Creamed onions.

Cut the stem end off, boil them, and they will slip right out of their jackets.

Then you can put them in a cream sauce with golden raisins, finish them off in the oven, and enjoy a wonderous treat.

They are wonderful creamed. I also like to use them in stews. One of my favourites is Blanquette De Veau.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Blanquette De Veau
==================
Source: Adapted from recipe in the Toronto Star

2 Pounds boned veal shoulder or
boned veal breast cut into 2 inch
cubes
1 Cup dry white wine
Preferably a chardonnay style
2 Cups chicken broth
12 baby onions, peeled
1 stalk celery, cut in 1 inch lengths
Bouquet garni (Parsley, thyme,
peppercorns (tied in a piece of
cheese cloth, or use a teaball
Mushrooms

Sauce:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 Tablespoons flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 Tablespoon of lemon juice
fresh ground pepper
1 Tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine veal, wine and chicken broth,
bring to boil, skimming the surface to remove any foam that rises. Add
the bouquet garni, salt and simmer for about 30 minutes and then add
the onions and celery. Simmer until meat is tender.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer meat and vegetables to heated serving
dish and keep warm. Reserve, cooking liquid, but discard the bouquet
garni.

Saute mushrooms.

Meanwhile, to make sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
Gradually beat in flour. When mixture is smooth, but not coloured,
gradually whisk in reserved cooking liquid. Add the cream and simmer
for 5 minutes. Add the veal and vegetables inclucing mushrooms to
sauce. Add the lemon and sprinkle with parsley.

The sauce can be enriched with egg yolks.

Thanks y'all. I had originally planned to do some creamed with peas that seem tougher than usual. (Farmers' Market frozen ones that were late in the season). I thought there was a simple way to skin 'em. Thanks!!

Ann, we don't eat veal (mostly because of price and availability) so would you sub chicken or pork or just go to a different dish? Maureen

I also vote for creamed onions...but without the raisins...and adding some hard boiled eggs.

Either would work Maureen. You could even use stewing beef for this dish. It would just take a little longer to cook.

Another favourite for using little pearl or boiling onions is Julia's Beef Burgundy/Bourginon.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Beef Burgundy/Bourginon.
========================

2 to 3 pound beef tenderloin

Make a sauce using:
1-1/2 Cups red wine 1 1/2 cups beef
broth 1 clove of garlic minced 1
Tablespoon tomato paste pinch of thyme
Bring to a boil and simmer slowly
until reduced by half
Braise about 15 to 20 pearl onions
Saute 1/2 pound of sliced mushrooms
. Slice a beef tenderloin into 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick slices. Dry
well and brown on both sides in butter and oil. Add the onion and
mushrooms to the reduced wine sauce and thicken with 1 tablespoon of
flour blended with 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the beef to thicken
sauce. May be prepared up to this point and reheated later. Meat should
be rare to medium rare so be careful when you reheat. This is adjusted
from a Julia Child recipe.

Maureen,
Saveur just had a note about peeling pearl onions this month. Here it is...

Pearls of Wisdom
by Liz Pearson

Pearl onionsÂalso known as creamers in the United StatesÂhave long been prized for their sweet flavor and dainty teardrop shape. Along with lardons and mushrooms, these onions belong to the French trinity of ingredients that garnishes such classics as Coq Au Vin, the sumptuous braise of chicken in red wine. They aren't exactly the friendliest onions to work with, though: because they are the most appealing when their shape is preserved, they shouldn't be randomly tossed into the pot, where they inevitably fall apart, but rather sautéed to the proper degree of doneness and then added to dishes right before serving. They also have stubborn skins that are hard to remove without damage to the onions themselves. Some cooks advise making an X mark at their tip with a knife, boiling them, then peeling away their skins before cooking them further. But we prefer the easier method that James Peterson advocates in Essentials of Cooking (Artisan, 1999). Place the onions in a bowl and add enough boiling water to cover them. Set them aside for a minute, then drain the onions and rinse them in cold water. Trim the root ends. Starting from the onions' tops, simply peel away their skins with your fingers. It's as easy as that."

PS... I'd make coq au vin with them

Thanks Ann(s).

I found that boiled a bit they were fairly easy to skin...the best way for me was topping and tailing them first. I still have under 1lb left - and may cook,skin and cook them tonight. Maybe just blanche, skin and freeze.

I found a recipe in Rick Rodgers Ready and Waiting>/i> for veal and onion stifado. I subbed the chuck roast I had and it' s in the crockpot ready to cook.

A lot of this is getting down to clean-out-the-fridge time, and I'm looking at what else can be cooked up! thanks again.

It's funny you mentioned it though because I had resorted to using frozen pearl onions in my coq au vin because I detested the peeling chore, so I'll go ahead and try the fresh ones next time. Let us know how the stifado turns out. I tend to use lamb in my stifado as we don't eat that much beef or veal.

The frozen ones work just fine.

I've used frozen to make creamed onions many times.

Normally the only time I use fresh these days is when I can't find the frozen.

Each bag of 1.5lb was $1. What can I say...I can't resist a bargain. LOL

I'm too late to the party to add anything, including the boil-then-peel method, but I vote for the creamed peas and pearl onions. Grandma used to make them for Easter dinner, although I'm sure I don't know why then, before either peas or onions were ready in the garden.

Annie

Creamed peas and pearl onions are no good unless the peas are fresh from your garden that morning!
Then I'll go for it...

Not likely to happen in this lifetime Linda...we get hot weather too fast and I eat them faster than I shell them. You are not talking to a farmwoman ya know...;-)

Creamed peas...

GAK!