Ina Garten's French Onion Soup

Best French Onion Soup ever. It's a boozy soup, with brandy, sherry and wine. I cheat a little by using red wine rather than white, to achieve a deeper color. If you cook it long enough and use beef stock, it loses most of its red color and becomes a rich brown. I also tweaked the recipe by adding a crouton of cubed, rustic day-old bread and gruyere, broiled. For the original recipe, click here.

sautee sliced onions in butter with a pinch of sugar

the onions will caramelize, browning and releasing their natural sugars

it takes a while, so keep the temperature in check and stir often 

my favorite part, add the booze

after adding more booze, red wine, and beef stock

delicious served hot

or my favorite way, with a rustic bread and gruyere crouton

melty-melty, under the broiler

I have made this recipe many times, and it always hits the spot. Freezes well, too. Every Ina Garten recipe I have ever tried was good. Among other favorites, her berry brioche summer pudding was delectable, and her egg salad with dill was simply delicious. I love the Barefoot Contessa!