French Onion Soup

It's Martin Luther King Day and the girls have just returned from a cool day at the Westport Historical Society full of arts, crafts and cooking. They came home with some kind of a cake with chocolate wafers and whipped cream.

I am making French Onion Soup, one of my favorites because not only is it delicious, but there are minimal number of ingredients- what better could anyone ask for?

Begin by heating a large soup pot on high. Add a tablespoon of butter and about 2 tbs. of olive oil. While that heats, thinly slice 3 onions and 2 leeks. I just found a package of 2 prepped leeks at Trader Joe's today. You still need to slice and wash them, as they hold a lot of sand in them. The easiest way I've found to wash leeks is to slice them in half lengthwise, then thinly slice them into 1/2 moons. Add them to a bowl of water and submerge them for a minute. Here's the important part**- Don't drain the water, but remove the leeks by hand leaving the water and sand in the bowl.

Add the sliced onions and leeks to the pot and stir around so they incorporate with the olive oil and butter. Cook for 5-7 minutes until they begin to soften. Add a large pinch of salt, pepper and dried thyme. Stir occasionally so they don't stick to the bottom of the pot.

Next, add in 2 or 3 32oz. boxes of beef broth. You can adjust the quantity of soup you want by varying the liquid. Cover and let boil for 45 minutes.

Before serving the soup, ladle into oven proof bowls, add a toasted baguette slice and a pinch of the grated Gruyere cheese. Place the bowls of soup on a cookie sheet and broil for 3-4 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden.

You can slice the baguette and toast it a day ahead of time. The Gruyere cheese can also be pre-grated a day or 2 before using.