The Real Thing
I’ve made this soup in the past. But just once. French onion soup gratinée — the real thing, not from a can or a package or a cube takes time, but the results are so worth the time and effort.
I picked up a copy of Thomas Keller’s Bouchon cookbook last year and this was the first recipe I made. I’m sure people got sick of hearing me rave about it. It was that good. I found myself craving it yesterday and when I mentioned it to a friend at work she became animated and told me that she purchased the book for her boss last year on my recommendation and he loved it and that he made the soup and raved about as well.
I'm excited to have the opportunity to clip a few sprigs of thyme from my new herb garden
There are a few steps, but the most important one is to cook the onions for 5 hours. Yes, FIVE HOURS. They need to caramelize — not overcook or burn.
The lengthy caramelization will give the broth the naturally sweet flavor this soup is known for. There are recipes out there that call for sugar, but if you take the time to do this properly, there’s no need for refined sugar. This is what cooking is all about people. This is not “dump and stir” food preparation — this is cooking.
And this is French Onion Soup Gratinée — without the Gratinée. The crouton and cheese will come next. Properly shaped French Porcelain bowls (according to the book) and all. And it’s going to be so good. Just wait until you see and stay tuned for Part II.
Alright, enough of the food … I’m going back to attempt to find my lost Blogrolls. They just disappeared and no one’s returned them to the lost and found. 
In 2007 my career with a large, but shrinking high tech Fortune 50 \"left me,\" leaving a void in my life. While lamenting the loss and flying around the world looking for a new career to get married to, I discovered a way to use a familiar outlet during tough times -- writing. My blog-writing morphed into writing about my favorite past time -- Food! I purchase food, sell food, make food, watch food being made, broadcast meal preparation, photograph and blog about food. Like I said; Food! To change this standard text, you have to enter some information about your self in the Dashboard -> Users -> Your Profile box. 
