Pissaladière | Provençal Onion Flatbread

Pissaladière is a classic onion and anchovy flatbread from the Provence region of France. The flatbread is a little thicker than Neapolitan pizza, and is often shaped into a large rectangle before baking. 

The flavor contrast among the sweet almost caramelized onions and savory umami of the anchovies and olives created multi-dimensional deliciousness. 

Scalloped Potatoes with Caramelized Onions

These scalloped potatoes with caramelized onions are a lightened up version of one of my favorite comfort foods, potatoes gratin. 

Instead of cream, this dish calls for broth and caramelized onions to add flavor. The result? An amazingly tasty and light potato dish that goes perfectly with roast beef, ham, or lamb chops.

Wild Rice and Onion Bread

This wild rice and onion bread is easy to make, and amazingly delicious. 

I had wanted to make this wild rice and onion bread for a long time. I love the look of the wild rice throughout the bread, and I am crazy about onions in just about anything savory. 

Sweet Onion Galette with Parmesan and Mascarpone

This sweet onion galette is filled with two and a half pound of onions that have been slowly caramelized for 40 minutes (or more) to bring out their sweet flavor. 

While you can't see it, underneath the caramelized onions is a bed of Parmesan and mascarpone cream. The Parmesan cream adds such a nice richness to the filling.

Zucchini and Onion Quiche

This cheesy zucchini quiche is loaded with freshly harvested onions and zucchini, the bounty of summer that you can find at farmer's markets right now.

This zucchini and sweet onion quiche is also super cheesy. I used Gruyère in this quiche, but you can use any good melty cheese such as Swiss, Emmental, Monterey Jack, or mozzarella.

Mini Cheddar Bialys

These Mini Cheese Bialys take traditional bialys and turn them into a tasty little cheesy snack!

What are bialys you ask? They are a delicious traditional bread that originated in the Jewish quarter of Bialystok, Poland. You can read more about their history and how they disappeared from Poland but survived in New York city in this post.

Onion Bagels

How would you like to have freshly baked bagels on a Saturday or Sunday morning without heading out to the bagel shop? Well, you can.

Yes, you'll have to get up about two hours earlier than everyone else, but you will have amazingly fresh bagels, making it totally worth it.

Individual Meatloaves with Chili Sauce

These individual meatloaves with chili sauce are so amazingly good.

It's just meatloaf, right? Not really. First, these are mini meatloaves, which makes them extra fun to serve, especially to kids.

Second, instead of bread or crackers, the binder in this dish is rolled oats. Gluten free! (Did I just say that?).

Pizza Cipolla | Onion Pizza

When I tasted this Pizza Cipolla, I had one of those jump up and down, "oh-em-gee this is so freaking good" moments.

I kind of suspected it would be good when it was baking, because the aroma coming from my oven was spectacular.

Bialys

Bialys are a long forgotten treat from the Jewish quarter of Bialystok, Poland, where they were constant staple.

Food writer Mimi Sheraton wrote about her exploration of the history of these wonderful rolls in her book The Bialy Eaters: The Story of a Bread and a Lost World. "Rich Jews ate kuchen (bialystoker kuchen) with meals, and for poor Jews kuchen were the meal.... we ate them in the morning and in the night, and in between."

Cheddar Cheese Hushpuppies with Chipotle Honey Dipping Sauce

I have been obsessing about making Cheddar Cheese Hushpuppies ever since we had some as an appetizer at a wonderful restaurant while on vacation in Santa Barbara with our friends Jim and Michele. The hushpuppies were so good that we all went back to the same restaurant on the last day of our trip and ordered them again. Several months later, Mr. Kitchen and I headed back to Santa Barbara for a weekend stay. Guess what we had with our cocktails...

Clearly, I needed to try to make these at home.

Oven Fried Onion Rings

I made these oven fried onion rings on a complete whim. My cousin, who has an amazing green thumb and can grow just about anything in her hillside yard, had just harvested a lot of onions and gave me a big bag full.

Stir-Fry Sichuan Beef

This Stir-Fry Sichuan Beef recipe is super flavorful. The sauce combines the flavors of soy, ginger, ketchup, hoisin sauce, and chili bean sauce. The vegetables include onions, green bell peppers, and a garnish of scallions, all ingredients that are readily available. The sauce is amazing.

The dish is simply wonderful over sticky rice. Can you see the steam rising?

I used some flank steak I had in the freezer to make this Sichuan Beef recipe and discovered how easy it is to slice semi-frozen meat into bite sized pieces. Doh! Why did I not know this?

I've been on a stir-fry obsession, second only to my bread obsession, and recently purchased The Breath of a Wok by Grace Young. I have been cooking from her book, Stir Frying to the Sky's Edge every other week for two years now, and decided to dip into one of her earlier books. Why should I have to wait for Wok Wednesdays to stir fry, right?

I will definitely making this again and again. Trust me, it's good.

Stir-Fry Sichuan Beef

Serves three as the main course, four to five as part of a multi-course meal

Ingredients

8 ounces flank steak 

2 T Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry

1 1/2 tsp plus 1 T soy sauce

5 slices ginger, smashed
2 1/2 tsp cornstarch
2 T ketchup
2 T hoisin sauce
2 tsp chili bean sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 T water
1 T peanut or vegetable oil
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 C chicken broth
2 scallions, cut into 1 inch slices

Instructions

1. Cut the flank steak with the grain into two inch wide strips, and then cut each strip into 1/4 inch wide pieces against the grain. 
2. Marinade the beef with the rice wine, 1 1/2 tsp soy sauce, and 2 slices of the ginger for 30 minutes. 
3. Drain the beef and toss it with 1 tsp of the cornstarch. 
4. Mix the ketchup, hoisin, chili bean sauce, sesame oil, and 1 T of soy sauce in a small bowl.
5. Mix 1 1/2 tsp of cornstarch and 1 T water in another small bowl and set aside.
6. Heat your wok over high heat.
7. Add 1 T of peanut or vegetable oil to the wok. Add three slices of the ginger and stir for 30 seconds.
8. Add the marinated beef and spread it into a single layer over the surface of the wok. 
9. Let it cook for one minute. 
10. Stir fry the beef for 30 seconds. 
11. Transfer the beef to a colander and let it drain over a plate.
12. Add the bell peppers and onions to the wok and stir fry for one minute. 
13. Add the broth and bring it to a boil over high heat. 
14. Add the ketchup mixture and bring it to a boil. 
15. Add the cornstarch/water mixture and boil until the sauce has thickened. 
16. Add the beef back into the wok and stir for 30 seconds. 
17. Garnish with the scallions. 

Enjoy!

Chinese Indian Chicken Manchurian | Wok Wednesdays

This Chinese Indian Chicken Manchurian combines the flavors of Cantonese stir-fry along with the sauciness of Indian food.

The first best part? We had the chiles called for in this recipe growing in our little patio garden!

The second best part? I photographed steam! Can you see it? Just tilt your screen. Woo!

This stir-fry includes:

1. chicken thigh meat marinated in egg white, cornstarch, garlic, ginger, salt, and a bit of peanut oil
2. garlic and ginger
3. Thai chiles
4. onions
5. chicken broth and soy sauce
6. cilantro
7. and scallions

The onions, chiles, ginger, and garlic are seared in the wok and then pushed aside. Then the chicken is pressed into the wok to sear undisturbed. Once it has seared, it is stir fried for about a minute or two. You then add the broth and cilantro and stir fry until the chicken is cooked through. At this point, add the scallions and serve with some rice. Bam. Dinner. 

And if you are a geek like me, try to capture some steam with your camera before everyone digs in. 

This dish is so simple to make! How are the flavors so complex? 

I've agreed not to post the specifics of the recipe, so please consider picking up the book, Grace Young's James Beard Foundation Award winning cookbook Stir Frying to the Sky's Edge.  

If you'd like to wok along, check out the Wok Wednesdays site for more information. 

Potato Onion Rye Meteil

This Potato Onion Rye Bread is called a meteil because it has less than 50% rye flour in relation to wheat flour. The bread is sort of a cross between a New York deli onion rye and a soft potato bread.

French Onion Soup

French onion soup is my all time favorite. I love the caramelized onion flavor, the toasted baguette croutons, and the gooey gruyere cheese on top. The beef broth is sweetly flavored with fresh thyme.

This soup is really tasty, looks elegant, and the base can can be made in advance, making it really easy to prepare for company. Why haven't I made this before (she says, smacking herself in the forehead)?

Thank goodness for Secret Recipe Club led by Sarah of Fantastical Sharing of Recipes, who works really hard to keep things going. It's a group of bloggers who are assigned another member's blog from which to choose a recipe to make once a month. We all reveal whom we had on the same day and at the same time. This was the impetus I needed to make my all time favorite soup.

My assigned blogger is Susan of Food, Baby, Life. She is raising three boys, all under 5 years old, and lives in Australia. She's actually been blogging for almost six years! Now that she is a mom, she likes to cook healthy, but I'll forgive her for that (just kidding Susan!). She also has been an avid Tuesdays with Dorie baker. Just check out her Recipe Index.

I immediately chose Susan's French Onion Soup, and I'm so glad I did. Delicious!

French Onion Soup Recipe

Adapted from Food, Baby, Life, who adapted it from Taste.com 

Serves 6 to 8 as a starter, and 4 to 6 as a main course. 

Ingredients

6 T unsalted butter

4 very large brown onions, peeled and sliced crossways into rings

3 garlic cloves, sliced and crushed

1 tsp sugar

3 T all purpose flour

1/2 C dry red wine

6 C beef stock

1 bouquet garni (a few sprigs of thyme, parsley, and bay leaves tied together or wrapped in cheesecloth)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 good baguette, sliced on the diagonal in 1/2 inch slices

1 to 2 cups of freshly grated gruyere cheese (depending on how gooey you want your cheese to be. Next time, I'm adding more =)

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a large (6 to 8 quart) saucepan or saute pan over medium heat. 
2. Add the onions and garlic and sprinkle with the sugar. Cook, stirring regularly, until the onions are soft and a medium golden color, about 30 minutes (I veered a bit from the original recipe here, and cooked the onions quite a bit longer)
3. Add the flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour is cooked through, about a minute or two. 
4. Add the wine, and cook for another minute or two. 
5. Add the broth and bouquet garni and bring the pot to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
6. Remove the bouquet garni and season with salt and pepper, to taste. 
7. Toast the baguette slices in a toaster, toaster oven, or under the broiler. If using the broiler, toast both sides. 
8. Place an oven rack about 6 to 8 inches below the broiler and turn it on. 
9. Fill broiler safe soup bowls or ramekins with the soup and top with two slices of the toasted baguette. Place a good handful of cheese in each bowl over the toast and soup. Place the bowls on a baking sheet, and broil for about a minute or two, until the cheese is melted and bubbly. If you don't have broiler safe bowls, you can sprinkle the toasts with the cheese, broil it, and place it on top of the soup. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Alsatian Onion Tart | Tuesdays with Dorie

Alsation Onion Tart is, according to Dorie Greenspan in the book, Baking with Julia, a "flat, pizzalike galette covered to its very edge with meltingly tender..... mix of onions and bacon." It was a traditional Sunday supper dish in Alsace, to be served after church.

This tart is comprised of a puff pastry crust topped with a "soubise," a mixture of onions and bacon. The onions are simmered in chicken broth until softened, and then combined with cream. The bacon is boiled and then barely fried before being added to the tart. The original recipe calls for slab bacon. I used uncured sliced bacon instead, and was pretty happy with the results.

The original recipe also calls for four "very large" onions. I ended up with a lot of extra onion mixture after piling the onions onto the puff pastry. Two very large onions would probably be enough.

Alsatian Onion Tarts are typically round. I rolled mine into a rectangle. Why? It fit perfectly into my quarter sheet pan, which fit perfectly into my refrigerator overnight.

I totally loved the flavors of this tart. I had prepared all of the components (pastry, onions, and bacon) the day before, and baked the tart in the morning. It made an amazing late morning breakfast. Tasty!!

For this tart, you can either use store bought puff pastry, or make your own. Check out this post for how I actually made my own puff pastry!

Alsatian Onion Tart

Ingredients

8 ounces of chilled puff pastry scraps

4 very large onions, peeled and diced (or less, as mentioned above)

1 C chicken broth

3 T heavy cream

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 to 6 ounces sliced bacon

Instructions

1. Roll out the pastry scraps to a very thin 10 to 12 inch circle or equivalent rectangle. 
2. Place the pastry on a parchment lined baking sheet and prick the pastry with a fork all over. Don't scrimp on this as you want the dough to remain flat while baking. 
3. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
4. Place the onions into a large sauce pan with the chicken broth, and simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. The onions should be very soft. 
5. Let the onions cool. Drain the onions in a strainer to remove any extra liquid. Put them back into the sauce pan. Mix in the cream and salt and pepper to taste.
6. Cut the bacon slices into half inch pieces and place them in boiling water for one minute. Drain on paper towels.
7. Fry the bacon slices for 2 minutes in a hot pan. Drain on paper towels. 
8. Note: The pastry, onions, and bacon can be kept in the refrigerator overnight until you are ready to bake the tart.
9. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
10. Spread the onions over the dough, push the bacon pieces into the onion mixture. 
11. Bake the tart on the lower third of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown. 
12. Serve immediately. 

Caramelized Onion and Shallot Braided Bread with Gruyere Cheese and Herbes de Provence

Caramelized onion and shallot braided bread with Gruyere cheese and herbes de Provence. Seriously good bread.

This is a "mock" braid that can be filled with a number of sweet or savory flavors.

For this filling, I used a large red onion and six large shallots, along with dried herbes de Provence. The aroma from the herbes and the onions while they were cooking made me very happy.

If you don't  have herbes de Provence (typically a blend of tarragon, savory, sage, thyme, fennel, dill, chervil, marjoram, rosemary, and basil), you could substitute any number of fresh or dried herbs.

I spread some Dijon mustard down the center of dough, piled on the caramelized onions and shallots, and then topped the onions with about six ounces of Gruyere cheese. After wrapping the filling in the dough with a mock braid, I sprinkled a little more cheese and herbs down the center of the dough.

This bread is wonderful fresh from the oven with a salad and/or soup.

For a sweet version of this bread, be sure to try Lemon Braided Bread with Blackberries. 

To find other versions of this bread, as well as step-by-step photos for braiding the bread, check out Katie's post at Thyme for Cooking. 

She is the Kitchen of the Month for the Bread Baking Babes. On her post, there are links for multiple versions of this bread from the rest of the Bread Baking Babes. I'm baking along as a buddy, and this is my take on this wonderful bread.

Caramelized Onion and Shallot Braided Bread with Gruyere Cheese and Herbes de Provence

Ingredients

Dough

455 grams (3 1/2 C) unbleached all purpose flour

2 1/4 tsp instant yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 1/4 tsp salt

1/2 C water

1/4 C milk

1/4 C vegetable oil

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

Filling and Topping

1 T butter

1 T olive oil

1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced

6 large shallots, thinly sliced

1 tsp sugar

1 T herbes de Provence, plus more for sprinkling (mine is from The Spice House)

6 ounces grated Gruyere cheese, plus another ounce for sprinkling

1 T Dijon mustard

1 egg, beaten with 1 T water

Instructions

1. Whisk the dry ingredients of the bread in the bowl of a stand mixer. 
2. Whisk the water, milk, eggs, and egg whites together in a bowl and add to the dry ingredients. 
3. Mix with the dough hook for about 10 minutes on medium low speed.
4. Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise until doubled, about an hour.
5. While the dough is rising, prepare the onion filling. In a 12 inch skillet, melt the butter and olive oil. 
6. Add the onions, shallots, and sugar, and cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add the herbs and continue to cook, stirring regularly, for about 20 minutes more, until caramelized.
7. When the dough has doubled, place it on a piece of baking sheet sized piece of parchment paper. 
8. Roll it out to a 12 inch by 11 inch rectangle.
9. Spread the mustard lengthwise in the middle of the dough into a 3 inch line.
10. Spread the onion mixture over the mustard. 
11. Sprinkle the 6 ounces of cheese over the onion mixture. 
12. Using a sharp knife, make diagonal 1 inch cuts on both sides of the stripe of onion and cheese mixture. 
13. Lift the parchment with the loaf onto a baking sheet. 
14. Fold the ends over the filling, and then fold the strips over the filling, alternating from both sides, so that the top of the dough looks like a braid. 
15. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 
16. Cover the loaf loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled, about 30 to 40 minutes. 
17. Brush the top of the loaf with the egg wash.
18. Sprinkle the center of the braid with about an ounce of grated Gruyere.
19. Sprinkle the top of the cheese lightly with herbes de Provence. 
20. Bake the loaf for about 45 minutes, until nicely browned and the center registers about 190 degrees F. 
21. Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm, or cool completely and wrap in foil to serve later.

Inspired by Canadian Living

Sharing with Yeastspotting. 

Roasted Vegetable Focaccia

This roasted vegetable focaccia is the perfect vehicle for all of the zucchini from your or your friends' gardens. Roasting vegetables definitely brings out the sweetness in them and the results are seriously tasty.  I took this focaccia to work the day after making it. I set it in the break room with reheating instructions. It was a huge hit and gone by 10am.

The original recipe calls for roasted green onions. Unfortunately, I burned the green onions into pieces of charred straw.

Fortunately, I found a sweet onion in my pantry, which I sliced, tossed in olive oil and King Arthur Flour Pizza Seasoning, and roasted for about 15 minutes. It turned out to be the perfect addition to this bread.

The participants in the Avid Baker's Challenge are making this recipe from King Arthur Flour this month. To see the original recipe, click here.

Roasted Vegetable Focaccia

Ingredients

Starter

57 g cool water

Pinch of instant yeast

60 g unbleached all purpose flour (I used King Arthur Flour)

Dough

All of the starter

1 tsp instant yeast

57 g lukewarm water

120 g unbleached all purpose flour

Scant 3/4 tsp salt

6 g nonfat dry milk

13 g olive oil

Topping

3 medium zucchini, trimmed and sliced

olive oil

King Arthur Flour pizza seasoning, or other Italian seasoning

1 sweet onion, peeled, halved, and sliced

8 to 10 ounces of grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. To make the starter, mix the ingredients in a smallish bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit overnight, about 12 to 14 hours. 
2. Combine all of the ingredients, including the starter, in the bowl of a stand mixer. Knead for about 7 minutes on the second speed. 
3. Place the dough into an oiled bowl and let rise for an hour, covered. 
4. Deflate the dough, re-cover, and let it rise for another hour. 
5. In the meantime, toss the zucchini in olive oil and pizza or Italian seasoning and bake in a 400 degree F oven for about an hour, turning it over half way through. Remove them from the oven earlier if they are golden brown.
6. Toss the onions with olive oil and pizza or Italian seasoning and place them on one side of a half sheet baking pan. Place the tomatoes on the other half of the baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees F.
7. Set all of the vegetables aside. 
8. When the dough is ready, sprinkle olive oil into a quarter sheet (13 by 9 inch) pan. If you don't have one, use half of a half sheet pan. 
9. Place the dough into the pan, and dimple it with your fingers to spread the dough out. When the dough begins to spring back, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rest for 15 minutes. 
10. Continue to dimple the dough and nudge it out to fill the pan. 
11. Place the zucchini on top of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest until puffy, about 2 to 3 hours. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
12. Bake the dough with the zucchini on a lower rack of the oven for 15 minute. Remove the pan from the oven and top with the tomatoes and onions.
13. Bake for another 10 minutes. 
14. Remove from the oven, move the bread to a wire rack, and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. 
15. This bread can be reheated in a toaster oven at 350 degrees F for about 5 to 10 minutes. 

This bread has been Yeastspotted 

Pain au Levain (Sourdough) with Caramelized Onions

Pain au Levain is made with a sourdough starter rather than cultivated yeasts. It takes longer to make because the starter works more slowly, but the result is a much more flavorful bread.

One of my favorite foods is caramelized onions. I love them. Pissaladiere... French onion soup... on burgers...  caramelized onion jam... onion and goat cheese tarts... and this bread.

This flour is a combination of 2/3 bread flour and 1/3 whole wheat flour. The water to flour ratio is about 62% but likely increases with the addition of the caramelized onions.

The crust is thin and crisp, and the bread is slightly sweet from the onions. As my friend David (who gave me this formula) suggested, the bread makes amazing grilled cheese sandwiches.  The aroma of the caramelized onions in the bread is wonderful.

Pain au Levain (Sourdough) with Caramelized Onions

Ingredients

Levain

227 g bread flour
227 g water
45 g sourdough starter

Caramelized Onions

1 large onion (I used a sweet onion)
1 T olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp sugar

Final dough

372 g water
454 g levain
457 g bread flour
228 g whole wheat
17 g salt
Caramelized onions

Instructions

1. About 8 to 10 hours before mixing the dough, mix the levain ingredients and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit at room temperature. 
   
2. Coarsely chop the onion. Heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet, add the onion, salt, pepper, and sugar. Saute the onions on medium low, stirring regularly, until lightly browned, but still very soft. Let cool. 
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the levain and the water with a spoon to break up the levain. Add the flour and mix on low until the flour and water are mixed, about a minute. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes. 
4. Sprinkle the salt over the dough and mix on low with the dough hook for three minutes. Mix on the second speed for 3 more minutes, adding the onions during the last minute. 
5. Place the dough in an oiled bowl or dough rising bucket and allow to rise for 2 1/4 hours, with two stretch and folds at 45 minute intervals. 
6. Divide the dough in half and pre-shape it into boules. Cover with plastic wrap to rest for 15 minutes. 
7. Flour two 9-inch bannetons, brotforms, or towel lined bowls. (I use a combination of wheat and rice flour to prevent sticking)
8. Shape the dough into boules and place them into the baskets/bowls, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for 2 hours. 
9. Preheat the oven with a baking stone to 450 degrees F and prepare it for steam (see this post). 
10. Bake the loaves for about 40 minutes, until they reach an interior temperature of about 200 to 205 degrees F. 
11. Cool on a rack before slicing. 

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