Creamed Onions

I have always surmised that I would love creamed onions. We had heavy whipping cream left over from a chocolate-ganache/caramel tart this weekend, so I finally had the opportunity to make them (what, waste good cream?). Turns out I do love them. So, so, so good.

I adapted Simon Hopkinson's recipe from Roast Chicken and Other Stories to fit the ingredients I had on hand, and wouldn't make it any other way. We modern folk aren't that used to eating things made with heavy cream, though -- it's unbelievably rich (even after I cut the butter in half), so I might just try making it with whole milk some time.

They look like nothing special, definitely not photo-worthy, but are impossible to resist.

Creamed Onions

3 large Spanish onions, sliced thinly
4 tbsp unsalted butter (original recipe: 8 tbsp)
1/2 cup white wine vinegar (or 1/3 cup white wine vinegar and the remainder white vinegar, if that's all you have like me)
1/4 cup extra dry vermouth
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream (might try only 1 cup next time)
salt and pepper
pinch dried rosemary

Cook the onions in the butter, with salt to taste, over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 30 to 45 minutes (it's a lot of onions -- just barely fit in our largest saute pan until they cooked down). Add the vinegar and reduce until evaporated; add the vermouth and reduce until evaporated. Add the rosemary, lots of pepper, and cream; cook another 10 minutes or so, until thickened.

Makes about 6 servings.

Recommended serving suggestion: for a great dinner for one, eat onions with Ak-Mak crackers dipped in Trader Joe's Bulgarian eggplant garlic spread.

Reasonable Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

While I normally have no problems with cookies that are dessert, with sugar and butter aplenty, sometimes that's not what I want. On a cold day, when I didn't have much for lunch and wanted a more substantial afternoon snack, it made sense to make a more, well, reasonable cookie. Very good with tea. We have about ten bags of cranberries crowding the freezer, so I used chopped cranberries, but raisins would be more traditional and would make a sweeter cookie.

Reasonable Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 stick butter, at room temperature
1 egg + 1 egg white
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 to 2/3 cup chopped cranberries, or raisins
Cinnamon to taste (several dashes)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg, additional egg white, and vanilla. Fold in the dry ingredients, then the fruit.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a teaspoon or your hands, drop small cookies onto the baking sheet, about 1.5 inches in diameter (or larger if you'd like). Bake 10-15 minutes, until the edges are colored but the cookies are still soft.

Makes 2 dozen or possibly a few less.

Rice Pudding

Continuing on the pudding trend, I made two batches of rice pudding this weekend by special request from my charming associate. For the first (for a dinner party), I essentially followed this recipe, which calls for whole milk and two eggs for a double batch. Just too rich -- not how either of us thinks of rice pudding. So today I made another batch, using skim milk, one egg, and less sugar -- just right. It worked out even though I accidentally used only 1/2 cup of rice instead of 2/3, so I'm leaving it as 1/2 below -- but I'm sure 2/3 would be just fine. (And it's a perfectly acceptable breakfast -- it's just milk, rice, some egg, and a little sugar.)

Rice Pudding

1/2 cup white rice
5 cups skim milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 green cardamom pod
1/3 cup raisins

Bring the rice, milk, cardamom pod and salt to a boil in a sturdy saucepan, stirring frequently so that it does not stick to the bottom and burn. As soon as it boils, turn the heat to low and simmer until the rice is cooked, about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir frequently. When the rice is cooked, beat the egg together with the sugar until smooth. Add several large spoonfuls of the hot rice mixture to the egg; beat after each addition. Then add the egg mixture to the rice mixture and stir well. Add the raisins. Cook about 20-30 minutes more, stirring occasionally, over very low heat, until thickened. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and stir well. Eat hot, at room temperature, or chilled; it will continue to thicken as it cools.

Serves about 4 in medium portions or 6 in small portions.

Savory Mushroom Bread Pudding

I was really impressed by how this turned out -- puffed and golden, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, rich and tasting of mushrooms and onions and cheese.

I'm sure it would be delicious if made with whole milk or cream and white bread with the crusts cut off, but it tasted pretty spectacular made with what I had on hand -- skim milk and whole-wheat "double protein" sandwich bread (and I didn't cut the crusts off). If I'd thought ahead, stale bread would probably work better as I'd prefer a slightly drier pudding, but YUM.

Savory Mushroom Bread Pudding

8 oz. crimini/"baby bella" mushrooms, washed and sliced thinly
1 medium-large onion, diced (about 3 cups)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
5 eggs
2 cups skim milk
8 slices whole wheat sandwich bread, cut into cubes of less than an inch
1/2 to 2/3 cup grated Swiss cheese
black pepper
cayenne
salt
1/2 tsp dried sage
2 tbsp butter

Grease a 1.8 quart casserole dish with a little of the butter. Heat the rest in a frying pan over medium heat, and saute the onions in it until they have softened and released some of their liquid, about 5 minutes. (Use this time to wash and slice the mushrooms and cut up the bread). Add the mushrooms and garlic and continue to cook over medium heat until the mushrooms have softened, released their liquid, and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes more. Season with salt, pepper, and a couple of dashes of cayenne. Remove from the heat.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat the eggs until well blended. Beat in the milk. Add about a half teaspoon of salt, a half teaspoon of pepper, a couple of dashes of cayenne, and sage; blend. Mix in the bread cubes and then the onions/mushrooms, making sure it's well blended.

Pour into the greased baking dish. Top with the grated cheese. Bake 55-65 minutes, until the top is puffed and well browned.

Serves at least 4.

Tomato and Cabbage Gratin

I'm rapidly falling in love with cabbage/renewing the love affair cabbage and I began last year. It's so versatile -- it works in every cuisine, is delicious (and takes on the flavors of whatever you cook it with), and takes well to fast or slow cooking. This dish is warming and great for winter without being heavy in the least. With hearty bread to mop up the sauce, it is a great dinner. Not exactly a gratin, I guess, but "cabbage casserole" wasn't a very appealing name.

Tomato and Cabbage Gratin

1/2 large head regular green (not Savoy) cabbage
1 can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 mini can tomato paste
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 to 2/3 cup grated Swiss cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs or cracker crumbs
about 10 leaves fresh rosemary
pinch of fennel seeds

Dice the onion and saute over medium heat in 1.5 tbsp olive oil in a medium saucepan until translucent, soft, and starting to color, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the garlic finely and add it to the onions after about 5 minutes. When the onions are ready, add the diced tomatoes and tomato paste; fill the empty tomato can with water and add that as well. Stir well. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat (above a simmer but below a rolling boil) until fairly thick. (Should be done about the same time as the cabbage, below.)

While the onions are cooking/sauce is simmering, dice the cabbage fairly finely. In a large frying pan, saute the cabbage and fennel seeds in the remaining olive oil over medium-high heat, stirring almost constantly, until it is soft and fairly limp but not browned.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Layer half the cabbage in a medium-sized casserole dish (mine is 1.8 liters and approximately 8.5'' x 11'') and top with half the tomato sauce. Continue with the remaining cabbage and remaining tomato sauce. Top with the cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake, uncovered, about 30 minutes, until nicely browned.

Serves 3-4.

Cumin-Orange Fish on a Bed of Spaghetti Squash

We've discovered tilapia!

Cumin-Orange Fish on a Bed of Spaghetti Squash

1 medium spaghetti squash
2-4 small thawed tilapia fillets (1-2 per person depending on how hungry you are)
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup raw almonds
1 medium orange (grate and reserve zest)
1 tbsp butter
Olive oil for greasing pan
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ginger
1 medium clove garlic, minced, or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried dill

An hour ahead of time, cut the squash in half and bake, cut side down, at 375 for about an hour. Remove from oven.

Scrape spaghetti strands from squash. In a medium mixing bowl, mix squash, raisins, spices, 1 tbsp butter,orange zest, and garlic. Squeeze a small amount of the orange juice over the squash; stir gently. Add salt to taste. Cover and keep warm.

Preheat oven to 450. Brush a rimmed baking sheet with oil to prevent sticking. Place fish fillets on baking sheet. Squeeze orange juice over the fish and sprinkle with dill. Cut thin slices from the orange and place on top of the fish. Cook 4-5 minutes, flip, and cook 4-5 minutes more (just put the orange slices on top again), until flakes easily and is no longer transparent. Meanwhile, chop almonds and toast them in a pan.

To serve: put half the squash mixture on each plate. Top with fish, with the orange slices on top. Sprinkle with nuts, and squeeze the remaining 1/3 orange over the plates.

Serves 2

Buttercup Squash Casserole

Back after a long delay (filled with interesting developments):

A really, really delicious fall dish! Will be making it again soon. I used dried porcini mushrooms because we'd had them forever and they needed to be used, but I'm sure most fresh mushrooms would be fine too if you don't feel like splurging. If you do that, you should use some other flavorful liquid to cook the vegetables -- a little wine, and some broth, or soy sauce, or something interesting.

Apologies for blurry photo.

Buttercup Squash Casserole

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water

1 medium-sized buttercup squash, about 1.5 or 2 lb
1/2 large onion
1 tbsp olive oil
3/4 oz dried porcini mushrooms, well washed
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup red wine
1.5 cups grated Swiss cheese
2 eggs
1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt & pepper

Boil the 3/4 water, mix it with the wine, and soak the mushrooms in it for about 15-20 minutes.

Cook the quinoa using whatever method you prefer.

Meanwhile, peel and dice the squash into fairly small dice. Dice the onion. Saute the onion and squash in the olive oil, over medium heat, until the onion turns translucent. Add half the mushroom soaking liquid and cook over medium-high heat until the liquid has mostly been absorbed. Meanwhile, chop the mushrooms. When the liquid has mostly been absorbed, add the remaining liquid and mushrooms; cook until the liquid is absorbed and turn off the flame. Add the thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 2-quart baking dish. Mix together the quinoa and squash mixture until well mixed. Beat the eggs. Add one cup of cheese to the quinoa/squash mixture; blend well. Take a couple of spoonfuls of the hot quinoa/squash mixture and mix with the beaten egg; then mix this with the rest of the quinoa/squash mixture. (This is to prevent getting bits of scrambled egg in the casserole.) Spoon into the baking dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Bake about 35 minutes, until the cheese has just begun to brown.

Serves 4-6.