French Onion Soup

Modified from Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (mine's extra light...not really sure of all these fine distinctions...)

2 tbsp butter

6 medium onions, thinly sliced (I used two large and one medium and that was plenty)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper (I didn't grind it...I have it, just am lazy when cooking to get enough in the pot to make Ray happy)

2 tsp fresh thyme, picked and chopped or poultry seasoning (I used dried and it was fine)

1 bay leaf, fresh or dried

1/2 cup dry sherry (I used vermouth...the red kind...and it tasted fine...the liquor store guy told me they taste similar, and they were out of sherry...plus I'd read somewhere that vermouth and sherry are interchangeable)

6 cups beef stock (3 cans)

4 thick slices of crusty bread, toasted

2 1/2 cups shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese

Heat a deep pot over medium to medium high heat. Work next to the stove to slice the onions. Add oil and butter to the pot. Add onions to the pot as you slice them. When all the onions are in the pot, season them with salt and pepper and 1 tsp thyme. Cook onions 15-18 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender, sweet and caramel colored. Add bay leaf and vermouth (or sherry) to the pot and deglaze the pan drippings. Add 6 cups of stock and cover pot to bring soup to a quick boil.

Arrange 4 small, deep soup bowls or crocks on a cookie sheet. Preheat broiler to high. Once soup reaches a boil, ladle it into bowls. Float toasted crusty bread on soup and cover each bowl with a mound of cheese. Sprinkle fresh of thyme on cheese and place cookie sheet with soup bowls on it under hot broiler until cheese melts and bubbles. (The bread and cheese are important, that is what makes is so much more yummy then canned).

Makes 4 servings.