In My Mother's Kitchen: French Onion Soup
The second of the soups in my mother's soup rotation was French Onion Soup. Actually, in the rotation implies a greater occurrence than actually happened. If memory serves she would make this soup perhaps twice a winter, which is about about the same frequency that it turns up in my house.
I've actually posted this recipe once nearly fourteen years ago, in what appears to be a nearly word for word transcription of how my mother wrote it out in my cookbook. Before I gave up red meat this was one of the few recipes that I ever made that used beef broth. Even with vegetable broth it still makes a delightful winter dish.
As outlined in that recipe it's way too hot for summer dining. However, that's probably because of the extra time it spends in the oven. Back when I was playing summer league ultimate frisbee, one of our regular post-game hangouts was a bar called the Chesterland Tavern, which sometimes seemed to go through a new owner every season. They had a more than serviceable French Onion soup, which came in a little bowl suitable for a starter with the cheese caked on really really heavily. I apparently got it frequently, because once I was there post-game after having been gone an entire season, and one of the servers looked at me and said "and you want the French Onion soup like usual, right?" I didn't even recognize the server, which is something I'm usually pretty good at. So either I'm very memorable and very predictable, or I look enough like someone else who is memorable and predictable to confuse that server.
As alluded to last week, French Onion soup also has the dubious honor of being the only leftovers that I won't eat cold. The broth and onions are fine cold, but it just doesn't taste like French Onion soup if you don't have melted cheese on top of it. This is probably one of the reasons that I don't make it very often; in a world where most of my leftovers were eaten at work, this made it less appealing for regular use. In a world where I never leave my house, I may make it more frequently.
On a side note, I learned while writing this that although onion soups are an ancient peasant food, onions being easy plentiful and cheap, the modern form of French Onion Soup originated in Paris in the 17th century and came to America in 1861. This led me down to the rabbit hole, and I learned that the first establishments that actually used the term "restaurant" sold soup. The internet has its moments.
I've actually posted this recipe once nearly fourteen years ago, in what appears to be a nearly word for word transcription of how my mother wrote it out in my cookbook. Before I gave up red meat this was one of the few recipes that I ever made that used beef broth. Even with vegetable broth it still makes a delightful winter dish.
As outlined in that recipe it's way too hot for summer dining. However, that's probably because of the extra time it spends in the oven. Back when I was playing summer league ultimate frisbee, one of our regular post-game hangouts was a bar called the Chesterland Tavern, which sometimes seemed to go through a new owner every season. They had a more than serviceable French Onion soup, which came in a little bowl suitable for a starter with the cheese caked on really really heavily. I apparently got it frequently, because once I was there post-game after having been gone an entire season, and one of the servers looked at me and said "and you want the French Onion soup like usual, right?" I didn't even recognize the server, which is something I'm usually pretty good at. So either I'm very memorable and very predictable, or I look enough like someone else who is memorable and predictable to confuse that server.
As alluded to last week, French Onion soup also has the dubious honor of being the only leftovers that I won't eat cold. The broth and onions are fine cold, but it just doesn't taste like French Onion soup if you don't have melted cheese on top of it. This is probably one of the reasons that I don't make it very often; in a world where most of my leftovers were eaten at work, this made it less appealing for regular use. In a world where I never leave my house, I may make it more frequently.
On a side note, I learned while writing this that although onion soups are an ancient peasant food, onions being easy plentiful and cheap, the modern form of French Onion Soup originated in Paris in the 17th century and came to America in 1861. This led me down to the rabbit hole, and I learned that the first establishments that actually used the term "restaurant" sold soup. The internet has its moments.