French Onion Soup {Cookbook Giveaway Week}

I hope you all enjoyed some of the recipes this week from Carrie's Experimental Kitchen: A Collection of Mediterranean Inspired Family Meals cookbook. The last recipe I'm going to share with you this week is French Onion Soup. This soup is the perfect treat for a cold, rainy day and being one of my early childhood favorites, it seemed fitting that this be the first soup I ever made. 

Onion soups have been popular as far back as Roman time; though they were seen as food for poor people, as onions were in abundance and easy to grow. The modern version of this soup didn’t become popular in the United States until the 1960s and is a common menu item at most restaurants. Though there are many variations of this recipe; I prefer to use Cognac along with a combination of both beef and chicken broth. I also like to use Vidalia onions as they are sweeter than the yellow, Spanish, or red onion, but if you can’t find them in season, use one of the other varieties and double the amount sugar in the recipe.

French Onion Soup

Prep Time:  20 minutes  Cook Time: 1 hour     Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 3 Vidalia Onions, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp. Butter
• 2 tbsp. Granulated Sugar
• 2 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
• 5 c. Fat Free Beef Broth
• 2 c. Fat Free Chicken Broth
• 1/2 c. Cognac
• 12 Slices of Swiss Cheese
• 1 Baguette, sliced in toast rounds

Directions

1. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and saute onions in butter until they become soft and caramelized. 
2. Add sugar and thyme; mix thoroughly. 
3. Next, add beef broth, chicken broth, and cognac and simmer over low heat for 1 hour. 
4. While the soup is simmering, slice baguette into six 1-inch rounds and bake at 350 degrees until slightly browned on both sides. Remove from oven and cool. 
5. Add soup to soup crocks or oven-safe bowls, place on a baking sheet and top each bowl with a toast round and 2 slices of cheese. Place back in the oven and bake until cheese melts and gets lightly browned. 

Today's the last day to enter for your chance to win a copy of Carrie's Experimental Kitchen cookbook using the Rafflecopter link below. Five (5) lucky winners will be selected and notified on Monday, November 25, 2013. Please read all terms and conditions as this contest is only valid in the Continental U.S. 

Good Luck!  

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