In the Kitchen: French Onion Soup

I used a recipe found on Pinterest to create the most delicious french onion soup.  I didn't change it much but I left out the thyme (mostly because I didn't want to make an additional trip to the grocery store.

6 onions - thinly sliced, I used all sweet onions but a mixture can be used for additional flavor
2 cloves of garlic
1 -32 ounce container of organic low sodium beef broth
1/2 container of low sodium chicken broth (about 16 ounces)
3 dried bay leaves
a cup of white wine, mine was slightly sweet
3 tablespoons of butter
salt and pepper to taste
French baguette
And for cheese I shredded up some smoked gouda with bacon

To caramelize the onions place all six, thinly sliced. onions and 3 tablespoons of butter on medium heat and leave them there for about an hour stirring occasionally.  After a substantial amount of time your house will smell like heaven.  About 30-40 minutes in, I added the garlic, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. When the hour is complete, add the wine and reduce for about five minutes.  Add the broth and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer for at least a half hour.  In the meanwhile I prepped my little toasts.  I don't have oven-safe crocks so I had to make my cheese toast separately and add them after I spooned the soup into bowls.  If you have crocks, then by all means put the soup, toast, and cheese under a broiler and make it happen!  The only thing I would have added to the finished soup would be a thin drizzle of balsamic in the bowl to make the flavor pop.  Next time I will try a few swaps - dry red wine and maybe Gruyere cheese.

This should be a "must try" before you say goodbye to the chilly weather.