The Best Creamed Onion Recipe

The  Best Creamed Onions Ever

These are my take on the traditional Creamed Onion Dish that I started making from Julia Child’s original recipe. I just kept playing with it and I think maybe I have perfected this delicious dish. It is saved for special meals because of the richness of the sauce. I do think you could get by with making the béchamel portion with milk instead of cream and even eliminating the cheese… but I cannot bring myself to do so now that I have ventured beyond that.

Here is my theory on the changes: Boil the onions, and most of the flavor leaches out; roast them, and the flavor is concentrated – mellow, slightly caramelized and sweet. I decided to give them a sauce with some substance. I replaced the milk in my béchamel with dry vermouth and cream, add bay leaf and thyme, and finish it with cheese.

Ingredients:

·         2# fresh pearl onions (yellow ones are best for this recipe)

·         Sauce:

·         2 cups of dry vermouth

·         ½ small onion studded with 4 cloves

·         1 bay leaf

·         6 green pepper corns

·         1 pod of green cardamom

·         1 sprig of fresh thyme

·         A pinch of dry tarragon

·         1 cup of heavy cream

·         3 tablespoons butter

·         3 tablespoons flour

·         2 cups grated Comte Cheese

·         3 tablespoons cognac

·         1 nutmeg pod and a micro plane grater

·         Salt and Pepper to taste

 Method:

Put the onions in a large bowl. Fill the bowl with boiling water. Allow to steep for 3 minutes. Remove the onions and strain. Using a sharp paring knife, start at the top of each onion and remove the peel, trying to only remove the papery part in one or two pieces. Once you have skinned the onion, carefully trim the root end, just cutting off the roots. Remember while you are doing this that this is a gift of love you are giving to your dinner guests. It is somewhat tedious, but well worth the effort. You are giving them something they cannot go out and buy!

Put the peeled onions in a silpat lined roasting pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast them at 350°F for about an hour, until they're soft and nicely caramelized. Shake the pan every 20 minutes to make a more uniform caramelization.

While the onions are roasting, make the sauce in a large sauce pan. Combine the vermouth, onion and spices and simmer (not rambling boil) till the vermouth is reduced by half. This should take about 10-15 minutes. Allow to steep for about 30 minutes, and then strain into a bowl.

In a clean saucepan prepare a basic béchamel, with 2 TBSP butter and 2 TBSP flour, substituting the strained steeped liquid for the milk. Once the sauce is thickened, whisk in the cheese.  Season the sauce very sparingly with salt & pepper (the cheese will have made it somewhat salty already) and a generous grating of nutmeg to taste. I use almost a whole nut, but start tasting after half of it has been added. Nutmeg can be overwhelming, but this sauce can stand up to quite a lot of it. To finish the sauce I add the cognac and simmer for a minute or two.

 Using a slotted spoon, carefully transfer the onions into the sauce and stir gently to blend. Keep warm till serving time or refrigerate and then gently re-warm the next day. Do not count calories, just enjoy this once or twice a year. 

Southern Style Mac and Cheese

I have a lot of leftover Ham... and what goes better with ham than mac and cheese? This recipe is based on one from Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House in Savannah, GA. I have played with it over the years. I like to add some different cheeses to it, such as Brie and Goat Cheese, but this time it was pure cheddar. I only did a half recipe of this since I was feeding two (with leftovers for two more meals.)  I think that the main difference in this mac and cheese is the addition of eggs.

Southern Style Mac and Cheese

Ingredients: 

1 3/4 cups elbow pasta (or any noodle shape you prefer)

Salt

2 1/2 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese (cubed)

2 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon all- purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2/3 cup sour cream

2 eggs that are lightly beaten

1/3 cup grated onion

1 1/2 cups half and half

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 1/2 cups grated extra sharp cheddar cheese (or your favorite cheese)

Method: 

1: Boil the pasta in salted water until tender. Remove and drain. Place the drained pasta into the baking dish of your choice. This recipe will fill a 9x13x2 baking pan. Mix in the cubed cheddar (Brie is even better here) cheese.

2: Preheat the oven to 350 F

 3: Take the flour, 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, and spices in a large mixing bowl. Stir them together so that everything is evenly mixed together.

4: Add the sour cream, and eggs. With a whisk mix all ingredients together until mixture is evenly incorporated.

5: Whisk in the onion, half and half, heavy cream, and Worcestershire until it is thoroughly blended together.

6: Pour this mixture over the pasta and cheese and then stir everything together. Sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese on top and then place into the oven.

7: Put in the oven for 30-35 minutes and then let cool for 10 minutes, this will make serving easier as it will firm up a little. 

Christmas Eve Supper at Hale Pali

Wonderful friends, great food, good wine, Pink Martini's Christmas Album, candle light and lots of laughter make the recipe for a perfect Christmas Eve. The only thing missing was my son! We had fantastic weather all weekend and I cooked for days and days making dozens of different tamales and Chiles en Nogada. I smoked a ham and made a great mustard sauce (see recipe below) to go with it. Our friends brought the rest of the meal and we ate till we could eat no more. Enjoy the pictures of our evening in Paradise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can find more pictures and updates on my Facebook Page!

MUSTARD SAUCE:

·         2 egg yolks, beaten

·         3 tablespoons prepared mustard

·         2 tablespoons white vinegar

·         1 tablespoon sugar

·         1 tablespoon water

·         3/4 teaspoon salt

·         1 tablespoon butter

·         1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

·         1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

Combine egg yolks, mustard, vinegar, sugar, water and salt in a heavy saucepan. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture is thickened and reaches 160°, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in butter and horseradish. Cool. Fold in cream. 

Cookie Making at the Pink House

Every year my friend Janet does a cookie party at her house for a gaggle of girls. We do our share of mischief at this party and always manage to finish off a considerable amount of champagne. In the end most of the cookies and candies we make turn out just fine & Janet's husband Dan is left with a refrigerator of cookies to plow through. Yes, we all take some home, but somehow there are always masses of them left at Janet's. This year's party continued the tradition in grand style. Janet's house  is not really pink, but she has a lot of touches of her favorite color, Dragon Fruit Red, which is in the Pantone scheme of things quite pink, about Pantone 1925 if you ask me. And so with the help of Photo Shop and my new camera, I documented the event. I will let the pictures do the talking. If you would like to see last year's party, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Farmer's Luncheon at the Four Seasons

I had the incredible opportunity to be invited to a luncheon celebrating the local 160 farmers, ranchers and producers that Four Seasons Hualalai's Executive Chef James Babian works with. I was already aware that Jim had an extensive commitment to local and sustainable food, but I really did not understand how many farmers, ranchers and producers were involved in meeting the goal of serving up 75% local food to the guests at the Four Seasons Hualalai. That is an incredible ratio, one that is larger than any other resort on the big island, perhaps in all of Hawaii.

Chef Babian and his staff created a luncheon of local and sustainable foods to thank the people that provide them with so much. While any meal I have at the Four Seasons is a true delight, this one seemed to me to be extra special because I was dining with the people who grew the lettuces, vegetables, fruits, meats, and multiple other things that we were treated to. So many comments were made by these purveyors about how they had never been recognized in such a way and how the luncheon was a very special event for them. 

The luncheon was also a symposium about local food and there was a great deal of input about the incredible array of items that are produced right here on the big island. Everything from Ice Cream to Wild Boar was discussed and on the menu. A "wish list" was provided for the guests, to let them know what additional items are needed in quantity to provide for the needs of the food service at the Four Seasons Hualalai. I have a feeling that  the 75% ratio is going to climb in the coming year. Our island is immense and has so many elevations and an agrarian history that goes all the way back to King Kamehameha. With our climate and so many farmer's dedicated to producing quality produce, meats like wild boar and beef cheeks and processed foods like ice cream, chocolate and goat cheese we are so fortunate.

I would personally like to thank Chef Babian for his commitment to local and sustainable food and for the generosity of the Four Seasons to host such a luncheon with such aloha. I am honored to have attended and I treasure the many new friends I made while dining and taking photos.

For related posts, see the story of Chef Babian's fabulous Avocado Luncheon served up for the American Culinary Federadion's Kona Kohala Chefs or check out my blog on my day spent with Nick Matracusa the Chef of Beach Tree restaurant at the Four Seasons Hualalai. We made Gnocchi and tasted many of the fun dishes that Nick and his staff have created.