SOUPSONG HAS GONE HARDCOPY!
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Release date: 12/28/2004.

You'll find this recipe in it, From AN EXALTATION OF SOUPS,
copyright © 2004
by Patricia Solley,
Published by Three Rivers Press.

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"The best kind of onion soup is the simplest kind."
--Ambrose Bierce

Paris-Pierre offers this excellent variation:
Instead of using Beef Stock when you make the Classic French Onion Soup, do as the French do...Start the Dutch oven with Pork scraps and make a meat stock from pork fat, bones and the edges of the primary cuts. Six or eight pork chops will yield about the same amount of stock as is needed for your recipe (2-3 quarts), and as its "French style pork" it is a delicious base for your very good recipe.

Do you love French food? Travel to the place this classic soup originated, and stay in a  French timeshare. We have terrific timeshares for rent and timeshares for sale, in Paris or on the French Riviera at SellmyTimeshareNow.com.

Always serve this marvelous French country dish as a meal, lunch or dinner, with lots of salad and crusty French bread--hot to 8-12 people.

• 1 stick butter (8 Tablespoons)
• 8 cups onions, thinly sliced
• 3 Tablespoons flour
• 3 quarts beef stock
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup brandy
• 1 teaspoon BV meat glaze (or kitchen bouquet, bovril, or oxo, in a pinch)--optional
• grated Gruyere cheese
• grated Parmesan cheese
• French bread
• olive oil

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven and add the onions, stirring constantly. cook for 5-7 minutes, until soft.

In the meantime, cut slices of French bread into 1/2 inch pieces and toast them at 350 degrees in the oven for about 15 minutes--until they are dry crusts.

When the onions are soft, sprinkle them with flour, stir, then add 2 cups of beef stock and stir until the mixture is thickened. Add the remaining stock, stir into 1 Tablespoon of salt, the pepper, and the brandy. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 1/2 hour to an hour. Add the meat glaze and taste for seasoning.

When you're ready to serve, ladle the soup into individual bowls and cover each with a thick handful of Gruyere cheese. Top each with a piece of the toasted bread, which has been drizzled with olive oil. Sprinkle it with the Parmesan, then run them under a broiler for a few minutes and carry out to the table.