When we arrived in Paris in January 2020, the French were shivering and complaining that the temperature was downright glacial. Of course, that meant ‶freezing,″ as in 0 degrees Celsius or 32 degrees Fahrenheit. For New Englanders, that was winter as usual. We could always duck indoors to warm up. But not the Parisians. For all their griping, they flocked to their beloved sidewalk cafes. Come hell, high water—or hell frozen over—they were determined to eat outdoors.

And following their example, so were we. The French have perfected winter outdoor dining. A combination of windbreaks, awnings, and overhead sidewalk heaters combine to make the tables in the salle à manger en plein air passably comfortable. As you might expect, Parisians also know how to dress—and dress stylishly—for outdoor dining. Layer after layer of wool can make a warm and elegant ensemble. Think sweater under jacket with the overcoat tossed over the back of a spare chair. Scarves are de rigeur. Hats can add a fashionable accent. At all costs, avoid floppy sleeves that could inadvertantly drag through the soup.

Which brings us to the other coping mechanism: Eat rib-sticking hot food, like classic French onion soup gratinée. We followed the lead of the Parisians, sitting down outside to meals of onion soup, green salad, and white Bordeaux.

We don’t have the heaters, windbreaks, and awnings here in Cambridge, so we have to eat indoors. But since the temperatures are truly glacial by even our standards (the wind chill this morning was -5F, which is -15C), we whipped up a nice big pot of onion soup. The recipe follows right after the next image, which makes us long for Paris.

FRENCH ONION SOUP

Our versions of this soup have changed from Julia Child’s recipe to the rather innovative Sonoma Cider company’s onion soup (see this post) made with a quart of of their apple brandy. The version below is the one we find most like those we ate on winter Paris sidewalks. The apple is a nice touch, so we’ve used some Calvados (elegant apple brandy from Normandy) instead of the more traditional cognac.

We also followed Sonoma Cider’s lead in using nice big croutons instead of slices of French bread. Like so many pandemic cooks, we’ve been making country boules using an adaptation of the Dutch oven bread recipe that’s all over the internet. We cut slices that were 3/4-inches thick, and then made them into cubes. We tossed the bread with a little olive oil and baked the croutons on a baking sheet for 30 minutes, turning once, to get nicely browned crunchy bites to support the gooey melted cheese.

Makes 4 generous servings

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 6 medium onions, sliced very thin (6-7 cups)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup Calvados
• 1 cup white wine
• 6 cups low-salt beef stock
• 6 cups of golden brown croutons
• 3 cups coarsely grated Gruyère or Comté cheese

DIRECTIONS

In large soup pot with a heavy bottom, melt the butter over low heat. Stir in the onions, making sure that they are well coated. Cover pot and cook over very low heat for 20 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure onions don’t burn. When they are cooked, they will be soft and translucent.

Move pot to larger capacity burner and remove lid. Add salt and sugar. Turn heat up to medium or even high, stirring onions constantly to keep them from sticking. As the liquid reduces, the onions will begin to caramelize and turn a light golden brown.

Stir in the flour and cook for another 5 minutes to reduce the raw flour taste. This is your roux. Stir in sage and bay leaf. Add Calvados and wine and stir well. Continue cooking over moderately high heat to boil off the alcohol. Stir in a cup of the beef stock to make sure roux is well-incorporated. Add remainder of beef stock and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least a half hour before serving.

Set oven to 400°F.

To serve, ladle soup into ramekins or deep bowls within 1 inch of top. Cover top with croutons and sprinkle with 3/4 cup cheese. Place bowls in oven on rimmed baking sheet for about 7 minutes or until the cheese melts. If desired, brown the cheese under the broiler or with a torch.