The ‘French Onion Soup’ Sammy

In April, we placed in our third Grilled Cheese Invitational with two winning sandwiches. One of them was this Belgian-beer-infused French Onion Soup sandwich — made all the more special because it came about by clairvoyant collaboration. Simmered with savory soup spices and (secret ingredient) Chimay Blue trappist beer, the succulent grilled onions in this recipe mimic everything excellent about soup. And the crisp toast and oozy cheese emulate the gooey crouton on top. So much so that the only way to eat this sammy is the “crunch-slurp” method.
As promised, here comes the recipe! But if reading quantities and directions isn’t enough for you, come watch a free, live demonstration that we’re calling “How to Be a Fucking Grilled Cheese Champion.” The cooking demo is part of a bizarre and awesome art-performance show this Saturday, May 26, at Outpost for Contemporary Art in Los Angeles at 8 pm. And unlike most art shows, you can eat ours!

(Makes 2)

1 Tbs. margarine
1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
2 white onions
1 shallot
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaf
1 cup Chimay Blue beer
1 tsp. mushroom stock
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. white pepper
salt and black pepper to taste
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1/8 cup water
4 slices of sourdough bread
2 Tbs. margarine
1 lbs. Gruyer cheese
1 Tbs. parsley, chopped (for garnish)
1. Place a saucepan on medium heat and add margarine and oil. Let both dissolve. Meanwhile, peel and slice your onions into full circle slices. Peel shallot and slice thin. Add both to the pot, stir and cook down for 8-10 minutes.
2. Season the onions, keeping them on medium heat, with the thyme and bay leaves. Once the onions have turned translucent and cooked down by nearly half, add the cup of beer and mushroom stock. Turn heat down to a simmer. Add onion powder, white pepper and salt and black pepper.
3. You want the onion mixture to be wet but without much liquid — like the last two ladles of a batch of soup. Remove the soup mixture from the pan, leaving some of the grilled goop in the pot, and set onions aside. Add 1 Tbs. Dijon mustard and dash of water and let this cook off the goop into a sauce. Let this cool and later use to garnish.
4. Shred your Gruyer cheese, carefully because the cheese is fragile (let it sit out at room temperature for 10 minutes first). Set aside.

5. Choose a pan that is wide enough to fit two sandwiches if you can. The thicker the pan, the better (we like cast iron skillets). Place skillet on medium-high heat for up to 5 minutes or until thoroughly hot. Turn down to medium and begin grilling.
6. Butter one side of all the slices of bread. Top two of the slices with cheese and place them margarine side down in the hot pan. It should sizzle but not too explosively. Add one ladle, or about 1/2 cup, of onion mixture to the cheese. Top both with the second slice of bread and press down carefully.
7. Checking the bread that’s face down every minute or so, let cook for about 3 minutes, or until bread is golden brown. Flip gingerly with a spatula and press down. Repeat until cheese is thoroughly melting.
8. Remove both sandwiches from heat. Let sit for 1-2 minutes under a metal colander, to let the cheese settle and gel without cooling too much. Then slice and serve. Garnish with a slather of the reduced sauce and a pinch of parsley.
Beverage: Rodenbach’s Classic Red
Soundtrack: Serge Gainsbourg’s “Aux Armes et cetera,”