• In a large stock pot on medium low, add onions. (onions will cook down a lot, but you need room to stir onions as they cook) Let onions get warm, 2-3 minutes, stirring as they warm.
• Add room tempurature butter and stir into onions as the butter melts.
• Feel free to add a little more butter if bottom of pot seems kind of dry. You don't want a pool of butter but a little juice as you are stirring the onions is good.
• Sprinkls onions with a nice big pinch of salt, and stir.

  Your going to let the onions cook on meduim-low for and hour to hour and a half. Stirring occasionally.
• While the onions are cooking, preheat the oven to 350° and slice up the loaf of sourdough. Depending on the size of the loaf, you want the bread to fit into the top of your bowls. One piece might be fine or maybe one and half works to cover the top.

  Once bread is cut, place on a rimmed cookie sheet, and generously coat with olive oil, on both sides.
• Bake about 15 minutes depending on oven. Flippinf half way through. You want a nice golden brown on both sides. Remove and set aside to cool.
• Once the bread is cool enough to touch, take your peeled clove of garlic, and rub it across the top of each of the slices of bread. Set aside.
• Once the onions have reduced significanlty, we are looking to get them to caramelize. Which is a nice brown color with some brown residue on the bottom of the pan.

  When you have that, take your 1-2 tbsp of flour and add it to the onions and incorporate.
• Then add the Brandy and deglaze the bottom of the pot. (with a wooden spoon, use the brandy to scrape of some of or most of the brown residue that built up)

  Once Brandy is soaked into the onions, add in the broth. If you're not useing homemade broth, it is recommended to add the worcetershire sauce and tomato paste to get the added flavour.

  Simmer for 15 minutes until it is slightly thicker and reduced a little. Taste and see if you need a little more salt and pepper.

Assembly:

• Turn your oven to broil and have rack in the lower middle part of the oven. You want the cheese to melt and brown a little. If it is too close to the top the cheese will burn.

  Once the soup is at desired taste and consistency, place a serving into oven safe bowls. Top with 1-2 sliced of sourdough toast, and layer with cheeses (gruyer, emmantel, provolone and parmesean) and place bowls on a rimmed cookie sheet for easier handeling of getting the bowls in and out of the oven. Place in oven for 5 minutes, checking so that it doens't burn. You want the cheese to melt, bubble and brown.

  Remove carefully from oven. Let set for a few minutes.

  Bowls will be hot! I place my bowl on a small plate to serve.

  Enjoy!!