French Onion Soup.........Oui Oui!

I'm gonna definitely try this out.  I had the misfortune to eat French Onion Soup at Panera Bread.............ugh is all I can say.  The broth was extremely salty and tasted like they simply had dissolved beef bouillon cubes in water and there weren't even very many onions, just a little on the top under the bread and cheese.  The bread and cheese were the only things I would call decent tasting.  I was really disappointed.  I've only eaten there a couple of times, the other time I ordered some type of chicken sandwich that was great, only not very filling..........good thing I had the apple to eat :-)  They talk so much about only cooking from 'scratch' so I was surprised with the broth in the soup simply being bouillon cubes in water.  Maybe one of these days (when we can afford to eat out) I'll give Panera another try.  But until then, this looks like it would be a much tastier alternative.

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 8 cups thinly vertically sliced sweet onion
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 8 cups less-sodium beef broth
• 1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 8 (1-ounce) slices French bread
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely grated Gruyere cheese

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions to pan; sauté for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in sugar, pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to medium; cook 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Increase heat to medium-high, and sauté for 5 minutes or until onion is golden brown. Stir in wine, and cook for 1 minute. Add broth and thyme; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 2 hours.
2. Preheat broiler.
3. Place bread in a single layer on a baking sheet; broil 2 minutes or until the slices are toasted, turning after 1 minute. Remove the bread.
4. Place 8 ovenproof bowls on the baking sheet. Ladle the soup into each bowl. Top each with a slice of bread and cover the bread with the grated cheese. Broil 3 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling.

Later,

sandy