CROCK POT CARAMELIZED ONIONS, BEER & CHEESE BISQUE

Crock Pot Caramelized Onions, Beer & Cheese Bisque image

This is a really tasty and hearty soup and perfect for a cool night. This soup reminds me of a french onion soup... a GOOD french onion soup. I can't wait to serve this one at my next dinner party.

Provided by Nancy Manlove

Time 12h15m

Number Of Ingredients 22

Ingredients

12 medium regular yellow onions, sliced thin (to equal 6 cups)
6 Tbsp olive oil, divided
2 Tbsp cold tap water
1 long narrow loaf of day-old french bread, cut into 24 slices 1/2-inch thick
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 c celery, finely diced
1 c russet potatoes, small diced
4 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 c plain flour
32 oz beef stock (broth if you don't have stock)
24 oz dark beer (i used shiner bock)
2 small bay leaves
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 pinch kosher salt
8 good twists of fresh ground pepper
1 c heavy whipping cream
4 oz colby cheddar cheese, grated fine
4 oz monterrey jack cheese, grated fine
1/4 c calvados brandy (optional)
4 oz parmigiano-reggiano cheese, cut in thin ribbons
1/4 c flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Steps:

1. I use a food processor to slice my onions, but of course you can do it manually if you don't cry over onions. Anyway, thinly slice the onions and place them in a large crock pot, add water and drizzle onions with 4 tablespoons of the olive oil. Put a lid on the crock pot, turn to high and cook for 8 hours to caramelize the onions slices. They should be stirred occasionally.
2. Place butter in a medium sized sauce pan over medium-high heat and add in celery and potatoes and saute until tender stirring occasionally for 12 minutes. Add in the garlic and allow to cook for 2 minutes longer. Sprinkle the vegetables with the flour as you stir around to coat well. Add 2 cups of the beef stock and stir until smooth gravy appears. Remove from stove top and pour vegetable-gravy into the crock pot along with the remaining beef stock and beer. Stir well.
3. Season mixture by adding in bay leaves, cayenne pepper, sugar, salt and pepper. Adjust seasonings to your taste likings.
4. Put the lid back on crock pot and allow to heat through and marry the flavors for 1 hour on high setting, stirring at 30 minutes.
5. Add in heavy cream and grated cheeses gradually as you stir and they melt into the soup. Put the lid back on the crock pot and allow to simmer for 1 hour, but do not allow it to boil. If the crock pot is too hot, lower the heat and extend the cook time for 30 more minutes at low.
6. Preheat Oven to BROIL. Place slices of French bread on a baking sheet. Brush each side of each slice with the remainder of the olive oil. Place about 4 inches below the broiler element allowing them to broil until golden brown. Turn the slices over and allow the other side to broil to a nice golden brown. Remove for oven and set aside.
7. When ready to serve, stir in Calvados brandy and ladle a serving into a ovenproof bowl. Place filled bowls on a baking sheet and place in the oven under the broiler and broil until soup is bubbly. Remove from oven and place 2 slices of the toasted French bread on top of each filled bowl of soup and cover entire bread slice and most of the soup mixture with thin ribbons of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Place bowls back in the oven and broil until cheese is melted and bubbly and begins to turn golden brown. This takes about 3 minutes but it depends on your oven as to how fast it will broil. I set mine to a high level on my stove control settings.
8. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve hot along with extra slices of toasted French bread.