French Onion Soup

Another 19 inches of snow here in Manhattan.  This winter has been brutal!  Why not make some yummy french onion soup for dinner?  It's a cozy and comforting soup for these snowy nights.  Last Friday, Mike decided to take a stab at Ina Garten's recipe (a miracle... he never cooks!)  It was simple but requires sherry and cognac, two items that we don't usually stock in our pantry.  We made a quick trip to our local packy (that's liquor store for you non-Massachusett-ers) to pick up the goods.  And yes, I recommend using it because it adds a ton of flavor. 

The chef.

Mike caramalized the onions for about 45 minutes before he added the liquids.

We've decided to turn Friday nights into cooking date nights.  We had a great time hanging out in kitchen, drinking wine and cooking together.

The recipe calls for grated Parmesan but we decided to make it the old fashioned way with tons of Gruyere and french bread.

I love these little soup crocks.  I got them at the Ithaca Salvation Army, $5 for a set of 4!

Mmm... cheese.

And here it is in all it's bubbly-onion-cheesy goodness. 

We had a fantastic dinner of french onion soup, rotisserie chicken and broccoli.  

And for dessert, gelato!  I love this packaging with the screw top container. 

The leftover soup was even better the next day.  Especially when used as the "dip" for French dip sandwiches.

Job well done, Mike!  I'm super impressed and I look forward to many more of your gourmet dishes!




PS... for those food network fans out there, check out Paula Deen's recipe for English Peas.  It made NY Magazine's Approval Matrix this week.  Hilarious.