1. If you make this stuff with any regularity, which you should, you owe it to yourself to get some ovenproof crocks for proper service. Which means properly gooey cheese and crunchy bread. It’s just more fun this way.
2. Onion soup is, unsurprisingly, all about the onions. It takes a while to get them caramelized, and it’s worth it. I hear Thomas Keller spends 8 hours doing it. Fuck yeah.
3. Don’t be afraid to periodically deglaze with good ol’ water. Caramelization good; burning bad.
4. French onion soup requires booze. It really doesn’t taste right without wine in it. I tried.
5. Gruyere is where it’s at here. If you use mozzarella, just save yourself the trouble and go to Bennigan’s.
6. Most soups taste better after they sit in the fridge for a day or two. This isn’t one of them. Which is just as well, because I don’t advise eating French onion soup two days in a row. Just don’t. Your friends, pets, neighbors and Air Quality division of your town or municipality will thank you for it.
Tags: A week or 2 in the life
March 13, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Ooooh!!! Just read about some new tips:
1) You can caramelize in a low oven to save lotsa hassle…takes 2+ hours but is no-fuss.
2) There is a method involving triple-deglazing that adds a laya of flava each time
3) Umm, there was another, but I’m out the door to work and I’m a cuppa coffee shy of making sense.