Mrs. LeTendre's French Onion Soup

Angie Pipia LeTendre was a wonderful person, mother of my friend, Chris. And, could Mrs. LeTendre cook. I have a few of her recipes; watch for her Chicken Parmesan in the future. This is a woman who would get out of bed at midnight and make us home-made pizza, after myself, Lynn, Judy and Chris would show up for an unplanned sleepover after an evening at The Old House (a teen bar, north of The Great City on a Great Lake). Wonderful memories of the LeTendre hospitality..............

Enjoy her French Onion Soup..............(with my variation)


Mrs. LeTendre's French Onion Soup

2 T. butter
2 T. oil
2 pounds onions, thinly sliced
7 beef boullion cubes
7 Cups water
1 t. sugar
2 T. flour
salt/pepper to taste
3/4 Cup red wine, optional

Thinly sliced pieces of baguette
Gruyere cheese, sliced


Use a large pan. Something you'd make soup in, or something you'd make pasta sauce in.

Heat butter and oil; add onions and sugar, and stir well.

Caramelize onions over medium-low heat, by doing the following (my variation): Cut a piece of parchment paper the size of the pan. Place the parchment paper directly on the onions, while they cook. About every 10-15 minutes, lift the paper and stir those caramelizing onions. Will take about 1 hr to 1 1/4 hrs. Onions will cook down and become a gorgeous golden color.

After caramelized, stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.

Add boullion cubes and water. Salt and pepper, if you like.

Bring to boil. Add the optional wine (wine is ALWAYS an option, for me).

Simmer for at least 30 minutes. I let it simmer for at least an hour.

Once the soup is ready and in bowls, I top with 1-2 pieces of crostini, then the cheese.

If you have 'broil proof' crocks, you can place under the broiler for the cheese to melt.

I use a kitchen torch and it works really well.

(To make the crostini, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place baguette slices on a cookie sheet and brust with olive oil. Bake for about 5 minutes.)

You won't be able to stop yourself from 'trying' the broth, as it simmers. And, your house is going to smell of onions for at least a day. There are lots of ideas online for masking the smell, if you care to 'google'.