Onion Soup and Fresh Bread on a Very Cold Night

Good morning,

Ah, soup and fresh bread.  That's one of our favorite dinners when just the two of us are home on a cold winter's evening. 

I made onion soup a couple of nights ago and just put it together as I went along.  Above is about two cups of chopped onion, both red and yellow, in one stick of butter.  I let it get very brown, added a tablespoon of brown sugar to help it brown even more and kept stirring to keep it from burning.  As soon as it got pretty brown and there was a layer of brown in the pan, I added a cup of wine to de-glaze the pan.  Any wine will do, but I used a light sweet wine.  It had been a part of a bottle left over when we had opened it for guests.  I had sealed what was left in a plastic container and refrigerated it until needed for cooking.  I was drinking a half glass of the dry white wine that I wouldn't want to have to use for cooking.  ;)

I digress....

After all of that browning and de-glazing I placed it all in a large pot and added two large cans of chicken broth.

I cut up more onions.  In fact, many more than these in the image above.  I used both red and yellow onions again and filled that bowl with them.

I added the fresh onions to the large pot, added a very little sea salt, and my secret ingredient, one table spoon of orange marmalade.  OK, it's not a secret anymore.

I had another sip of the dry white wine while I brought the mixture to a boil.

As soon as it came to a boil, I turned it down to simmer for about an hour. 

Although I had enough soup to prepare at least six huge servings, I prepared only two since only two of us were home.  I cut hunks of home made bread and put them in bowls then covered them with chunks of mozzarella cheese.  That's the kind of cheese I happened to have available when this onion soup idea hit me so that's what I used.  It was a great choice.

I scooped soup into the bowls...

...and placed more cheese on the top.

I baked it in the oven at 350 F for ten minutes...

 ...while I sliced a loaf of my home made bread and put it on the table.

That is a cheese bread closest to the Cheesy Whole Wheat Bread recipe I published earlier.  I didn't happen to have whole wheat flour so used all bread flour.  I generally just go to the kitchen and make bread from what I have available.  I need a trip to the grocery to stock up on ingredients. 

I had a sip of dry white wine while adding a few items to the grocery list.

If you're interested in bread recipes, I have quite a few of them that I have published during the last few years.  Click here.

I digress once again...

 The soup was delicious and, when served with fresh bread and a glass of cold milk, it was the perfect combination on a cold night. 

I had no idea what I would make for dinner that  morning when I got up.  This sure beat a trip to the store to get more ingredients when it was only 10 degrees F outside!

All the best,
Lois