Ingredients for the Soup
2 Vidalia sweet onions (large), sliced into crescents about 1/4″ thick
1 tbs Butter
1 tbs Olive oil
1/2 tsp Sugar
2 tbs Flour
6 cups Beef broth, low sodium
1 tbs Minced garlic
3/4 cup Chardonnay wine
1 Yellow onion, sliced (optional)
Seasoning to taste (see below)
Ingredients for the Optional Bread and Cheese Topping
1 Sourdough baguette, sliced 1/2″ thick
3/4 tbs Butter
3/4 tbs Olive oil
Grated cheese – Gruyere, Swiss, Parmesan and/or Cheddar
Preparation
In a covered 5 quart pot, combine Vidalia onions, butter, and oil and cook covered for 30 minutes on low stirring occasionally. Uncover, add sugar and stir occasionally until onions are a golden brown (about 30 more minutes). Sprinkle with flour and stir until blended. Add beef broth and garlic. Simmer on low, partially covered, for 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Add wine. The onions will be extremely limp at this juncture. If you want additional texture add optional yellow onion at this point. Season to taste: Use seasonings that appeal to you in small amounts until you have achieved the desired result. Salt and pepper are a good place to start. I use Cavender’s Greek seasoning, Lemon pepper and/or poultry seasoning as the spirit moves me. (Realize that it is always best to slightly underseason – you can always add more at the very end.) Partially cover again and simmer another 30 minutes.
So here’s where I part with the traditional restaurant recipe. Trying to broil soup bowls topped with cheese is a wonderful way to get burned. And I find the bread really gets in the way of eating the soup but that’s just me. If you insist here’s a safer way. Prior to serving the soup, melt butter and oil in a large frying pan, season to taste and coat both sides of the bread slices. On medium heat, lightly brown both sides of bread and transfer to a baking pan. Top with grated cheese and broil in oven until melted. Put one slice of bread on top of each soup bowl and use the remainder as a cheese bread side dish.