INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

Melt the butter and olive oil together in a heavy, 4-quart soup pot.
Add the onions, cover, and cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes,
stirring occasionally.  Raise the heat to moderate, uncover pan, and
add sugar and salt. Cook  20 to 30 minutes longer, stirring frequently,
until the onions have  turned a rich, mahogany brown.  Reduce heat to
low, add the garlic, and cook 1 minute. Blend in the  flour and cook,
stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the  pan from the heat
and blend in 1 cup of hot stock, making sure the  flour is completely
dissolved. Stir in the remaining stock, the wine,  vinegar, thyme, and
pepper, and bring to a boil. Lower heat and  simmer slowly, cover
slightly ajar, for 30 minutes. Add bay leaf the  last 15 minutes,
discarding it at the end of cooking time. Taste for  seasonings and
adjust as needed.  NOTE: The soup can be prepared several days in
advance (in fact, it  improves with age), but if you are planning to
serve it gratinee,  have your guests clamoring at the table as you
remove it from the  broiler, or the crust will sink like a leaky barge.
Therefore:  Preheat the broiler.  Smear a bit of butter in the bottom
of individual earthenware (or  other heatproof) bowls, and place them
on a cookie sheet. Place a  croute on the bottom of each bowl and
sprinkle generously with  Gruyere. Repeat this procedure in each bowl.
Ladle in the simmering  soup. Float another croute on top of each
serving, sprinkle on more  Gruyere and a drift of Parmesan. Drizzle
with a bit of melted butter,  and whisk the bowls under the preheated
broiler for a few minutes.  Watch carefully. When the cheese is crusty
and the soup bubbling,  serve immediately.  AFTERTHOUGHTS: Serve the
soup with bruschetta or garlic croutons. Try  bruschetta smeared with a
little dijon mustard and topped with Brie in  place of the Gruyere
croutes. If you're feeling like a high roller,  add a dash of Cagnac to
each serving when you ladle on the soup. If  you're concerned about
your weight, serve the soup unadorned except  for a sprinkling of fresh
minced parsley. Pass thin bruschetta or  lightly toasted French bread
and a small bowl of grated Parmesan at  the table.  You may also wish
to serve the soup from a tureen. Preheat oven to 425  degrees F, and
bake for about 30 minutes, or until brown and crusty.  And do try the
redoubtable Julia Child's version: a couple of egg  yolks beaten with 4
or 5 tablespoons of port or Madeira, poured under  the edge of the
crust, and gently stirred just before serving.  (Divide this amount
among bowls if serving them individually.)  Source: "Lilies of the
Kitchen" by Barbara Batcheller Posted to  MM-Recipes Digest V3 #291
Date: Wed, 23 Oct 1996 01:39:32 +0000  From: Linda Place
<placel@worldnet.att.net>

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Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
----------------------------------------------
Calories: 880
Calories From Fat: 588
Total Fat: 66.7g
Cholesterol: 184.1mg
Sodium: 3665.1mg
Potassium: 529.6mg
Carbohydrates: 28.7g
Fiber: <1g
Sugar: 8.5g
Protein: 42.3g