Mme. Diat: Onion Soup Gratinée

My body has hated me from day one and thus tries incessantly to overtake me. I have acid reflux that normally dictates it's unwise to eat onions; so I traditionally steer clear. However, as a soup, cheese, and bread lover, if French Onion Soup is on the menu, I am there. Last night, Mme. Pépin and I [with the assistance of my younger and much burlier brother] took our first venture into Chez Jacques with an Onion Soup Gratinée.

Aside from eating at almost 9 p.m., the dinner was absolutely delicious. In my mind, I had envisioned a product vaguely reminiscent of the Thanksgiving Cheese Soup that ended up, well, gray. For those of us not color blind, we realize that cheese should never take on a gray hue.

For this gratinée,Chez Jacques called for the onions to be thinly sliced and then browned. Fearing that we would get large, uncooked, onion chunks [see Thanksgiving Cheese Soup fears], I suggested that we grate the vegetable instead. Aside from causing me to physically weep while working, the idea turned out well. Though I can see why Chez Jacques asks that you slice them. Grating the onions makes the bits quite small and they often get lost with the cooked bread. The next time I try this recipe I will remember that and, to test the consistencies, I will try slicing instead of grating.

The friend who was in charge of purchasing baguettes decided to bring one French bread baguette and one multi-grain baguette. And while I appreciate a bread with personality, I don't think you want anything other than an Italian or French baguette. Straying from those two options might lead to some awkward questions such as, "What is this seed in the soup from?" That's, more often than not, a question that you don't want to hear.

The recipe asks that you brown the bread in the oven before putting it into the broth. While I was eating, I thought about the French Onion soup that I'd come to love. The bread in every variation that I've tasted had a spongier and lighter feel. I have to wonder what we can do next time to achieve that kind of airiness in the bread. It was a tad heavy and tasted more like a mushy dumpling than the bread I had remembered.

All in all, the soup turned out fantastic. And I wouldn't at all hesitate to repeat the recipe again. Once the soup was out of the oven, it was a welcome surprise as our dinner guests were getting antsy, Mme. Pépin and I hesitantly looked at one another as we took our first bite; first recipe down, a whole book left to go.