Onion Soup and Pretzels

Here is my French onion soup as promised! I found these soup bowls at a bazaar a few years back, I love them! It's a nice easy meal to make and to eat.

French Onion Soup

(makes about 4 servings)

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter or olive oil

8 large onions sliced

1/4 tsp brown sugar

2 cloves minced garlic

8 cups chicken or beef broth (we use chicken)

1/2 cup white wine

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp dried thyme (I use the mortar and pestle because I find the dried thyme produces hard little bits sometimes)

S&P

Bread slices and Gruyere cheese for melting

Directions

1. In a large pot over medium heat, warm up the butter/olive oil and add the onions, stirring often until they wilt, about 15 minutes.

2. Turn down the heat to medium low and add the sugar. Caramelize the onions to a nice brown colour, between 30-45 minutes.

3. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute.

4. Add stock, wine, bay leaf and thyme.

5. Cover partially and simmer about 30 minutes. Don't forget to remove the bay leaf. (I always forget)

6. If you have flameproof bowls, add a piece of bread or baguette and top with cheese to melt under the broiler.

The original recipe (from Soup by Williams Sonoma) called for leeks as well, but the first time I made it, we really tasted the bitterness of the leeks, it ruined the soup for us. But if you're feeling risky, it's 4 large onions and 4 leeks.

Since it was raining all day yesterday, and I got tired of looking through my cookbooks, I was dreaming about baking. We LOVE these pretzels! They never last more than a few days and with mustard...a triumph! :) I thought I'd post my recipe.

One of the series we watched online was Alton Brown's Good Eats. That was a great show and we learned a lot about cooking techniques. I use his recipe for Homemade Soft Pretzels, except I find they need more time in our oven, so I cook them 18 minutes (he recommends 12-14). I use foil and parchment paper a lot because we have old pans that we don't necessarily want to cook our baked goods on. IF you use foil, GREASE IT...those pretzels STICK like crazy and the first time I made them I had to rip them off the foil! Also he lists "pretzel salt" to top them off with, but I never found such a thing here, so I used Kosher salt.

So the party is over, winter is back and it's snowing today! I have a list of baking I want to do and I have my shopping list to finish. I hope everyone has a nice day!