12 Onions, 3 Ways
John did the sweetest thing for my birthday. He ordered me a copy of Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and then planned to make her Coq Au Vin recipe and serve it to me in the restaurant he would transform our living room into.
Well, things didn’t go exactly according to his plan. The cookbook was going to arrive late, which meant he had to run all over town trying to find one with the true recipe in it. While doing that, he swiftly read “12 white onions, 1-inch in diameter” as 12 onions. Bless him.
We were also heading to Ohio the next day to spend time with family, and I couldn’t stand wasting all of those onions! So I brought them with us since we drove and was determined to use all of them.
Mom’s Vidalia Onion Dip (3 onions): This was a summer staple in my mom’s kitchen when I was growing up. It’s cheesy and salty with some crunch. Best eaten with Ritz crackers.
Tyler Florence’s French Onion Soup (4 onions): I make this soup often and it is seriously so good and easy. Even if you use the cheap beef broth from the store (like me), it’s divine. I follow the recipe exactly, but sometimes half it. Also, I don’t bother pre-toasting the slices of bread with cheese - I just add it to the soup, top with cheese and broil. Best eaten before a delicious steak dinner, or just a side salad if you want something light.
Food & Wine’s Caramelized Onion Jam (5 onions): This was my first time making onion jam, but this recipe had so many top notch reviews I figured it would be a good starting point. I followed this for the most part, but opted for regular balsamic over white and left out the fresh herbs because I didn’t have them on-hand.
French Onion Soup: Not just what you order at restaurants.
Vidalia Onion Dip: Just add a ton of cheese and mayonnaise and you’ve got dip.
Onion Jam: Not the best photo, but I forgot to take one after I put this in cute jars!
To prove that we actually had 12 regular onions, and one again reiterate our lack of space. Yes, these are on the cat food bin.