Portered French Onion Soup with Île-aux-Grues Cheddar

Let the butter/olive oil heat up in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. When sizzling, add the sliced onion. Cook, stirring every few minutes, until onions are deep brown and sweet. Be patient with this step. It should take about 30 minutes to get them to a beautiful, rich brown.

Once the onions have turned to a buttery soft consistency, turn the heat up a notch and add the porter. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pan to lift up all the little stuck-on bits of onion and continuing until reduced slightly, 5 minutes. Add the stock and sprigs of thyme, as well as a few pinches of salt and fresh ground pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and let it cook until reduced by about 20%. It should be deep brown, shimmering and taste rich and full when done. Remove thyme sprigs and discard.

Turn your oven on to broil. Ladle soup into oven-safe ramekins or bowls and place 1-2 slices of baguette on top of the soup. Put the ramekins on a baking tray. Sprinkle bread with a generous amount of cheese. Put the pan into the oven. Broil until cheese is bubbling brown and baguette has toasted lightly around the edges.