This is one of my favorite things to eat. I have made a few differnt versions in the past, but I am always tweeking. Anyone have a good one?

I have one I like very much. My wife and I like it very rich. Don't think it is all that unique though...

I had this written down once, but don't remember where. I have adapted this to scale up and down based on the number of people you are serving.

-Approximately one small to medium yellow onion per serving. Thinly sliced
-One or two cloves of garlic per onion (depending on how large the cloves)- chopped fine.
-half a stick of butter (do not substitute for margarine or what-not)

In a sturdy stock pot or large sauce pan carmelize the onions and garlic in the butter over low to medium low heat. This is the key to good onion soup. Take the time to get the onions good and carmelized. (you can add a little sugar if the onions are getting fully cooked and you are not getting that rich brown color)

- Two cups veal or beef broth per serving (I use basic campbells beef broth ((it is double strength so I also include a can of water per)) but the consomme also works or whatever your broth of choice is. Here is where your own personal taste comes in... This is the easiest way to tweak the soups richness to taste)
- 1/2 cup - one cup Dry white wine. (I typically use a chardonnay, but others would work)
- couple of bay leaves
- couple of splashes of worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper to taste (depending on the broth you use, you may not need salt)
- A lot of people add some thyme as well, I don't.

Simmer into well integrated

Top with some thin slices of toasted french bread and grated gruyere cheese and cook under the broiler or bake in the oven until cheese is bubbly and starts to brown

There is a lot of flexibility in this "recipe", but the key is the onions. The better they are carmelized the better the soup will be.

I think to make any great soup starts with great stock.

I can veal stock, beef stock and chicken stock at least twice a year. You need a good pressure canner to insure safety though. I use a 20 quart All-american canner and ball or mason jars.

Great stock makes great soup and there is no shortcut to making great stock. It takes time and effort but it's worth it in the end. I have yet to find any veal demi-glace that is prepared that compares to homemade. If you have the stock you have a base for so many dishes other than just soup.

Agreed G.A. Spoken like a chef. Good stock just does not come from a can.

Good for you. We make our own as well.

GA,
I've got one fo those vacum sealers. They seem to work quite well (mind you I use stock pretty much any time I cook.)

My favorite French Onion soup recipe can be found in "Modern French Cooking" by Wolfgang Puck. It was published in the early eighties pre-Spago, pizzas, and glitz while Puck was the chef at Ma Maison (and only a chef). If I was only allowed one cookbook for my entire life it might just be this one. Puck adds Port to the heavily carmelized onions (I use sweet onions- in a perfect world Maui).

This cookbook also has the best coq au vin recipe as well. The trick being rendering the salt pork or bacon and then individually deep frying the mirepoix vegetables in the rendered pork fat. He also recommends using a Petit Sirah rather than Burgundy. Can't beat the rich color that turns out when using a heavy red.

Funny story,

My wife is not exactly a culinary master, I do most of the cooking. The first time I made her coq au vin, after I added the cognac, she made a b-line for the fire extinguisher.

I usully use a cote du rhone with a high percentage of Syrah (guigal) for the dish. No acid no tannin, very tasty in the dish.

I will look for that book.

Jones,

Just bought the book on Amazon for $12. You talked it up pretty good.

Let me know what you think of it.

I found via the internet several places selling the following:
Wolfgang Puck's Modern French Cooking for the American Kitchen : Recipes from the Famed Beard Award-Winning Owner of Spago

The details state that it is his first book. Am I to assume that the second sentence of the title was added with the second edition of the book, and that this is the same one you recommend?

TCK,

Did she go so far as to use it?????

She probably did. And Ferran Adrià copied this recipe to make"French Onion Foam".

I agree with the stock. I make my own chicken stock all the time. Beef and veal stock, not so much.

I forgot to mention that I occasionally add a touch of dry sherry to the soup.

That looks like the right book to me JimmyV.

Great tip on the cookbook. It will be great to try one of his recipes from a book - I can't understand half of what he says.

Great point on the stock. I've been a big fan of making stock every since I saw The Great Chefs of San Francisco episode with Masa Kobayashi. He also had 4 stocks going at all times. Unfortunately, it is a lot of work and quite expensive if you don't use scraps. I like to freeze leftover bones.

I just ordered the book from Amazon. It said that there is 3 left. I ordered 2 to get the free shipping. It's $18 selling for $12.60 with $4.98 for shipping. By getting 2, the 2nd book only costs $7.62.

Hopefully you guys will like it as much as I do. I bought it back in the mid eighties and it has been with me ever since.

Out of curiosity, is ordering 2 books with free shipping cheaper than ordering one and paying for UPS ground?