French Onion Soup - October Recipes to Rival Challenge

I need a secretary! I almost missed the deadline for the October Recipes to Rival Challenge. Fortunately, Sara, who selected this months recipe and blogs at imafoodblog, had selected a Thomas Keller recipe for French Onion Soup that, while time consuming, used readily available ingredients, that made participation possible despite a late start.

Our standard for French Onion Soup was set 50 years ago at a restaurant in the Cattlemen's Hotel in Kamloops, British Columbia. The town was a terminus for cattle drives and functioned as a stockyards for holding cattle before slaughter. We came into Kamloops after weeks of hiking in the high country and didn't expect much save a bed and warm bath. You didn't have to venture far from the center of town to encounter unpaved streets and sidewalks. We were really surprised at the quality and quantity of food that was served to us. The food was wonderful and the onion soup that was available with all meals was incredible. The stock used to make the soup was packed with beefy goodness. Without a doubt it was the best onion soup I have ever had. To this day, Bob sings "O, Canada" whenever we have onion soup. He is not shy, so this has been known to happen in restaurants as well as at our table. I'm sure that Thomas Keller would be surprised to learn he was bested by a line cook in a cowtown. Kamloops, by the way, is no longer a provincial hamlet and I can guarantee you the streets are now paved. The town wants to host the Olympic games and they have a really good chance of that happening. Kamloops we love you.

The Keller recipe for onion soup is terrific. It's just not up to the Kamloops standard. I followed this recipe as it was written. I made the stock for the soup and was able to purchase the cheeses he recommended. If you haven't yet found a recipe for onion soup that you call your own, this could be a contender. I'm including the Keller recipe for you to scan. While it's long, it is not hard and if you make stock the day before you plan to serve the soup, it will be nearly effortless. You could also use canned broth but be sure to select a low-sodium variety. Keller actually recommends that you use only water if you don't make your own stock.

Onion Soup - Soupe A L'Oignon

Ingredients for Soup:

Sachet:

2 bay leaves

12 black peppercorns

6 large sprigs of thyme

Soup:

8 pounds (about 8 large) yellow onions

8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter

Kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons all purpose flour

3 1/2 quarts Beef Stock (recipe below)

Freshly ground black pepper

Sherry wine vinegar

Croutons:

1 baguette (about 2 1/2 inches in diameter)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Kosher salt

6 to 12 slices (1/8 inch thick) aged Comte or Emmentaler cheese (at least 4 inches square)

1 1/2 cups grated aged Comte or Emmentaler cheeses, or a combination of the two.

The more basic the soup, the more critical the details: Slice the onions uniformly and brown them very slowly and evenly; slice the bread a half inch thick and dry it completely in the oven; and serve the soup in appropriately sized bowls so that the melted cheese extends over the rim. When you hit it right, there's nothing more satisfying to cook or to eat than this soup.

It's worth reiterating the importance of cooking the onions slowly so that the natural sugars caramelize rather than brown through high heating saut