Red Onion Soup with Cheese Toasts

This is a review of the soup only--and what good soup it is! As usual, Jacques Pepin is right-- water instead of stock or broth is perfect. I used a quite nice very dry red wine. Using a mandolin made this soup a snap to prepare. I used one skillet and considerably less olive oil, did the onions in two batches and had no excess oil to strain off. When I warmed the soup the next day, I forgot the cognac and didn't miss. This is a rich, full-bodied soup, really satisfying despite being practically fat and calorie free.