Day Two Hundred and Fifty Eight - French Onion Soup

Dear all,

Sunrise this morning and our first clear day in [what seems like] weeks.

The marina is now frozen but due to the strange currents running through Georgian Bay, an eerie mist lurks just above the lake surface adding a mysterious shadow beneath the amber glow of the morning sun.

To celebrate the return of blue sky, I decided to make French Onion soup which I thought would be a great compliment to the cold morning frost and also brilliant blog-fodder.

I logged on to Fairy Godmother Google and was aghast to find that there are many people out there who [truly] believe they have the best french onion soup recipe in the world. I was at a loss on where to start to know where to start. We had a couple of half full bottles of beer in the fridge so I typed in French Onion Soup Beer and as if by magic, my recipe appeared: http://recipes.epicurean.com/recipe/22673/french-onion-beer-soup.html

The recipe was fairly standard for an onion soup, the primary ingredient being, of course, onion, but specifically Vadalia, the big ones. I also omitted Sherry because, to be frank, I hate it and I am not a hateful person as a rule, the exceptions being synthetic mashed potato, luncheon meat, injections and chemistry homework.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
2 large vadalia onions, thick sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup cooking sherry
8 cups water
3 1/3 tablespoons beef bullion (granules)
12 oz beer
1-2 drops tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3 cups garlic croutons
8 oz sliced mozzarella cheese
6 tablespoons grated asiago cheese

I added the onions to a large pot already bubbling with the oil and butter. I then added the salt, pepper and sugar. I left the onions cooking away for about 45 minutes until they were brown in colour and soft to touch.

I then added the water, bouillon ( i used chicken), tabasco and thyme. Ooo and th beer. I bought the broth to the boil and then let it simmer for about an hour.

Once Darren had got home to a pot of bubbling oniony goodness, we grated up some mozzorella and parmason, crumbled some croutons and sprinkled both on top of two bowls full of soup. We then put the soup in the oven to melt the cheese and in ten minutes, we had two bowls of searing hot, tasty goodness. I am now on a mission to find the ultimate French Soup recipe!

And in other news:
1. My favorite film of the year is out on DVD so i couldn't resist an early birthday present for Darren: Inception on Blue ray and a T-Shirt included in the box set. I love it EVEN MORE on second viewing and urge anyone who hasn't seen it to pop it on the Christmas to do list!