French Onion Soup

I received a five pound bag of yellow onions as part of my last organic veggie share, so I've had French Onion Soup on my mind. I grabbed a pile of cookbooks off the shelf to see if there was anything interesting to add to my usual recipe....not really. The key to good onion soup is slow cooking the onions until they are a rich brown and meltingly tender. I usually deglaze the pan with beef stock, but this time I took Ina Garten's advice and deglazed with 1/4 cup sherry before adding the stock. I found recipes for French Onion Soup in two different cookbooks by Garten, both pretty much the same. She is never one to shy away from butter, and she certainly likes some booze in her soup....along with the sherry she called for cognac or brandy, plus white wine. I brought my soup to a rolling boil and then turned off the heat to let it hang out and blend the flavors. When I tasted it later I added a bit of beef base and some more salt (I seasoned the onions with salt and pepper as they were cooking in the canola oil). To get that delicious crusty top, it is best to start with cold soup. I filled two bowls, added some croutons, and then the shredded gruyere. Put the bowls on a sheet pan and place in a hot oven until bubbly and golden.