbsp worcestershire
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp flour
1 quart beef broth
1 quart chicken broth
1 baguette, sliced
1/2 lb grated gruyere cheese
chopped fresh chives, for garnish
Salt and pepper, to taste

Melt the butter in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the onions, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper and cook until the onions are caramelized.  Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions are almost dry (about 5 minutes.)  Discard the bay leaf and sprig of thyme.  Dust the onions with flour and give them a stir.  Reduce heat to medium-low (so the flour doesn't burn) and cook for 8-10 minutes.  Add the broths, worcestershire, vinegar, bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Preheat the broiler.  Arrange baguette slices on a baking sheet and brush with some softened butter.  Sprinkle the slices with the gruyere and broil until bubbly - 3 to 5 minutes.

Serve the soup in bowls (or mugs) and place a cheesy baguette on top.  Garnish with chives.

Enjoy!!