French Onion Soup — Suanne Laqueur

And suddenly it's Tuesday, the craziest day of my week. Pandagirl has back-to-back dance classes in two different places so I am on the run pretty much from 4:15 onward. Today I dropped her at her first class, then took Redman to the library, because he asked and I never refuse a request to go to the library. I swung Redman back home, dashed inside to grab something I'd forgotten, and Jeeps posed the $1,000,000 question: "What do you wanna do about dinner?"

"Can you manage French Onion Soup?" I asked.

"Um...sure."

French Onion soup à la Wife Running out the Door

(Ingredients will be listed as dialogue because really, you had to be there.)

S: OK, so that plastic bag over there? It has two bags of onions, you're going to use one of them

J: All of the onions in this bag?

S: (Calling from other room, grabbing things) All of them. Sliced. Then you're going to caramelize them down, use the orange pot. Low flame, take about 20 minutes, you want them really...

J: I got it. In olive oil?

S: And a little butter. (Opening fridge) 2 or 3 sprigs of this thyme go in with the onions, you'll pick them out later. (Opening cabinet) Here's a thing of beef broth.

J: Use all of it?

S: All of it, you add it after the onions are done. (Opening different cabinet) This is cooking sherry. Two tablespoons.

J: What about the bread and cheese...

S: (Opening freezer) Here's bread and—

J: Where'd you get this, it's already sliced?

S: I bought it Sunday when I went food shopping but I knew we wouldn't use it right away, so I sliced it and froze it.

J: You're so smart. Cheese? Do we have any of that Gruyère?

S: (Opening fridge) It's right here, you just have to grate it. About 2 cups. OK. You good?

J: I'm good. I got it. Go.

S: (Dashing for the door) Um... Can you take some pictures?

J: Yes, dear.

I married a prince.