Chicken and Onion Stoup

I love federal holidays. As today was Columbus day, I didn't have work. Happy dance! So, what did I do? Well, I studied, I read about the environmental impact statement of a power plant in California, and I watched the Rachael Ray show. Very fun and gave me inspiration for tonights meal. She made a roast beef au jus stoup (soup/stew). It had crusty bread on the bottom, then roast beef, then onion soup. Yum, right? Well, we aren't meat eaters around these parts, so I made it with chicken instead and chicken broth in the soup instead of beef. Was very good. Didn't look pretty, but that's comfort food. Only taste matters here.The recipe needs a little work on the assembly, but with some tweaks would be delicious. The caramelized onion flavor was phenomenal, and I never thought I could make onion soup, but I just pleasantly surprised myself. The bread was good, but it got soggy, so next time I will not put it underneath the soup.

Tips for next time: Make the layers: soup, chicken, toast. And keep some toast on the side to add as you finish the first bread or it gets soggy.Chicken and Onion Stoup

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 large onions, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• sprinkling of thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 loaf crusty bread, torn into bite-size pieces and toasted
• 3 chicken cutlets
• italian dressing
  

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Preparation

1. Marinate chicken in italian dressing and heat a foreman grill.
   

2. Heat a deep pot over medium to medium-high heat. Add EVOO, about one turn of the pan, and butter to the pot. Add the onions to the pot as you slice them and the chopped garlic. Season with salt and pepper then add thyme and a bay leaf. Cook the onions for 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender, sweet and deep caramel-colored. If the onions are burning in spots before browning all over, add a splash of water and stir every now and then, scraping the bottom of the pot.

3. Once the onions are tender and brown, add the white wine and scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the stock and cover the pot to bring the soup up to a quick boil.

4. Grill chicken until cooked through. Let rest a moment then slice into small bite size pieces.

5. Place a few chunks of the toasted bread into each of four deep soup bowls or crocks and top the toast with a handful of the chicken. Once the soup reaches a boil, remove the bay leaf and ladle into bowls to cover the chicken (note,put bread in AFTER soup)