I have not eaten red meat or pork in a long time. I am always looking for ways to enjoy the dishes that I love while staying away from those 4 legged animals. Traditional French Onion soup uses beef broth but i have found that you can use chicken broth as well. I have even done this recipe with vegetable broth also and it comes out really well.
general cooking time: 3-4 hours
Ingredients:
3 large red Onions
1 tbs of butter
48 oz low sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
1/4 to 1/2 cup of port wine
salt and pepper to taste
Loaf of french baguette
Gruyere Cheese
So I am the type of person who likes to tweak and change recipes as much as possible. I do a lot of cooking by looks and feeling. This recipe does take a long time but you can prep a lot ahead of time and do this on the fly.
First thing that you need to do is caramelize the onions. This will take quite a while but if you do this while at home one day the onions will keep for a while. Slice the onions and add to pot with the pad of butter. i add butter so that it starts the sweating process of the onions. Set stove to low heat and let reduce. I use a cast iron pot and have found that his works amazing well for caramelizing onions. I would not recommend trying to cut time by raising the heat because then the onions start to scorch. You want the onions to sweat and cook in their own sugars. I would cook the first hour or so with the lid on so help the onions release the moisture and then toward the end uncover to help brown. This
took me about 3 hours to complete. The photo has bout 5-6 large onions because i wanted to keep caramelized onions on hand. The onions will turn a light brown color. you will be able to take a taste of the onions and they will be sweet without any bitterness.
after you have caramelized the onions add the stock, wine and vinegar. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Keep uncovered and reduce to about half the size, add salt and pepper to taste. I use a reduced sodium stock because I am not a salt lover. Just remember that you will be adding cheese and a toasted baguette so you will probably be better off not to over salt the stock.
After you are content with the strength of the flavors you can either pack it up for later or move on to the next steps.
Toast some breads. I used a baguette, but I have also used rye bread and sourdough. It is a person taste but i have been happy with all. The key is to make sure that it is dry so that it can soak up the loveliness that is the soup. I sometimes toast ahead of time and make sure that they are fully dry before using with the soup. Cover with they cheese that you selected. and then broil until the cheese is gooey and slightly browned. I find that by making this in larger ramekins the portions are perfect.
This is also a dish where you can store the soup toast the bread ahead of time and whip together at the last second for french onion soup.
So I have started to become the paparazzi of the building community. Being an architect and interested in the Government Center debates I have started to become interested in the documentation of the building process that is going on around me. Documenting what is going on in our environment lets people know the history and life that happened in a place that is ever changing. The other day I was in my print shop picking up a set of drawings and on their walls was a before, during construction, and after shot of Government Center in Boston. It was amazing to see the changes that happened, and how the space was recreated and redeveloped. The old Filene's building is also a very integral and important landmark in the Boston area. The good news is that there was still work happening at the site. I heard through the grapevine that there may be some money issues for this project. I really hope that this is not true, it can be devastating to the economy and the life around Downtown Crossing. Its bad enough that my favorite burrito place was a casualty of the building war. If this building does not get built or gets put on hold its going to send a message to all that see that 
gaping hole every day they walk by it. But I don't want to go to far off course, so I bring you some photos that I took today as I walked by. The excavator is actually being used to transport a cementitious material in this photo. It extends its long neck so that its bucket can be filled up by the cement truck. It would then rotate around and fill the hole that it is lying next to. Pretty interesting, and the big question is what is that large hole for, the cement that is being poured looks a little darker than what i have seen in the past, but that may not mean much. Only time will tell, enjoy the photos. 
