What a classic cafe meal ... Soupe a l'Oignon. I love the deep flavors of the roasted onions and the golden cheese on top. Eating this anywhere is delightful, but having it in a cafe in Paris is just about the best food experience one can have. Our favorite was at Cafe Hugo in the Place des Vosges ...
I can usually make it through two or three onions without crying, but cutting five was enough to warrant a makeup redo, even with my sharp knife!
I've made Soupe a l'Oignon before and thought Dorie was wise to include such detailed instructions about employing patience while the onions cooked. She said it could take an hour or more on super low heat, but when mine looked like this after an hour ...
... I knew they were nowhere near golden enough and certainly not cooked down enough. So I left them on low while I taught music. This photo is from two hours in the pot ...
Finally, I was able to be in the kitchen watching the pot so I turned the heat up for a while. 
I'm still not sure I achieved the color I really wanted, but it was certainly closer than before. From then on in, it was just a matter of minutes before we were eating.
Of course, at the Cafe Hugo, it is served piping hot in the classic bowls with the lion's heads on the sides, a bit messy with the broth dripping down the sides and the cheese cooked onto the edges. I have one bowl like this, but it is too big for one serving AND I was serving four! So I thought I would get some smaller ones with a gift certificate that I got for Christmas. That didn't quite work out since the bowls are pricier than I thought! I had the brilliant idea of going to the thrift store to find some, but there weren't any there. Floating a toasted piece of Gruyere toast in the soup bowl was our presentation solution. It worked out quite well, even having used gluten-free bread since Emily was eating with us.
I rounded the meal out with a classic carrot salad with vinaigrette and rolled jambon, all superbly paired with Rhone red.
We felt perfectly francais with our soup dinner and the fact that it was Soupe a l'Oignon made it that much more cozy on a very cold February evening.
If you're new around here or are wondering what French Fridays with Dorie is ... It's an effort to use one of Dorie's recipes from her cookbook Around My French Table each week. The recipes are decided on by popular vote on the website French Fridays with Dorie. Purchase your book HERE and play along! According to the rules of the group, I'm not allowed to post the actual recipe ... mes regrets.)
