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Victorian French Onion Soup

Chrissy Kutlenios • January 20, 2025

Holly Hotel's Famous Victorian French Onion Soup!

As a warm treat George made a batch of Holly Hotel's famous Victorian French Onion Soup! As my treat to you, I watched, and took notes and recreated his recipe sized down to 6 servings. George cooks with his heart, and constantly tastes for measurements, so here is a good start to help warm you as we head into below zero temps this weekend!

Remember to taste and adjust seasonings to your taste.


Servings: 6

Time: Approximately 1hr 40mins


RECIPE INGREDIENTS:

  • 1/2 Cup Salted Butter
  • 6 Medium Yellow Onions Sliced
  • 1 Cup of White Wine (drink remainder with soup)
  • 3 Tbs Brandy (optional)
  • 1 Quart of Chicken BROTH
  • 1 Quart of Beef BROTH
  • 1 1/2 Tsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2 Cloves of Garlic chopped
  • 1 Tsp Salt
  • 1/2 Tsp Ground Pepper
  • 6 oz of Grated Gruyere Cheese (more is better)
  • Puff Pastry (we use Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets)
  • Egg Wash for Pastry


DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
  2. In a large dutch oven, melt butter. Add sliced onions and cook covered for 20 minutes.
  3. Place pot in oven with the lid slightly ajar to assure onions will brown. Allow onions to cook in oven for one hour, stirring once halfway through to assure onions don't stick and burn.
  4. Remove the pot from oven and place on stovetop over medium heat. Cook for another 5-10 minutes, stirring and scraping off all the brown flavorful bits until onions are golden brown.
  5. Turn off heat and pour in wine, and simmer on medium heat and allow liquid to reduce for 5 minutes.
  6. Then add broths, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt and pepper. Bring to simmer and reduce to low. Simmer for 30-40 minutes.
  7. Remove from heat and stir in Brandy. At this time instruct your assistant to make you a Brandy Old Fashioned for a pre soup Aperitif. Or just pour the wine in glasses if preferred.
  8. Heat oven to 375ºF.
  9. Roll out puff pastry and cut in squares large enough to cover entire rim of oven proof soup bowls or ramekins with 1/2 inch pastry hang over.
  10. Ladle soup into bowls leaving enough space for cheese, and place on a sheet tray.
  11. Generously sprinkle cheese on top of soup.
  12. Press cut puff pastry firmly on soup bowls to form a seal. Cup around sides of bowl.
  13. Brush with egg wash. Pastry will "puff" during baking if seal is tight.
  14. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until puff pastry is golden brown!
  15. Enjoy this classic soup served at the Holly Hotel for 45 years!


Wishing you a delightful weekend filled with family, great food, and lots of good football. STAY WARM!

Post pictures and don't hesitate to email George with questions. megiste@gmail.com


As Always,

Chrissy

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Holly Hotel Reconstruction Halted On June 21, 2022, the Holly Hotel sustained collateral damage from a fire in the adjacent building. Although only one-third of the Hotel was damaged by the fire, 100% of the building sustained considerable smoke and water damage. Within ten days after the fire, Chrissy and I began the restoration of the Hotel- removing one million gallons of water, removing all the drywall, woodwork, and carpeting, and salvaging what we could. This preliminary work took four months (July to October.) The next step was to repair and replace the west end of the Hotel where the majority of the fire damage was located and to seal the building from the outside elements. We engaged an exceptional general contractor in November and began to rebuild the west wall and the roof. When we began this step, we had a survey completed for the Hotel. At this time, we discovered that the Holly Hotel was slightly over its property line in a portion of the building. It had, of course, been that way since its construction in 1891. We contacted the owner of the adjacent Arcade property and she assured us that this would not be a problem. Earlier this year, as the west end was being rebuilt, the owner of the Arcade property sold the now-empty and flattened lot to Jeremiah Roberts. Mr. Roberts claimed in February that we were somehow infringing on his property, and he wanted the west roof eaves and portions of the west wall removed and relocated. Of course, we declined, since we were rebuilding the Hotel in the same footprint prior to the fire. When hearing our denial and with the west wall nearing completion, Mr. Roberts spitefully ordered our construction company to remove any and all cranes and scaffolding from his empty lot, completely denying access to his property. We spent the entirety of the time between February 26 to July 25 attempting to resolve this issue. On July 25, Mr. Roberts agreed to relinquish the claim he previously asserted as to the lot line, only to change his mind on August 10. As you would expect, without construction crews' access to the west-side wall, all construction was forced to stop on February 26 and has been stalled since that time. We could not continue the work inside without having the exterior wall sealed from the elements. Additionally, our contractor and brick masons, having been scheduled and canceled numerous times due to this conflict, have since removed our job from their project boards. With no other options, we were forced to file a lawsuit against Mr. Roberts on August 25. We now wait for adjudication before we can even consider asking our construction companies to reschedule and return. You can read and access the PDF court document by clicking here: Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief 8_28_2023 Over four decades and for the majority of our adult lives, Chrissy and I have enjoyed nothing more than being of service to you, our guests. We love the Holly Hotel. We always strived for perfection in every corner, with every antique plate and tea cup, with the fresh cut flowers on the tables, with buying the very best produce and meats and so much more. Nothing brought us greater joy than to welcome guests into our dining rooms knowing that we have given them the very best we have. It was never about being a big corporation. It was always personal. We wanted it that way. We will continue doing everything we possibly can to bring the Holly Hotel back and reopen our doors to you. Saying we are disappointed is an understatement. George and Chrissy
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July 21, 2023
Originally posted on Advantage Oakland
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