Cybele's Cooking Haven - French Onion Soup

My Mom taught me to cook; ever since I was a little girl she has homemade a lot of what I ate. Some of my little pictures are of me making meatloaf with my Mom. Recently I've made Jam with her, I love cooking with my Mom, I love cooking in general.

My Mom learned from her Mom who in turned learned from hers..both of those women were phenomenal cooks, just like my Mom. The one time I got to meet my great grandma I was about 8 years old. She was a lot like my Mom only shorter(my Mom is not tall folks so that is saying something) She came bursting out of her home yelling at us(which I understand was actually her way and it was a big family joke, she was not actually mad at anyone.) But it scared the hell out of me in part because this woman was not too much taller than my 8 year old self, although she was much wider, and yet she had this huge amount of power that just came off her in waves. Of course raising a family of 13+ kids during WWI and the depression in Kansas would make one pretty damn strong if you ask me.

After her greeting I was terrified to walk into her house so I sat on the porch swing until my Mom came out with this hand sized cherry pie that my GGM had made just for me. My Mom had told her before we arrived that I LOVED cherry pie, I loved that woman from then on and by the time we went back home I had had some of the best food 'have ever had in my life. Sadly I don't remember all of it but I do remember that slightly warm cherry pie that fit perfectly in my hand that had been made just for me.

So here I begin a new series of BLOGs called Belles Cooking Haven some of my favorite recipes, some are things I learned from my Mom some are my own and some are from other places that I have tinkered with to make my own.

I'm not a restaurateur but I do love to cook and this is one way I figured I could share that passion without spending 50K on culinary school!

Cybele's Homemade French Onion Soup


4 Brown & Serve sourdough bread rounds
1/2 to 1 pound gruyere cheese sliced (using the wide side for larger pieces)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
4 tablespoons fresh crushed garlic
1-2 sweet onions diced
1/2 cup red wine
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
2 cans beef broth (14oz)
2 cans chicken broth (14oz)
The key thing is to use gruyere cheese and sweet onions (Vidalia, Walla-Walla or Maui sweet onions are the best.)


Directions Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Bread bowls:
1. Cut a hole in the top and pull out the sides in large chunks making sure to leave about an inch of bread still on the sides and bottom of the bowl. Keep the top pieces and some of the largest chunks of bread you pulled out. you'll be using these later.

2. Using my PC silicone basting brush, I brush the insides of the bread bowls with olive oil to seal them so no soup leaks.

3. Melt the butter adding crushed garlic and brushing the tops and large chunks of bread removed from the bowls. Reserve the rest of the butter for later.

4. I then bake all the bread bowls and extra pieces at 375 degrees using my large stoneware bar pan, for about 20-30minutes until the bread is already getting browned.

SOUP:
1. I dice or chop the onions using my PC food chopper. Or you can use a knife make sure the pieces are small no bigger than a quarter.

2. Using the rest of the butter and crushed garlic in large deep skillet 10" to 12" in diameter. Use pre-crushed garlic or fresh I use fresh and then press it in my PC garlic press.

3. Add the sweet onions with the butter and garlic and sauté until caramelized.

4. Add the broth, wine and Worcestershire adding any salt or pepper if needed. Vegetarians or other "tarians" can substitute the beef and chicken broth for any type of broth your diet demands/prefers.

5. Once soup is hot and bread has been baked, remove the bread from the oven and spoon the soup into each bowl and cover with the sliced gruyere. Place back in the oven and bake until the cheese is bubbling and melted along the sides.
Serve each bowl with a top piece and the extra bread pieces divided amongst the four bowls.


ENJOY!!