The Soup Pot...

Sometimes when I'm a little blue, I break out the soup pot.  On chilly days like this, there's something almost magical about how comforting a hot bowl of soup can be.  It's like a warm hug from the inside out!

Our friend Ron baked us a loaf of French bread and I knew that I wanted to make French Onion Soup to go with it.  I think the secret of a successful French Onion Soup is to allow the onions to get a nice dark caramelization.  It gives the soup depth and makes the flavors richer.  I also deglazed the pot with white wine.  I've seen some recipes where they just add the beef stock, but I think the acidity and fruitiness of the wine helps balance the buttery/fatty richness of the onions and the stock.

I'm going to have to hit up the Goodwill and find some vintage brown and tan soup ramekins, because my little, white creme brûlée ones were not going to cut it portion-wise.  I opted to take a baking dish and ladle out some of the soup into it and fix the topping as usual.  After it was toasted, soaked up some soup, and the cheese melted, I scoped out equal shares onto the much bigger (non-oven safe) bowls of soup... and then sprinkled more cheese on top.

I think cooking can teach us life lessons:  Sometimes you've got to deviate from the recipe and work with what you have; the results could be just as good or even better.