Sylvie happened to make this for Erik’s dinner the night she decided to bring his dinner tray down to his underground home. Although almost ending in disaster for Sylvie, Erik certainly appreciated the delicious fragrance emanating from the bowl.

If you can, make the soup the day before. Although delicious when freshly made, the flavors develop even more overnight. It’s fun to serve traditional French onion soup in the proper
white bowls with a single handle, but you can use whatever
soup bowls you have.

Directions: Melt butter in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir in salt, red onions and sweet onions. Cook 35 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are caramelized & almost syrupy.

Add the chicken broth, beef broth, red wine and Worcestershire sauce to pot. Bundle the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf with twine and place in pot. Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard the herbs. Reduce the heat to low, mix in vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Cover and keep over low heat to stay hot while you prepare the bread.

Preheat oven broiler. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and broil 3 minutes, turning once, until well toasted on both sides. Remove from heat; do not turn off broiler.

Arrange 4 large oven safe bowls or crocks on a rimmed baking sheet. Fill each bowl 2/3 full with hot soup. Top each bowl with 1 slice toasted bread and a nice mound of Gruyere cheese. Broil 5 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown. As it softens, the cheese will cascade over the sides of the crock and form a melted crusty seal. Serve immediately.