I’ve been practicing up for Thanksgiving and I think these baked stuffed onions will have pride of place at the dinner table. They aren’t difficult to make and can be made up ahead of time and baked off just before dinner. That’s a good thing when there are people coming and things to do. Anything I can get done early means I’ll have more fun on the day.
Today is John’s real birthday. He’s 21 with 40 years experience. We celebrated by taking a cake, cream, some fresh cut mango and blueberries to the olds so they could feel a part of their baby’s birthday. Sadly, Joan was back in angry mode, looking for reasons to hate Rob. Recently she wrote down on a piece of paper all the reasons why she should hate him. I know it’s not funny but I cracked up. I told John I was going to keep a running list at our house. He said, “On the white board??”
To celebrate John’s birthday, SPG Restaurants and Bars and their #savourandsave campaign have offered one Orgasmic Chef reader a $100 voucher for dinner to be spent at any of these restaurants. If you’re in the area where these good restaurants are, please enter to win. To enter, please like me on Facebook and in the comments tell us which restaurant you’d like to visit and why you chose that one. The best reason wins. I recently dined at Peter Kuruvita’s Noosa Beach House restaurant and if that’s any guide to quality, one of these restaurants would be an excellent night out. Winner announced on the 24th.
- The Eatery @ Four Points by Sheraton Brisbane
- Little Collin’s St Kitchen @ Sheraton Melbourne Hotel
- Feast, Conservatory bar @ Sheraton on the Park
- Mosaic Restaurant, the bar @ The Westin Sydney
- Allegro Restaurant, Lobby Loung @ The Westin Melbourne
- The Best Brew @ Four Points by Sheraton Perth
- Pearls, Terrace Restaurant @ Sheraton Mirage Resort & Spa Gold Coast
- Beach House Restaurant @ Sheraton Noose & Spa
- Reef Restaurant @ Sheraton New Caledonia Deva Resort & Spa
- Le Fare @ Le Meridien Noumea
- Flying Fish @ Sheraton Resort & Spa, Tokoriki Island
- Ocean Terrace, The Kitchen @ The Westin Denarau Island Resort & Spa
- Feast, Port O Calls, Flying Fish @ Sheraton Fiji Resort
- Wet Edge @ Sheraton Denarau Villas
Now to these onions. I have never met an onion I couldn’t be best friends with and these are no exception. They’re stuffed with onions so it’s a win-win for me. John wasn’t too sure until he took the first bite and said, “Oh yeah, these will do.” High praise from a quiet man. AND on his birthday.
- 4 large sweet onions (Vidalia or Walla Walla Sweet if you can get them, otherwise any 4 large onions of the same size will do fine)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ½ clove garlic, crushed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons plain flour
- 2 tablespoons white wine
- ⅓ cup chicken stock (may need a touch more)
- 1 teaspoon mixed dry herbs
- 1 tablespoon cream
- ⅛ cup Panko bread crumbs
- Dusting of Paprika
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
- Chop both ends of each onion, then peel away the outer skin and place the them in a covered casserole dish. Add just a little water on the bottom of the dish to create some steam and microwave for 5 minutes. The onion should be soft but not overcooked. Leave covered for 2 minutes.
- Uncover and let cool until you can handle the onions.
- Remove the inner core of the onions. You can use a knife or get it out by putting a fork in the center and twirling the core out. Remove the cores to a cutting board.
- Roughly chop the inner layers of the onion into small pieces.
- Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.
- Add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté in the butter for 3 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper, then sprinkle the flour evenly over the onions and stir with a spatula to combine. (if your stock is salty, reduce the amount of salt)
- Stir constantly until the flour turns light brown, about 4 -5 minutes.
- Add the white wine and quickly stir it in.
- Add the chicken stock and continue stirring until the mixture is smooth and thick, about 3 minutes more.
- Add the cream and taste for seasoning.
- Using a teaspoon, fill the onion shells with the creamed onion mixture, pressing down gently after each spoonful.
- Top with a sprinkling of panko crumbs and sprinkle a bit of paprika for color.
- Bake uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the crumb topping is golden brown.
Better go spend some time with the birthday boy.