Lunchtime Hospitality: Baked French Onion Soup

As enjoyable as it is to entertain in the evening, have a friend or two over for lunch can be just as much fun!  A savory and rich Baked French Onion Soup is just the ticket as we get into the cooler months!

I had a bit of difficulty coming up with a French Onion Soup recipe that I wanted to make.  All of the ones I looked at were wonderful and delicious.  As with most recipes I create, this is a combination of several different attributes that I liked in several recipes.  A special thanks to Judy over at Petit4Chocolat for the inspiration to use Worcestershire Sauce, as she does in her French Onion Soup recipe!  I also made extra toasted bread with cheese to be able to dip in the soup as part of the meal.  The cheese is shredded instead of in slices so that it is easier to eat (otherwise I find that you always end up with the entire cheese topping in one bite).

Baked French Onion Soup

• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 3 small to medium size sweet onions (Vidalia, Walla Walla, or Texas 1015), sliced into thin quarter moons
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbs red wine
• Cracked black pepper, to taste
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 4 cups (32 ounces) less-sodium beef broth
• 1/4 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 slices of french bread, 1 inch thick –plus extras as desired
• 2 to 3 ounces Gruyere cheese, to taste — shredded

Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add onions to the pan and saute until tender.

Stir in sugar, Worcestershire sauce, red wine, pepper, and salt.  Reduce heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Increase heat to medium-high and saute for another 5 minutes, or until onions are golden brown.  Make sure to stir frequently to avoid burning.

Reduce heat to medium and add garlic and white wine.  Cook for about a minute, careful not to burn the garlic.

Add broth, thyme, and bay leaf.  Bring to boil.  Let boil for a minute before reducing heat to low.  Cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Preheat broiler.

Place bread in a single layer on a baking sheet, broil 2 minutes or until toasted, turning after 1 minute.

Place bowls on a jelly pan.  Remove bay leaf from soup.  Ladle 1 cup soup into each bowl.  Place two pieces of bread in each bowl, top each serving with shredded cheese.

If making extra bread for dipping, place on baking sheet and top with cheese.

Broil 3 minutes or until cheese begins to brown.

Serve with a side of toasted cheese bread slices.