Many years ago, I gave up preparing creamed onions for Thanksgiving. In part because our Thanksgiving dinner began to grow and peeling pearl onions for 30 people just seemed like it would be too many tears to shed. I have always missed those creamed onions though and this year, with just 3 people to feed on Thanksgiving Eve, (we are heading to the wine cellar at Michael’s on East on Thursday for our “adopted family” holiday feast) I am going back to the Gourmet side of a Turkey dinner. A Harvest salad with roasted beets and candied fennel, followed by Turkey, gingered-cranberry sauce with mandarin oranges, pumpkin spice bread and southern biscuits with apple butter, roasted brussel sprouts with crisp chopped apple wood smoked bacon, sweet potato and eggnog soufflé, (fingers crossed on this recipe- I just made it up) and gingerbread with pumpkin mouse. However, I just am drooling this year for one more dish – creamed onions. Therefore, I brushed off the cobwebs in my recipe book (i.e. memory) and peeled 2 pounds worth, steeped the milk with parmesan rinds (a trick Mac deCarl taught me) and topped the creamy mixture with grated parmesan and buttery panko breadcrumbs that I gently toasted in a pan before topping. Heck, I would give up the turkey before ever giving up the creamed onions again and this year I have no doubt they will make another showing during the Hanukkah and Christmas celebrations.
2 pound small white onions, peeled
Kosher salt
2 Tablespoons butter (see below)
2 Tablespoons flour
Fresh ground white pepper
1 ¼ cups whole milk1 cup parmesan rinds
½ cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese
Topping:
1/3 cup panko crumbs (Japanese bread crumbs)
3 Tablespoons butter
Place peeled onions in a pot of cold salted water. Bring to boil and reduce heat- simmer covered about 20 minutes until tender
Drain after RESERVING 1/ cup liquid
Melt 3 Tablespoons butter in medium saucepan. Whisk in flour, remove from heat. Gradually whisk in steeped parmesan milk and onion liquid and place on heat until thick. Keep mixing to avoid lumps. Pour in inions, gently mix and season with salt and pepper to taste.
In a medium omelet pan, melt additional butter and add panko crumbs, stirring until lightly brown.
Top onions with grated parmesan cheese and then top with toasted panko crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees about 25 minutes until bubbly