Hearty French Onion Soup

I’m not very familiar with cooking with alcohol, but it adds a lot of depth to a dish! Plus, the caramelized onions were well worth the wait. They were so sweet and tender! Since this was a school assignment dish, I wanted to make the bread from scratch as well. Finding a soup crock that could go in a broiler was more of a pain than it should have been. 😂

½ cup Clarified Butter
7 cups Sweet Onion; sliced
4 cloves Garlic; minced
½ gallon Beef Broth
2 teaspoons Dried Thyme
1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence
1 large Bay Leaf
½ cup Sherry
2 Tablespoons Brandy
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 small Baguette; sliced to ½” thickness
2 ½ cups Gruyere Cheese; shredded
1 teaspoon Fresh Parsley or Thyme for garnish

Heat a large dutch oven over medium-low heat and add the clarified butter. Once melted, add the onions and cook low and slow until golden brown, stirring occasionally and making sure they don’t burn; about 40 minutes.
Preheat oven to broil.
Pour in the broth and deglaze the pan with a wooden spoon or whisk. Stir in the seasonings, herbs, sherry and brandy. Taste and season accordingly. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the onions are extremely tender.
Meanwhile, spread a thin layer of butter over the baguette slices and broil until golden brown; set aside.
Scoop the soup into oven safe crocks and top with the toasted baguette and ½ cup of cheese. Place in the oven and broil for 3 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown and melted.
Enjoy!