French onion soup:
Thinly slice two large onions. Some people use Vidalia or Texas Sweet onions, but I prefer the cheap yellow onions for this recipe.
Strip the leaves off of some fresh thyme, and chop the leaves until they are a course powder. This is a rocking motion with a chef's knife. You need about a tablespoon.
Cook a half pound of good bacon in large skillet. Cheap bacon will make you ill. Remove the bacon and set aside.
Sautee the onion in the bacon grease (medium heat), stirring frequently. Cook until very well browned. If there is any excess grease, please discard it.
Press one clove of garlic into the onion/grease, and cook for one minute.
Transfer to large saucepan or stock pot and add about one box (32 ounces) or maybe less of beef broth. In reality, this is whatever looks good for the amount of cooked onions you have left. If it looks appetizing, you're not far off. Add the thyme at this time.
Simmer for about 45 minutes, more or less. Serve with or without all the traditional trimmings for French onion soup, including gruyere and Parmesan cheeses, croutons, bacon bits, or whatever strikes your fancy.
This is not quite the same as the French onion soup they serve in most restaurants. They have not yet caught on to the combination of bacon flavor with beef broth. Most of them have not yet caught on to the concept of using thyme in this dish.
What do you do with the bacon? You can use bacon bits as a garnish, or you can serve this soup with a sandwich (or burger) that features bacon.
