Eight-Onion Soup & a Puff Pastry Hat

Prep : 20 minutes     Cook : 55 minutes      Serves 8

2           tablespoons  butter or margarine
5           medium-size  yellow onions  , thinly sliced
2           tablespoons  sugar
2           thinly  sliced washed leeks
2           thinly sliced shallots
5           crushed garlic cloves
20         peeled pearl onions
1           thinly sliced red onion
3-1/2     cups  Browned Beef Stock or canned  reduced-sodium beef broth
5            cups water
1/4        cup brandy  (optional)
1/2        teaspoon salt
1/2         teaspoon black pepper
2           sheets  frozen puff pastry dough
4           tablespoons  (2 ounces) grated Gruyere cheese

1 .         Preheat  the oven  to  400*F . In a  5-quart Dutch oven  over  moderately high heat , melt the butter  , add onions  and sugar  and cook over high heat until onions  are lightly golden  --- about  10 minutes . Reduce the heat  to moderately low  and cook  stirring occasionally  until onions  are golden -- about 15 minutes more .
2 .        Add the s the scallions  and 7 cups  of beef stock  and simmer uncover  for and hour . Meanwhile  , on a lightly  floured work surface  , spread two 9-1/2x9-1/4x1/8-inch  sheets of frozen puff pastry  that have been thawed   in the  refrigerator   and cut into  8 rounds  , slightly larger  than  diameter  of the soup bowls .  
3 .         Divide soup  among 8 ovenproof  soup bowls or ramekins  and sprinkle each portion  with 1 tablespoon  freshly  snipped  chives .
4 .         Fit pastry  on top of the soup bowls  , crimping  edges  to seal  and bake  uncovered  , until puff is golden brown --- about  20 minutes  .