French Onion Soup – A Christmas Eve Tradition

I actually am not particularly found of traditions. I think sometimes we get “stuck” in them. Is Christmas only Christmas if it is celebrated on December 24th or 25th? When children grow up and have spouses and children can we move Christmas celebrations to their houses and try to be flexible about their timelines and lives? My only request of my children for holidays is that we connect at some point and that we know in advance about how things are going to play out. If they are unavailable on Christmas Day or Christmas Eve – I am going to plan to connect with other people in my circle. In my opinion, Christmas can occur anytime time between December 23rd and 27th – and New Year’s is definitely for the young at heart. I hope my children count on me to babysit (or my friends who have children) or, as they age out of the party and friends scene that they feel they can come and play board games and eat pizza and wings on New Year’s Eve. The most important thing about family is being together – for us it is always around food – I love food – we all love great food and so, with heart and soul and a little flexibility, we can make Christmas (and all the other holidays) a time when all families can celebrate together.
It seems that every family struggles in some way with figuring out the Holidays. I want our family to be different and I think the only way is to be kind and flexible, accept that change happens and be honest.
I no longer have my parents (or my husband’s) and so, it offers perspective to think about how many opportunities we will have left to be together for Holidays – I am turning 60 so, is it 20 more – hopefully more than that. Will I be sad if I don’t have French Onion Soup on Christmas Eve? No, because something else will replace it – as families grow, life changes and, if we are smart and adaptable we learn that honesty, compassion and faith and replace a little French Onion Soup on Christmas Eve.

Instant Pot French Onion Soup (Serves 6)
1/4 cup butter
3 lbs of sliced sweet onions
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1/4 cup of dry sherry or vermouth
4 cups of beef broth
1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce (gluten free)
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme
1 bay leaf
6 slices of 1 inch think bread or baguette (gluten free)
Slices of provolone, fresh mozzarella or monetary jack cheese

Use the saute setting and melt the butter (until bubbly) and the onions, sugar and salt and cook, covered for 10 minutes on the high setting. Uncover the pot and cook for 20 more minutes, stirring often until the onions are brown and carmelizing on the bottom of the pan. Deglaze the pot with sherry or vermouth. Add the broth, worcestershire sauce, pepper, thyme and bay leaf. Set the timer for 5 minutes at high pressure.
Toast the bread – place soup in bowls (oven safe) and place the toasts on top. Top with cheese and broil for 3 minutes until the cheese begins to brown.