French Onion & Wild Mushroom Soup

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 3 large onions, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
• Salt and pepper
• 4 cups beef broth
• One 1-ounce package mixed dried wild mushrooms
• 1/2 cup white cooking wine
• thick slices crusty bread
• 1 large clove garlic, halved
• 1/2 pound munster cheese, shredded

In a heavy soup pot, melt the butter with the olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-heat. Stir in the onions and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the onions are softened and browned, 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring the beef broth, mushrooms and 2 cups water to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the mushrooms and slice.

Preheat the broiler. Pour the wine into the onions and cook over medium heat, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in the mushrooms and hot broth.

Toast the bread under the broiler, rub with the garlic and top with the cheese. Broil until melted. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with the toasts.

Things I learned from this recipe-

1. you need to cook the mushrooms & onions a loooooooooonnnnggg time... longer than the recipe says, cook them until they are basically wilted ... and i would say chop the mushrooms up pretty fine too because they are kind of rubbery

2. the little cheese toasts combined with this soup is AWESOME

Rating: YUM-O!