Keep Warm with French Onion Soup

French onion soup is an onion and beef broth or a beef stock based soup traditionally served with croutons and cheese as toppings.  The rich flavor of the base is not due just to the broth, but to the caramelized onions.  Caramelization is the procedure in which the onions are cooked slowly until the melting sugars approach burning temperature, becoming brown.  Sweating the onions to draw out the liquid is an important step in caramelization.  In the final stages of cooking, cognac or sherry is often used to enhance the caramelized onion flavor and to deglaze the pan.


Recipes:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/french-onion-soup-recipe2/index.html , http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/9739 , or http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000001860014