French Onion Jam

My favorite food in the entire world is caramelized onions.  They are the perfect combination of sweet and savory and when done correctly make a dish a million times better.  When I was first getting into cooking in high school, I used to make this salad almost every single day with spinach leaves, cucumbers, avocado and a touch of peanut sauce and then top it with a smattering of caramelized onions.  When I finally got a kitchen of my own in college, I would make egg white omelets that started with caramelized onions almost every single day.   If I'm out to eat and there are caramelized onions on a dish, you know that's what I'm going to order.

It is neither socially acceptable nor the basis for a well balanced diet to only eat caramelized onions.  Now, I incorporate them in tarts, pizzas, and anything else I can shove 'em in.  When I'm feeling fancy I pick up a bottle of red (maybe a bottle of white?) and a baguette and make myself a big pot of french onion soup. I've even shared my recipe with you on the blog.  Any time I am dreaming up a recipe or am inspired by something I see or read, there is always a little voice in the back of my head asking "Can this be made better with caramelized onions?"

Last Sunday was no different.  I woke up feeling like I could take on the world and wanted to run every single errand before noon so I could cook all afternoon.  I biked down to my favorite Trader Joe's (to be replaced by the U street TJ's in March!), picked up what I couldn't get there at two other places, and got home in time to force Lisa to go to breakfast with me at our favorite French Bakery.  The just-baked baguettes were calling to me, begging to for some french onion… jam?

Yes, french onion jam!  I did everything I would do to start a french onion soup from cooking the onions low and slow for almost two hours (patience is a virtue), deglazing with red wine, simmering with a little bit of stock to get the flavor of long-cooked soup, and reducing to make the most luscious onion jam I've ever had in my life.  This whole process will take you about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, but I refuse to give you exact times.  Keep the heat low, stay semi-close to the stove (I would check every 5-10 minutes), and trust your gut!

I used the jam in a sort of reconstructed french onion soup sandwich.  Sections of baguette were sliced for sandwiches, slathered with the jam while still hot, covered with thinly sliced gruyere cheese, and topped with a little bit of a baby arugula lettuce mix for some bite.  It could also work at a crostini for a party, like I tried below.  For an extra special touch, you could throw it under the broiler like you do the soup to get the cheese nice and bubbly.

It was a fun and lazy Sunday cooking project that left an almost full bottle wine to be enjoyed with the French Onion Jam sandwiches.  And I am not ashamed to admit that I ate the jam on almost everything for the rest of the week.  Judge me.

Dijon-Marmalade Baby Bok Choy

Growing up, our extra special dinner was Orange Chicken.  It was crispy baked chicken breast coated in a orange marmalade, dijon mustard, and toasted sesame seed sauce.  My favorite was to drizzle the orange sauce over mashed potatoes.  Recently, I've been trying to adapt those flavors to other dishes to capture the nostalgic flavor.

After a trip to my favorite asian market at home, I picked up some beautiful baby bok choy and thought that the hearty leaves would stand up to the savory-sweet sauce.  Starting with slowly caramelized shallots, I added the marmalade, mustard, and sesame seeds and let meld for a few minutes.  I sliced the baby bok choy in half (or thirds for bigger pieces), cleaned out as much of the grit in the leaves as possible, and put the bok choy face down in the sauce.  After about 2 minutes, I added a little chicken stock and covered to finish cooking the bok choy.

When the leaves have wilted, pull the veggies and cook down the sauce for a few minutes.  Pour the reduced sauce over the baby bok choy and enjoy (my) nostalgia!

Green Beans with Shallots

Have you ever had pollo a la brasa?  It's ridiculously amazing peruvian chicken smothered in spices and roasted on spits over charcoal in these crazy ovens.  My favorite is this place Sardi's in College Park, their 10% student discount Tuesdays is the only reason why I have kept my student ID from UMD.  They have amazing sides as well, from yucca fries and plantains to peruvian corn and these amazing green beans with onions and LOTS of black pepper.  Since I'm a bike-only person, my life has been sadly bereft of all of these amazing dishes.  So, I thought I would try to replicate the green beans at home...

To outstanding results!  I used a combination of butter (that I made) and saved bacon fat to first saute thinly sliced shallots then added the green beans and fresh cracked pepper.  Just five simple ingredients come together to make such an amazing side dish, enough to tide me over until my next trip to College Park!