French Onion Soup

Although French Onion Soup is a weird memory to have as a child, somehow it creates a vivid memory in my mind.

My parents use to take me to a small town in the US to dine at a dilapidated old house turned into a restaurant. Canadians would flock to this place every Friday evening, even though it was a good hours drive.

Once you got to Chase Mills, a line up out the door was evident, confirming a good hour or more wait. This old house offered a large bar, a pool table, shuffle board, all within the mix of the tables, making for a most cramped place. Hope you like pool cues in your face while trying to eat your meal. The ceilings were stained with water marks and in retrospect the whole cleanliness of the place would have Chef Ramsay in a fit of rage.

But somehow, maybe the overcrowdedness of it, patrons did not seem to notice. They were more occupied by being an hour from home but still dinning with everyone from their own town. But mainly people came for the food. The main dishes were the bacon wrapped fillet mignon and their hearty french onion soup. I trust you that this particular soup is made in a cleanly environment and is a perfect soup after skiing or snowshoeing.

2 T butter
6 medium onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup cognac, sherry or red wine
6 cups beef broth

1 tsp thyme

ground pepper
grated Gruyere cheese
French bread sliced


In a large soup pot melt the butter over medium heat and add the onions. Cook the onions stirring frequently until soft and melted, anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes.

Add alcohol to deglaze and add the pepper and thyme. Stir.

Add the beef broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes or longer (the longer is simmers the more flavor).

Laddle soup into oven proof soup bowls. Place a slice of bread or more on top and sprinkle with grated cheese as desired.

Place in a preheated oven (450F) on a cookie sheet for 3 min until cheese is melted. Then broil on hi for another 2 minues until cheese is golden brown.

Serves 4-6