French onion soup

This is my tried and true recipe. It is very good. Regular yellow storage onions work best. Sweet onions don't have much flavor left after the long process of cooking them down. I left the wine out of the recipe. French Onion Soup Serves 6 Cooking onions for a long time over very low heat mellows their flavor. Avoid the temptation to stir too often, or the onions won’t caramelize. Homemade beef stock is best for this soup. 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 pounds yellow onions, sliced into 1/2 inch half circles 1 teaspoon sugar 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1/4 cup dry sherry or to taste 6 cups homemade beef stock 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme Salt and freshly ground pepper 1 small French baguette, sliced crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces 8 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated on the larger holes of a box grater to yield about 3 cups 1. Melt butter in a large Dutch oven or a heavy pot on medium/low heat. Add the onions, and spread out in as thin a layer as possible. Sprinkle with sugar; cook, stirring just as needed to keep from sticking, until onions are soft, golden brown and beginning to caramelize, about 1 hour. 2. Sprinkle the flour over the onions, stir to coat. Add the sherry, stock and thyme and bring to a simmer. Cook, partly covered, for about 30 minutes, to allow the flavors to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 3. Meanwhile, lightly toast the bread under a broiler; set aside. Ladle the hot soup into 6 ovenproof bowls. Arrange the bowls on a baking pan. Place 1 or 2 slices of toasted bread over each bowl of soup. Divide grated cheese over the bread in each bowl, and place under broiler until the cheese is melted and turning brown around the edges. Serve Immediately. If you want to go to the trouble of making stock for this soup, I like to use the following but also add celery stalk with leaves, 1/2 C. parsley, 2 carrots, 1/2 tsp black peppercorns,and sometimes also a couple of diced tomatoes. Stock for French Onion Soup. 1 unpeeled onion, halved (I think yellow onion is best) 4 pounds beef bones (or a mixture of beef and chicken bones) I like to include some oxtail bones. 1 bay leaf 1 teaspoon black peppercorns 1 medium sized onion, peeled and stuck with 3 cloves. 2 teaspoons salt. Place the split onion, cut side down in an iron skillet and place on medium heat. Leave the onion in the skillet until it is burned and very black. This is important because it will impart an amber color as it cooks with the bones for hours. The yellow onion skin also helps color the stock. Place all ingredients in a large kettle and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, skim any scum, reduce heat and simmer for six hours. Strain through several layers of cheesecloth.