The idea of a secret ingredient is a funny one. I think it's based on a modern American notion of shortcuts; the idea that instead of working hard to be successful, you can win the lottery or appear on a reality show or read the Cliff's Notes and still pass your A.P. English exam. This American obsession with getting everywhere as quickly as possible, to FastPass your way to accomplishment, doesn't translate well to cooking. Which is why, I think, so many Americans don't cook. They'd rather fast food it, or frozen dinner it, than stand over a stove. And when they do stand over the stove, they want "quick tips" and "30 minute meals" and the magical, secret ingredient that'll propel their dinner to greatness. But the truth is no one ingredient can propel your dinner to greatness; greatness comes with patience and practice, over time.
This is a recipe for French Onion soup with a secret ingredient: port wine. My favorite French Onion soup in the city, the one at Blue Ribbon, has a beguiling sweetness and acidity that threw me for a while. Now I've hit upon it at home and I have Anthony Bourdain's recipe to thank.
But just because there is a secret ingredient here (not just port wine but also, I should say, Balsamic vinegar) doesn't mean you can Shoots & Ladders your way to success. You've gotta understand the process. For starters, you've gotta slice your onions.
After that, it's pretty easy. Melt 6 Tbs of butter in a large pot (I used a Dutch oven) on medium heat. Add the onions but don't salt them--you want them to brown and salt will just make them wilt. Here's where you've gotta be truly patient; let them cook down for a while. Until they're golden, golden brown. (Not too fast though; control the heat so this happens gradually.) 20 minutes later.
At this point, I added salt: a good sprinkling of Kosher salt over the whole thing.
Now you add the secret ingredients. I realize now, because the recipe was in ounces, I added more than I should have but the resulting soup was still amazing. So the recipe says to add (for this halved version) 1/8 cup port wine and 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar. I added 1/4 cup of both and it still tasted great. You decide--you're the decider. Now here's another non-shortcutty thing to do: add homemade chicken stock. You add one quart of it (4 cups) to the onions, port and vinegar.
Either way, salt it and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. It will smell wonderful.
When you're ready to serve, heat your broiler or heat your oven to 425. Grate a bunch of cheese (I grated Gruyere and Pecorino. Drop the bread in. Top with all that cheese. Bake or broil until the top is as brown and crusty as you like it
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