The Yummy Goodness of a Carmelized Onion.......

Nothing adds more flavor to one of my favorite savory dishes like a sweet, golden brown, caramelized onion.  Vidalia onions are my onion of choice - any time of year.

From the moment the extra virgin olive oil and a slice of butter hit the bottom of my hot sautee pan, I can just smell and taste how good dinner is going to be that night.   After I quickly slice up several vidalia onions, I place them in the sautee pan - careful not to over crowd or steam them.  The key is to sautee the onions slowly on a low heat, which allows all the goodness of the onions to come through.   I am careful not to stir the contents of my sautee pan too often.  This allows the genuine sweetness of the onions to rise from the fresh, organic onions just purchased from the local farmers market.  Some cooks like to add a bit of sugar for added flavor, some like to add diet coke as a lower calorie option.  I like to keep the onions simple and as natural as possible.  As the onions start to brown, I know I am on my way to a heavenly dinner ...... so many, many options for my sweet, cooked onions .... where do I begin.......here are a few of my favorites

• Caramelized Mushroom and Onion Lasagna -  A very light and healthy recipe which will be coming to my blog soon.  It is INCREDIBLE!

• Whole Grain Rigatoni Pasta with Marsala Caramelized Onion Sauce - Simple, yet addicting.  Cook down 3-4 large onions until they are almost a sauce - it will take a long time, but it is worth the wait.  Once the onions are broken down, add a touch of Marsala Wine and a little more butter  - you will have an incredibly sweet and velvety Marsala Onion Sauce.   Before adding the pasta to the sautee pan (any kind of pasta will do), be sure to add a little bit of the pasta water to the bottom of the sautee pan.  The natural starches in the pasta water will thicken your sauce and deglaze the pan at the same time.  By deglazing the pan, you are picking up all of the scrumptous bits on the bottom of the pan that add so much flavor to your dish.
  

• Incredible Caramelized Onions, Stilton Bleu Cheese & Fresh Rosemary  Tart- This is the easiest tart crust you will ever make - and it is ALWAYS a crowd pleaser when I make this one for friends and family!  (Recipe coming soon.)
  

•  Amy's Chicken Sausage, Red Roasted Peppers, Spinach and Caramelized Onions - Sautee everything in one single pan, and you have a fast, light and healthy dinner for the whole family!

•  French Onion Soup with Gruyere Cheese - Add a piece of of incredible country bread before topping the soup with Gruyere cheese.  This a great comfort food on a cold day like today.   This one reminds me of my childhood.  I can still remember my mother making these in her gorgeous french soup bowls.

• Puree the Sauteed Onion in a Cuisinart and add it to your favorite ground meat as your secret ingredient - it makes any meatloaf, burger and casserole taste that much better!  Everyone will be wondering what made your dish taste so good!
  

• Make the Onions into an incredible Onion Gravy when making a Beef Brisket or Pot Roast.  Sautee the onions before adding them to any beef brisket or pot roast for flavor.  I make a mean beef brisket!   Brown a lean, seasoned beef brisket in a dutch oven.  Set aside and then caramelize the onions with sweet paprika.  Once caramelized, add water to the sautee pan, bring it to a boil, and finally add the onion mixture to the dutch oven with the beef brisket. Cook the beef for several hours in the oven until the meat is tender.  Cool it and place in the fridge overnight.  The next day, remove the beef from the onion mixture it had just cooked in the previous day.   Puree the remaining onions and remaining liquid from the dutch oven in a Cuisinart.  The onion mixture is now flavored with the incredible taste of the beef,  You now have an unbelievable onion gravy for the brisket.  Slice the brisket and place in an oven safe dish and cover with the onion gravy.  Heat and and serve with mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus!   This recipe is a keeper, as it is my mother's incredible beef brisket - that will remain in our family for years to come.
  

The possibilities are endless - some easy, some very complicated.   I love the way the house smells after the onions are sweetened and golden brown.  I could eat them right out of the pan, but any way would do me just fine!  

I will be posting these recipes over the coming weeks and months.  If you just have to have the recipe now, please let me know and I would be happy to send it along to you. 

What is your favorite recipe with caramelized onions?

Buon Appetito!

Christmas Eve 2009 and an incredible Beef Bourguinon

This day is very exciting for me for two reasons - the first reason is that this holiday season was so special to have our family all together.  This Christmas Eve our family had a wonderful dinner and our five year old son anxiously awaited for the arrival of ol' Saint Nick on Christmas Eve. The second reason is the launch of my new blog "One Apple Hill" - a blog about flavorful food, home decor and living a grand lifestyle on a modest budget.   I have been wanting to start this blog and business for many years.  My husband and my son encouraged me to finally move forward with my dreams - they are the driving factor behind this blog....so here we go......

I am a self proclaimed foodie, home designer (of my own home of course), and mompreneur - always looking for a great deal.   With the lauch of my new ebay store and soon to be on-line home store with fashions for the kitchen, accessories for every room and fashion for everyone in the family, I have a lot to be thankful for and it is a great way to start the new year.  I am investing in a new camera - so there will be many great photos to come....

Oh this holiday was such a joy!  Every year, our little family goes into a tizzy about two days before Christmas to answer the question, "What shall we have for Christmas Eve dinner?".   I love to cook, however, I can't seem to cook anything simple. The recipes that tend to draw me in after reading the first few enticing ingredients get me hooked and keep me cooking for hours on end - but it is usually worth the hurting feet and dirty clothes (since I always end up with something on my shirt).

Last year, we were aimlessly walking around the grocery store the night before Christmas Eve still asking the question, "What is for Christmas eve dinner?"  I agonized over what to make for my child and chef husband.  Yes, my husband is a chef, however, I wanted to cook dinner for him since he always makes dinner for us. This year our Christmas Eve dinner wasn't just any ol' dinner - it was a food event in our home - it was FABULOUS! After watching the movie Julie vs. Julia with my husband, we decided we were going to have Beef Bourguinon for Christmas Eve dinner.  I am a HUGE fan of Ina Garten and found a recipe of hers for Beef Bourguinon that looked incredible. Several of the recipe reviews indicated that people liked her recipe better the Julia Child's - so of course I was intrigued to try this recipe. So the menu for Christmas Eve was Roasted Shrimp Cocktail as a starter, then Beef Bourguinon, Roasted Asparagus, homemade parmasan breadsticks and a Ina Garten's homemade Apple Tart with an apricot and rum glaze. I was a little nervous to feed the Beef Bourguinon to my five year old son - the pickiest eater in the world. Well, the boys just RAVED about the meal - it was a grand success. We have now unanimously established our annual Christmas Eve dinner and have started a brand new family tradition.

So to Julie Powell and to Julia Child - thanks for the inspiration. It was the perfect meal for such a special night. As I made the Beef Bourguinon, I took great care to make sure each step of the recipe was well executed - and the aroma in the house was simply exquiset. And as I sauteed those mushrooms to place into my wonderful Beef Bourguinon, I had a little Julie Powell sitting on my shoulder saying "don't crowd the mushrooms" and boy, was she right.   As they were sauteed, you could just see the brown goodness coming through - that added so much flavor (of course the bottle of Pinor Noir certainly helped too).  And by the way, if you don't have a Le Creuset dutch oven - this is by far lucky charm in the kitchen - and the clean up was simple.

And to Ina Gartern - thanks for four great recipes that made for a spectacular dinner.  When the boys are quiet and saying, "MMMM", I know it was a huge success.  Ina, you have yet to fail me with any of your recipes.  I can't wait try the next page in your "Back to Basics" cookbook, as Julie Powell tried the next page in Julia Child's, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" cookbook.  Can't wait to try the next Ina Garten recipe.

And most of all - to my mom and my husband - you have inspired me with your food, your ideas, your technique in the kitchen and your genuine love for sensational, flavorful and memorable food.   I watched my mother cook when I was a litte girl growing up in New York.  I remember her coming home work and preparing a great family dinner - while still wearing her suit.  When I go to visit her now, I still learn so much from her every time I watch her carefully prepare one of her fabulous meals. She also has an incredible eye (and palette) for picking out recipes - it is almost a sixth sense for her.   And I can't tell you how many times she has saved a holiday or two from disaster..hahaha!  She truly is my Ina and Julia put together!  And as for my husband, he is an incredible chef and makes everything look easy.  There is a lot of love and pride that goes into every dish he prepares.  He makes everything look simple and effortless.  It is amazing how he can pull out any 3-5 ingredients from the pantry and make a fabulous meal for the family.   He has taught me to be brave and try some new things - and step out of my comfort zone in the kitchen and in life.   I recenty had the pleasure of watching him cater an event for 150 people - by himself!   It was just awe-inspiring.  You two are my food inspirations - and I hope you can both share in my journey as I begin this food blog.

Well, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year everyone! And in the words of Julie Child - Bon Appetite!