Time flies.

Oignons a la Creme -- Creamed Onions

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana." What's that have to do with Oignons a la Creme (Creamed Onions)? Not a whole lot but I love that saying and this recipe was about saving a little time. This post is a short one to give an update to a little experiment I decided to do. I made creamed onions the other day, following Julia's recipe, using the small white onions. They tasted awesome and the only complaint I had was that they took a lot of preparation time trimming the ends and skin off of each of those little onions. This was an experiment to see if I could speed up the process using larger onions and still have the same great taste. Yep! It worked!

I haven't figured out a way to photograph these and get the picture to capture the full flavor of these, but they're delicious. Simple to make -- I took a bunch of sweet onions, sliced them into half rings and placed in a large skillet. A little herb bouquet containing parsley, thyme, and basil was placed in the pan with chicken broth and a couple tablespoons of butter (of course). Everything simmered together for about 45 minutes until they were nice and tender.

As they finished up the last ten minutes of cooking I prepared my basic bechamel sauce using butter, flour, some salt and pepper, and boiling milk. When the sauce had thickened enough, I folded it into the onions and then simmered them together for about five minutes. A little pepper was added to season it to taste and then about a tablespoon of melted butter was folded in and it was finished.

I'll no doubt be making creamed onions using those cute little round guys again when it is a special "fancy" dinner. This version, however, is something that requires little preparation time and will likely end up on our dinner table frequently. Sorry Julia, I've found a lazy way to adapt your French recipe into a much more practical recipe for a busy schedule. Easy to make and great to eat!

Bon appetit!