French Onion Soup ala Dale

French Onion Soup

Ingredients:

1 soup bone (from butcher)
2 sweet yellow onions-medium large
3 cloves fresh garlic
1 bay leaf
1 pinch of thyme
¼ cup Kikkoman teriyaki
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 loaf French bread or baguette
1 cup of shredded provolone cheese

Instructions:

Fill a medium kettle with water and bring to a boil, add salt and pepper to taste, pinch of thyme, and one small bay leaf, and the soup bone. Reduce heat to simmer/slow boil.

Slice yellow onions (semi circle), smash 3 cloves of garlic (I put them through a garlic press), coat bottom of skillet with a little extra virgin olive oil, start garlic first to take off the sharpness, and then introduce onions and cook for 30 minutes. Added ¼ cup teriyaki sauce to help caramelize onions, after about 20 minutes add onions to kettle. Cook for 6 hours.

Slice bread to appropriate size and toast in oven for about 3 minutes (your time may vary).
Ladle in soup mixture in bowls or crocks place toasted bread in bowl and cover with cheese bake until cheese melts-serve hot.

Discussion:

This soup takes a long time to make but does not take a lot watching over after the first hour. It is important to cook the soup uncovered at a high simmer or slow boil; we want the soup to reduce. Don’t go crazy with dehydrated thyme or the bay leaves-they’re pretty powerful stuff.

I use teriyaki because it has Soy sauce which is very salty and a wine Merrin. It is a sweet Japanese wine that will add to the carmalization process. When I first start the onions I make sure they get coated with the pressed garlic and plenty of salt. This helps them cook down and the result is very sweet.

I taste this once an hour to make sure that I have enough flavor coming along.