French onion soup

Well, I love French onion soup. I've tried different recipes but I've come to like my own combination of two...from the good-old fashioned Betty Crocker cookbook, and the Williams-Sonoma Paris cookbook. For Epiphany, we had French food...onion soup, croques monsieurs from Barefoot in Paris and galette des rois (see below).

2 T oil
4 onions, sliced
pinch of sugar
Salt and pepper
2 (10.5 oz) cans condensed beef broth
1 c red wine
1 c water
1 bay leaf
sliced French bread
1 c grated Swiss cheese or even better gruyere
1/4 c grated Parmesan

Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high. Add onions, sugar and salt and pepper and coat with butter. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook 35-40 minutes or until onions are golden brown. Stir occasionally.

Add wine and reduce by half (about 8-10 minutes). Add soup, water and bay leaf. Simmer, covered 45 minutes.

Serve the soup in oven-proof bowls. Add a slice of bread on top of soup, sprinkle bread with cheeses. Broil 1-2 minutes or until the cheese melts and starts to brown.

Serves 4.