Slow Cooker French Onion Soup

 (adapted from Allrecipes) 

Servings: About 8

I am in love with French Onion soup!  My favorite is served at a little French restaurant, La Bonne Soupe in New York City.  Every time we are in New York, hubby and I stop there at least once for lunch or dinner.  And I, of course, always order French onion soup!   This was a "wintry mix" weekend with rain, freezing rain, and extremely cold temperatures for our area.  As I had plenty of sweet onions and beef broth in the pantry, it was time to make my first batch ever of French onion soup.  Yep, first time!  And, of course, being a slow cooker fan, I put my 6 quart cooker to work.  The result was tres tres bon!  Served with a simple Caesar salad and crusty bread, this winter Sunday supper was excellent! (I forgot to snap a photo of the individual bowls topped with bread and melted cheese!)...

INGREDIENTS:

6 Tablespoons butter (unsalted)

4 Tablespoons butter (salted)

4 to 5 large sweet onions, sliced and separated into rings

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup dry sherry (not cooking sherry)

7 cups reduced-sodium beef broth

1 cube beef bouillon

1 cup water

1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon herbes de provence

8 slices French bread

½ cup shredded Gruyere cheese

1/3 cup shredded Emmental cheese

¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

2 Tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat 6 Tablespoons butter in large, heavy pot over medium-high heat; cook and stir onions until they become translucent, about 10 minutes. 
• Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until onions are caramelized, soft and browned, about 30 minutes.  Stir in garlic and cook about 1 minute more.
• Stir sherry into onion mixture and scrape bottom of pot to dissolve small bits of browned onions from the pot. Transfer onions into a slow cooker and pour in beef broth, beef bouillon cube, water and 4 Tablespoons butter.  Season to taste with sea salt, pepper, thyme and herbes de provence.    
• Cover cooker, set on high and cook 4 to 6 hours (or on low 8 to 10 hours).
• About 10 minutes prior to serving, set oven rack about 8 inches from heat source and preheat the oven’s broiler.  Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet.
• Broil bread slices until toasted, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
• Combine Gruyere, Emmental, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses in a bowl, tossing lightly.  Fill oven-safe soup crocks ¾ full of onion soup and float a bread slice in each bowl. Top with about 2 Tablespoons of cheese mixture per serving.
• Place filled bowls onto a baking sheet and broil until cheese topping is lightly browned and bubbling, about 2 minutes.