Oignons Glacés à Brun

I have lots of ideas for blog posts I'd love to share with you this Thanksgiving. There's still a lot left to do in my kitchen and I may be a tad overzealous in thinking I can get it all done and write about it, so no promises. We'll see how it goes (but I'm feeling pretty optimistic)!

Personally, I think side dishes are the best part of Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey's great, don't get me wrong, but when I go back for seconds (and thirds), I'm loading up my plate with sides. This year I'm making, among other things, pearl onions glazed in butter and sugar to create a deep brown color and a rich, caramelized flavor. It's called oignons glacés à brun. They're super easy to make and offer a big wow factor to enjoy.

Peeling pearl onions can either be the most annoying process known to man or it can turn into a meditative experience that comes from choosing a relaxed approach. When you focus on a repetitive process with the intention to let everything else go (in yoga, it's called japa), your parasympathetic nervous system steps in to help back you away from the cliff of stress. And who doesn't need a little calm, especially in the face of cooking Thanksgiving dinner?! Here's a trick: put the onions in a pot of boiling water for a minute, which will make the skins a lot easier to peel off. Leave most of the root in tact so the onions keep their shape (just shave off a sliver of the bottom with your paring knife to neaten them up).

Lay out your peeled pearl onions in a single layer in a sauté pan. Add a tablespoon of (unsalted) butter, a generous pinch of salt, and about a teaspoon of sugar. Fill the pan with enough water to come only half way up the sides of the onions.

You'll need to make a fancy contraption called a cartouche, or a parchment paper lid. The cartouche pushes the steam back into the onions, cooking them quickly and trapping in moisture. I swear we used a cartouche in every single class at the French Culinary Institute. It's an awesome little invention and I'll be sure to share other ways you can use it in your kitchen.

Fold a piece of parchment paper into quarters. Think of it like a little book and keep the "binding" to the left. The folded seams stay at the top. Fold the paper in half from the bottom to the top, and then repeat that fold two more times until you have what looks like a paper airplane.

Measure the circumference of your pan by placing the tip of your cartouche in the middle and then cutting the parchment where it touches the rim. Unfold your paper airplane et voilà, your very own cartouche! Très bien!

Snuggle your cartouche right on top of the onions and turn on your heat to medium-high. Allow the water to simmer down to almost nothing. The timing really depends on the size of your pan, but plan on checking in after about 10 minutes. If it's your first time, don't go too far. Stay on top of the situation. Stab an onion with the tip of your paring knife to make sure it's tender (and if it's not, just add a little more water and let it simmer a bit longer). 

Once you have about a tablespoon of water left, remove the cartouche.

As the water evaporates, the sugar will begin to caramelize and coat your pan in a lovely shade of brown. Get those onions to roll around in there so they don't stick. When things start getting really brown, add a little bit of water to the pan (like a teaspoon), give the pan a good shake, and you'll see the onions start to take on all of that delicious brown color. You can repeat this process—adding water, shaking the pan, coating the onions—until you get the color you're looking for. Any shade of brun tastes good, folks, so it's really up to you.

You can makes these in advance, store them in the fridge, and then just warm them through before dinner. This would be a great side dish to bring to someone's house. You could add some lardons in there for a salty kick to compliment the sweetness of the onions. I mean, lardons make everything taste ridiculous. Just have fun with the process; it's a great one to add to your cooking repertoire.

Ok, I'm off to make a pumpkin pie, set my Thanksgiving table, and hopefully share it all with you. If you don't hear from me it's because I got caught up in the moment. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Easter Party

I threw an Easter extravaganza/birthday dinner for my Mom on Sunday, which was a blast...great food and great people. I had had grand visions of eating upstairs on my 9 foot farm table, which usually serves as my desk (I sit at one end, little me and my tiny laptop dwarfed by the sheer magnitude of what feels like a very droll piece of furniture). Fortunately for my vision, eleven people can only fit in one place...around a 9 foot farm table.

I bought a piece of linen from Gray Line Linens (an entire blog post will surely be devoted to this store...just wait) to create an earthy, casual feel. Mason jars, new and old, housed tulips and ranunculus which looked beautiful in small bouquets. I mixed-matched plates and silver. My grandmother's old green peacock dessert plates looked so festive and springy underneath my homemade apple and pear crumble.

I committed to keeping the menu simple, learning from past mistakes of cooking too many dishes and using recipes that required last-minute preparation. My new mantra goes something like this - if you're not having any fun, your guests definitely aren't having any fun. Less is more and organization is key. You have to be truly present...in the moment, with your guests and in the kitchen.

Appetizer

Homemade Rosemary Parmesan Crackers

Entrees

Ham and Biscuits

Shrimp and Creamy Rosemary Polenta

Cold Pesto Pasta Salad

Roasted Carrots and Asparagus

Desserts

Apple and Pear Crumble over Vanilla Ice Cream

Ginger Cookies

The rosemary parmesan crackers are delicious. Use a fork to combine a stick of softened butter with 2 cups of grated parmesan. Add 1 t of rosemary, 1/4 t salt and a 1/2 t of pepper. Pristinely clean hands can gradually mix in the last ingredient, 1 1/4 cups of flour. Roll into a long log and freeze for 15 minutes. Slice into 1/4 inch crackers and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden brown. I know what you're thinking, but one cracker with a glass of cabernet never hurt anyone.

Recipe inspired by Ina Garten.

The morning after

Never show up to someone's home empty-handed...that's my rule. An invitation to a party or dinner usually prompts a trip to our local liquor store for a bottle of wine - something your host or hostess can open on a separate occasion but which they may feel (unofficially) required to open upon your arrival.

To think outside the box, a truly thoughtful "thank you" can come in a simple, unique form. I love the idea of a basket filled with breakfast for the next morning! You can bake them something delicious or give them all the ingredients they'll need for one of your favorite recipes.

For the basket above, I bought fresh eggs and milk from the farmers' market (the glass bottle makes it extra special) and put the dry ingredients for pancakes in a mason jar with my recipe attached. I found a great container for orange juice at Fishs Eddy, and bought a bottle of Veuve Cliquot so they could make mimosas! You're still offering a bottle of alcohol, but you're saying "save this...enjoy it tomorrow". A thank you from the heart (and a bottle of champagne) will surely show your hosts how grateful you are for their hospitality!