French Onion Soup

Last Christmas, my parents got Matt a cookbook called "Cheese, Please: The cheese lover's ultimate recipe collection." One of our favorite recipes HAS to be the French Onion Soup. It's made with chicken broth instead of beef and I really like the flavor a lot better. And of course, the gruyere cheese is a wonderful complement.

1/4 C butter - we use about 1 Tbsp
2 large onions, sliced
2 tsp flour
4 cups chicken stock – depending on the size of the onions, you may want to add more stock
1/4 C dry white wine
5 oz Gruyere or Emmental cheese, grated
Approximately 1/3 to 1/2 sourdough (or French) baguette, sliced into rounds
Salt and pepper, to taste

Melt the butter in a large pan. Add the onions and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. They must be browned to give the soup a good color.

Stir in the flour and continue to cook until the flour turns a sandy color.

Pour in the stock and wine and bring to a boil, stirring. Season, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Preheat the broiler. Lightly toast the bread. TIP: Watch the bread carefully to avoid burning. Remove from oven and divide the cheese among the pieces of bread. Return to the broiler and heat until the cheese is bubbling.

Pour the soup and place the bread on top. Don’t be afraid to let the bread soak up the soup. It all adds to the flavor.