I have great results with this tart (from "Once Upon a Tart") - I cheat and use the pre-made Pilsbury pie dough. Provencal Tart with Gruyere Herbs de Provence In preparation for a picnic, make this tart the day before. After the completed tart cools on the counter, cover it with plastic wrap and keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to pack your basket. The tart crust recipe yields two 9-inch crusts. I par-bake (see below) the extra shell, let it cool, pop it in a heavy-duty plastic bag and freeze it. The next time you go to make a tart, your pulse will jump with excitement when you realize you have a homemade shell ready to be filled - on the next sunny day your second tart will come together in a flash. For the Tart: 12-15 plum tomatoes (2 1/2 pounds), cored and cut into 1/4- inch-thick rounds 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1 par-baked 9-inch Crunchy Savory Tart Crust 1 cup coarsely grated Gruyere cheese 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence 2 large eggs 1/4 cup light cream 1 teaspoon salt A few turns of freshly ground black pepper For the Crust: 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons semolina flour 1 teaspoon salt 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes 3 tablespoons cold solid vegetable shortening A glass of ice water 9" tart pan with removable bottom. To Prepare the Crust: 1. Position oven racks so that one is in the center and preheat oven to 400 degrees. 2. Put the flours and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, and pulse a couple of times just to integrate the flours and salt. 3. Add the butter and shortening all at once and pulse quite a few times, until the mixture forms little balls, like moist crumbs, and no chunks of butter or shortening remain. You have to pulse, not run, the food processor. The worst thing that can happen at this stage of the crust-making game is for the flours and fats to come together into a paste. 4. Remove the blade from the food processor and dump the dough crumbs into a big bowl. Fill a tablespoon with ice water and sprinkle over the surface of the dough. Repeat with 3 more tablespoons. 5. Use your hands or a wooden spoon to bring the dough together into a ball, adding more water if needed, 1 tablespoon at a time. The dough should be just past crumbly, but holding together. You don't want it to be so wet that it sticks together or turns white in color. 6. Cut the dough in half, and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Press each half with the palm of your hand to form a disk. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before rolling out. 7. Roll out 1 disk of dough to 1/4 inch thick. Fit it into your tart pan and chill for 30 minutes. Then use the tines of a fork to prick holes over the bottom of the tart. Line the dough with parchment paper or aluminum foil, and weigh down with pie weights or dried beans. 8. Place the tart shell on the center rack in the oven, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the paper and weights from the pan. Return it to the oven, and bake until the crust is golden brown and toasted all over, 5-10 more minutes for a par-baked tart shell. For a fully baked tart shell, bake for another 15 minutes at 400 degrees or until it's golden brown all over. 9. Remove the tart shell from the oven and set it on a wire rack to cool. Can be prepared a day in advance. Cover and keep at room temperature. To prepare the tart: 1. Position your oven racks so that one is in the center, and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 2. Put the tomato slices in a colander, and place it in the sink. Let the tomatoes sit for 15 minutes to drain off any excess liquid. 3. Spread the mustard evenly over the tart shell with a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the cheese over the mustard, and sprinkle the herbes de Provence over the cheese. 4. Working from the outside in, lay the drained tomato slices in overlapping concentric circles, making sure the crust is covered entirely. 5. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl, or a large measuring cup with a spout, to break up the egg yolks. Whisk in the cream, salt, and pepper. This is your custard. Pour the custard evenly over the tomatoes until it comes to about 1/4 inch from the top edge of the crust. (If you have extra, don't worry about it; if you don't have enough, pour a little cream on top.) 6. Place the tart on the center rack in the oven, and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until the custard is set. Set custard won't jiggle when you shake the pan and will be firm when you touch it. (The custard will also be hot, so touch it lightly.) The tomatoes in this tart may give off a lot of liquid; don't confuse this with uncooked eggs and accidentally overcook your tart. The liquid will evaporate as the tart cools. 7. Remove the tart from the oven and set it on a wire rack. Allow the tart to cool slightly. 8. To remove the tart from the pan, rest it on a big can. Make sure the tart is steady and balanced. Slide the outside ring of the pan down off the tart. Then place the tart on your work surface, and slide it off the bottom of the pan and onto a rim- less serving dish or a cutting board. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes one 9-inch tart.

I made the recipe this morning and it simmered all day. I used my 3.5 qt crock pot since my big 6 qt was still soaking from the crock pot lima beans last night. We bought focaccia bread. We use the big 16 oz. soup mugs, so we toasted the bread, then put the cheese on top and put the mugs in the broiler to allow the cheese to brown. It's delicious! I made the original recipe and didn't double since the smaller crock pot wouldn't hold that much. That was enough for a full mug each for each of us. Next time, I'll probably wash the big crock if it's dirty and use it so we have enough for two meals. DH loves it too! We both love French onion soup, but this is the first time in almost 20 years of marriage that we've made it at home.

I regularly caramelize onions in my crockpot. I slice enough onions to fill it, which is about 5 lbs or so. I get a bag from Costco and do the whole lot, sometimes in 2 batches. I add a stick of butter and turn it on. At the start the onions give off liquid so you get a soupy mix, but as the liquid is cooked off, you'll see the onions caramelize in their own sugars. I don't add anything, no sugar, no salt. I don't find it necessary but your taste may not be the same as mine. Once it's deeply caramelized (for me it takes most of a day), you can do whatever you like. We freeze in portions to be put on pizza, or eaten with tortillas, or added to soups, stews or sauces. Cheryl

I think you could make just about any onion soup recipe but substitute a really good vegetable broth instead of the beef broth. There are also some "beefless" broths that might have the zing you're looking for. I found the real secret to onion soup is in the cooking of the onions; if you haven't tried this, do, and see if it helps: cook the onions (the pungent yellow ones, not sweet ones) over a very low flame in just a bit of (butter is yummy here but you could use your favorite) oil or if you're foregoing fats, use a small amount of vegetable broth. The trick is to cook them very slowly for 40-45 minutes. Brings out tons of flavor and also brings out the sugars in the onions - the flavor is heavenly. Stir from time to time to keep from sticking. I use a non-stick skillet. Here's a recipe if you'd like to try what I've always liked: 1/4 c. butter/oil/broth (I use a bit of butter and some broth) 3# thinly sliced yellow onions 1 T. flour (I use more) apx. 8 c. broth 1/3 c. wine (dry red) dash white pepper 1 T. thyme dash nutmeg Cook onions as described. hen done, sprinkle flour over onions, cook 2 more minutes. Add remaining ingredients; simmer, covered, 30 minutes. From there, if you like, ladle into bowls and top with traditional french bread slices and Swiss cheese and broil or bake until cheese melts.