January 2024

As American consumers keep purchasing—and holding onto—more stuff, garages have continued their transformation from car housing to storage unit. A Consumer Reports survey found that almost one-third of homeowners with a garage never park even their vehicles in the space, regardless of its size, and 62 percent indicated that their garage was crowded and disorganized.

The problem is that most garages weren’t built to function as all-purpose storage units. The lack of insulation, ventilation, and/or climate control means that it’s usually not the best place to stash your stuff—including the items below.

Books, periodicals, photos, documents, and other papers

Don’t keep your magazine collection, family photos, important paperwork, or anything else primarily made of paper in your garage, as humidity and other moisture can cause damage beyond repair.

Indoor furniture

Furniture made of solid wood or particle board can warp or crack from the humidity and changes in temperature, changes, while metal furniture might start to rust.

Food

Your garage shouldn’t double as your pantry, so find somewhere else to keep your canned and dry goods. This also applies to pet food and bird seed, which can attract outdoor pests and make it easier for them to gain access to the inside of your home.

Clothing

A garage isn’t the place to store clothing—even if it’s packed away in a plastic tote with a tight lid. The humidity and dampness can result in mold growth, or mice and other pests could decide to use your old sweaters for nesting material.

Carpets and rugs

Rolling up a carpet or rug and stashing it in your garage may seem like a great way to save space inside, but it can also leave you with moldy, deteriorating floor coverings.

The caramelization, sweetness, and deep umami flavors of a steaming bowl of French onion soup are terribly hard to resist, which is why I’m happy to report that I’ve taken all the good parts of the incredible classic soup and turned it into pasta. But I’m also sorry—because you have to drop everything and make it right now.

Luckily it’s not that hard to make. The only thing required is a bit of patience when caramelizing the onions, but it’s the passive kind where you can mill about the kitchen, talking on the phone or watching cat videos. I will say, the slow caramelization of the onions is well worth the robust, permeating flavor it rewards you with later.

How to make French onion soup pasta

1. Build the sauce

Just like with the soup’s broth, the sauce is the most important part of this pasta dish. Start by slicing the sweet onions. I usually cut the peeled onion in half, from top to tail, then put a hemisphere on its flat side and slice thinly from top to tail. Then I get long slices that are all about the same length.

Just after mixing the raw onions with the butter and salt.
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Toss the onions into a large pot with a tablespoon of butter and some salt. Cook the onions over medium-low heat for about 35 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally and semi-covering with a lid when you’re not. The onions will lose water and become a deep golden brown.

After 40 minutes, the onions had softened, reduced, and caramelized.
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Add a few sprigs of fresh thyme to the pot and a couple tablespoons of white wine to loosen the fond. (That’s a fancy term for “crispy bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.”) It’ll evaporate within a minute or so. If you prefer not to use wine, you can replace it with broth. Add another tablespoon of butter and allow it to melt. Add a tablespoon of flour and stir this together for about a minute to make an onion-entangled roux. This will thicken your sauce so every bit of noodle will be coated in a velvety-smooth, savory coating.

Slowly stir in warm beef broth (I usually just pop it in the microwave for a minute beforehand), stirring continuously until the sauce is thickened. If you prefer an even looser sauce, add a couple more tablespoons of broth.

2. Toss with pasta

I used spaghetti, but any long pasta will be perfect. Try linguini, angel hair, fettucini, bucatini, or my favorite, spaghetti rigati. Boil the water and cook the pasta as you normally would. I started boiling the water about 20 minutes into the onion’s caramelization time. Once I started stirring the broth into the onion mixture, I threw the pasta into its pot of boiling water.

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

When the sauce is ready and the pasta is cooked, drain the pasta and toss it into the onion sauce. Add a handful of shredded gruyère cheese and mix to combine. Scoop it into serving bowls.

3. Make the crouton

Let’s be honest, no one would like French onion soup if the cheesy bread float wasn’t on top. And so, cheesy-bread-float we must. Toast a couple slices of French bread. I like to cut it about half an inch thick and on a bias. A simple light toast in a toaster is fine. The point is to crisp the entire slice, so that later you’re just quickly melting the cheese. Lay the toast on a sheet tray and cover with shredded gruyère cheese. Really cover it. Bonus points if the pile of cheese overflows onto the sheet pan; people will fight over that crispy frico. Put the sheet in the oven until you’re ready to broil it, only a few minutes before plating the pasta.

Broil the crouton for about two or three minutes, or until fully melted and bubbling. (Keep an eye on it. The time will vary depending on how close the toast is to the heating element.) Allow it to cool slightly and use a spatula to lift it from the pan. Top each bowl of pasta with a cheesy crouton.

This recipe makes enough for two modest bowls of luscious, creamy French onion soup pasta, or one single heaping bowl of comfort that you absolutely deserve.

French Onion Soup Pasta Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups sliced sweet onions
2 tablespoons butter, divided
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white wine (replace with broth if desired)
1 tablespoon flour
½ cup beef broth, warmed
2 sprigs thyme
4 grinds of black pepper
½ cup shaved or grated gruyère cheese + more for the croutons
4 ounces spaghetti, boiled and drained
2 slices of French bread

1. In a medium pot on medium heat, add one tablespoon of the butter, salt, and all of the diced onions. Cook and stir to coat the onions in butter. Cover the pot with a lid and let the onions cook, completely covered for about five minutes.

2. Uncover the onions. Stir them again and reduce the heat to medium low. Continue stirring occasionally, covering the pot with the lid slightly cracked between stirs, to help them cook evenly. This takes 35 to 45 minutes. Let the onions caramelize slowly, if you rush it they could scorch.

3. Meanwhile, prepare the crouton. Lightly toast the French bread in any fashion you like; I use a toaster. Place the toasted bread on a sheet tray and cover liberally with shredded gruyère. Just before serving, broil the toast for two or three minutes to melt the cheese until bubbly.

4. Add the thyme and wine (or equal measure of broth) to the pot of onions. Stir to deglaze the pan. Once mostly evaporated, add the other tablespoon of butter and let it melt. Add the flour and stir for a minute or two to make a roux. Slowly add the broth while stirring to make a slightly thick sauce. Stir in the black pepper. Take the sauce off the heat.

5. Remove the thyme stems from the sauce and discard. Add the boiled and drained pasta to the pot of onion sauce. Add the gruyère and toss them together thoroughly. Plate the pasta in a bowl topped with the cheesy French bread crouton. Garnish with more shredded cheese or fresh thyme if desired. Serve warm.

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Books, periodicals, photos, documents, and other papers

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Tuck Into a Bowl of This French Onion Soup Pasta

How to make French onion soup pasta

1. Build the sauce

2. Toss with pasta

3. Make the crouton

French Onion Soup Pasta Recipe

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