I’ve been lucky enough the last few days to spend time watching Susan and our friends Jeannie and Tanya working on a craft article for By Hand Magazine.

The spring issue is getting put together now and it has us all dreaming of spring and spring-y activities and weather.  But, the reality is that it is still winter.  And it’s been cold.

When I’ve been home off and on we’ve been doing more clearing and burning (coupled with the cold air it smells DIVINE outside) and even more dreaming of spring.  Paul ordered my seeds for my vegetable gardens for Valentine’s Day and I have been longing for some fresh – from – the -garden radishes ever since.

In the meantime we’ve been feeding ourselves with hearty fare to keep warm, and tonight I decided to make some of Susan’s French Onion Soup.

Now, the thing about this soup is that it is unbelievable.  I can’t even tell you how much I crave this soup.  I’ve made it many, many times and it never disappoints.

But.

Usually I am short on time and I tend to skimp a bit on time where I can – I caramelize the onions a bit too fast and I don’t let it all simmer together for very long.  All just to get it on the table before it gets too late (usually because we’ve been working all day and I’ve run out of time).

Today I decided to start early and let the onions caramelize nice and slowly, over the course of more than an hour.  Once I got all the ingredients added (except the brandy/cognac) I let it simmer on low heat for another hour.  Then, as usual the french bread with gruyere were added and stuck under the broiler.

Was all the extra time worth it?

YES.  This time it wasn’t just unbelievable, it was TO DIE FOR.

I’ve linked to Susan’s original recipe above and I implore you all to make it.

You will not be sorry!