“Baby It’s Cold Outside!“

That classic holiday song sums up New York City recently, with lows in the teens – and some snow – and snow men!

I love how mini-snowmen pop up everywhere, like the one I found overlooking Bethesda Fountain in Central Park! I have some fun video I will share later in this story, but the cold weather made me hungry for a piping hot soup, like French Onion!

I went shopping and got to work, using this delicious recipe from the “TerrificRecipes” website, riffing on it just a bit:

Here is the recipe, with my notes on changes I made:

3 pounds yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced (approximately 4-5 large onions)

2 large Shallots sliced into long ribbons – I added this for a bit of a flavor changer for the onions

3 tablespoons butter – I used the entire stick!

4 cloves garlic, minced – I used a dozen

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup dry white wine

6 cups of beef stock (or veggie stock)

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce – note: I left this out

1 bay leaf

3 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)

fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste

baguette

grated or sliced cheese (such as Gruyere, Asiago, Swiss, Gouda or Mozzarella). I used Gruyere exclusively

Let’s get cooking!

I added the sliced shallots and cooked them for a few minutes, then added the onions to caramelize for about 30 minutes until caramelized, stirring every 3-5 minutes, then about once a minute near the end

Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for an additional 1 minute. Stir in the wine to deglaze the pan, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.

Here’s how it happened on my stove:

Simmer the soup. I added the wine, beef broth bay leaf, and thyme and stirred to combine, cooking until the soup reached a simmer. Then I reduced the heat to medium-low, covered and simmered for a half hour.

OK, I took a Baguette and cut it like this…time to finish the dish!

Broil the topping. Switch the oven to the broiler. Once the soup is ready to serve, place your oven-safe bowls* on a thick baking sheet.

Ladle the soup into each bowl, then top with a baguette slices and your desired amount of cheese – here’s a hint on how much I used!

Yes, the colder it got in New York, the more I shaved the Gruyere!

I placed the bowls in the oven about 4 inches from the heat and broiled for 4-5 minutes, or until  golden brown…here’s how it turned out out:

Enjoy Some Piping Hot French Onion Soup On A Cold Winter Day!

I love how easy this recipe is, and how good the soup turned out!

The bread was crisp, the cheese very cheesy, and the onion soup piping hot and delicious…along with a side salad, this was a perfect meal…with a glass of French Burgundy as well!

Here’s a close up look:

I love soup in general, and with a New York snowfall, this was the way to celebrate…here’s a look at some of the snow – and more mini-snowmen, happy to see us in Central Park!

I love the mini-snowmen! People make them and leave them everywhere! What a way to celebrate the season!

I make a lot of soups, because Alex is a huge fan…here’s another one I make thanks to our friend, Chef Patrica Wells:

Patricia’s Winter Pistou!

This is another great winter soup, hearty and full of flavor…here is Patricia’s Provencal recipe:

As I said, Alex and I have stayed friends with Patricia after cooking with her at her home in Provence – and that meant cooking on the stove that Julia Child gave her!

We had a wild week of fun at that cooking class, and you can see some of our adventures by clicking on my story here:

I cook from a lot of Patricia’s cookbooks – here’s proof:

This is a favorite one of mine for the holiday:

See her gigot d’agneau recipe here:

And if you want to live like someone in Provence, you have to eat like one, and here is an everyday sandwich that I love:

See the recipe here:

I am sharing and storing all of these recipes here!

It’s your site for all things food – if you like what you see, please click on my link and follow this blog as well!

https://biteeatrepeat.com

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