French Onion Soup with Porcini Mushrooms

I have this amazing friend named Kacie that knows how much I love to cook.  She knows because she's frequently (ok, always) the one that partakes of my creations (as long as there's no chocolate involved...weird, right??--Love you!).  For Christmas she gave me the most perfect gift: a cooking class with her at Charleston Cooks! here in Greenville.  I got to pick the class and I picked the "winter comfort food" class.  The menu consisted of: French onion soup with porcini mushrooms, white cheddar mac & cheese with bacon crumble, balsamic roasted broccoli with parmesan, beef and red wine shepherd's pie, and chocolate pudding cake.  It tasted as good as it sounds!  And it was so much fun!  They showed us how we'd be cooking each recipe then divided the class up and had us all make the recipes on our own.  Then we all got to eat it and had wine included with our meal!  That is my kind of night!  By far, the entire class' fave dish was the French Onion Soup with Porcini Mushrooms.  It was savory and succulent and melt in your mouth AH-MAZING.  Now, my Dad makes a pretty killer French onion soup, but this one was fairly easy (minus the extended time to properly caramelize the onions) to make and I could've eaten the whole pot!  The mushrooms added such a different take on the typical french onion soup, and it was a perfect addition!  You could really taste the vermouth in it too, adding yet another perfect flavor to a classic.  We used gruyere and parmesan cheese melted on top of a baguette...which in itself was amazing, and even more delicious in the soup!  I am DEFINITELY adding this to my recipe stash...and I think you should too!  So, without further ado, here is Charleston Cooks! recipe for French Onion Soup with Porcini Mushrooms.

French Onion Soup with Porcini Mushrooms
Serves 8

1/2 stick unsalted butter
6 yellow onions, peeled and sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
8 ounces porcini mushrooms, stems removed and cleaned
1 cup dry vermouth (red wine)
2 cups chicken stock (don't use bouillon)
2 cups beef stock (don't use bouillon)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
8 slices of baguette
1 cup gruyere or Swiss cheese, grated
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Melt butter in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add the onions, garlic, and mushrooms to the pan with a pinch of salt.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the onions are brown and softened, about 45 minutes-1 hour.  Add the vermouth to the onions and simmer until reduced by 1/2.  Stir in the chicken and beef broth.  Add the mustard and simmer for 10 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spread the bread out on a sheet pan in a single layer (it's handy to put it on a wire rack on top of the sheet pan).  Top the bread with 1/2 of each of the grated cheeses.  Place in the oven and bake until cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven.  Change the oven setting to broil.  Divide the soup into 8 individual, broiler-proof bowls.  Place a piece of cheesy baguette on top of each bowl and add remaining cheese (I think this step was left off by the people who made ours at the class!).  Place under the broiler.  Broil until cheese is bubbling, about 1-2 minutes.

Bon Appetit!