French Onion Soup

Earlier today I was flipping through a magazine and saw a recipe for french onion soup. I immediately realized that I have onions to use up and knew that this was what I was going to make for dinner tonight. I did not however have any brandy on hand to make the recipe in the magazine, so I decided to get a little creative and come up with my own version.

I thinly sliced two red onions and added to a large stock pot with a few tablespoons of butter. The onions were cooked over medium heat until caramelized, roughly 15 minutes for a deep golden color. I then added 2 1/2 cups of beef broth and 1 1/2 cups (or one bottle) of Pyramid red ale (Juggernaut), as well as a few sprigs of fresh thyme and a cheese rind (in this case I chose gouda because that's what was in my freezer).  When the soup began to boil, I lowered the heat to a medium low and simmered for about 45 minutes.

I added two large spoonfuls of soup into each of two bowls and topped with a few slices of french bread and shredded apple smoked gruyere cheese. The bowls were placed into a 425 degree oven for about 5 minutes, just until the cheese was melting and beginning to brown.

This soup turned out exactly like I was hoping it would...Delicious!!  Even Dylan enjoyed it. Not that I really had to worry too much that she wouldn't, but there were a few interesting flavors going on between the smoked gruyere and the red ale.