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French Onion Soup(s)

Saturday afternoon I tried the recent Cooking Light [Jan 2005] recipe for French Onion Soup. Most recipes I've tried in the past have never lived up to my expectations. I think there is a particular flavor imparted by a certain alcohol missing -- although I can never put my finger on it. So with this recipe, after caramelizing all the onions in one pot, I split it into four pots and tried a different alcolhol in each: White wine (as the recipe called for); Woodchuck Hard Amber Apple Cider (we had some Cider Onion Soup in Montreal that was really good); Madeira wine; and Guiness Stout.

The verdict: The flavors were barely discernible. Had we not been trying the side by side I don't think we would have noticed any difference. As we were trying them side by side, we liked the white wine and cider version the best. They both had a little tartness in the background. Maybe I'll play with the cider again in the future, and/or try sherry and see what that adds.