I'll give you something to cry about!

We ended up with two bags of onions last week.  Both Keith and I made separate trips to the grocery, I guess, and both of us came home with a big ol' bag of plain yellow onions.   I knew immediately what to do about that little "problem." Make Caramelized Onions!  Oh yes!

In the November issue (I think, it's hard for me to keep track of datey sorts of things) of Whole Living Magazine there was a recipe for Caramelized Onion Jam.  And I made it back then, only with fennel bulbs too, because I had to use 'em or lose 'em.  That recipe calls for a whole lot of oil, and I although I liked how it turned out, nobody else in the house would eat it (probably because I say "fennel" and people automatically think "black licorice").  So the next time I made it I left out the fennel and changed it up a bit, then last week I think I may have perfected my own house version of Onion Jam. 

First get ready to cry cry cry! There are probably ways around the tears when you have to slice up six onions, but why not just let them come?  Live in the moment. I cry every day, give or take a day or two here and there.  It's nice to have a real tangible reason for the tears.  When Delia walks into the kitchen and in her matter-of-fact way says "you're crying," I can just point to the pile of onions on the cutting board and she is satisfied. 

• a bowlfull of onions, five or six, thinly sliced
• 5 or so cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• a tablespoon of bacon grease
• a generous glug of olive oil
• big splash of balsamic vinegar (maybe two or three tablespoons)
• a good shake of salt (maybe half a teaspoon, or to taste)

Warm your fat up in a large saucepan, over medium heat.  Toss in the onions and garlic and stir them around till they are all coated with the oil. Drizzle in the vinegar.  Now put a lid on it and go do something else for a while.  Don't let the pan get hot enough to brown the onions, you want them to cook down slowly.  Give them a stir every 15 minutes or so.  I let mine go for an hour or more, till all the onions are softened.  Then take off the lid and cook them a little bit longer, till there is not much liquid left in the pan.  They will look like this:

This recipe makes about 4 cups of Onion Jam.  I put it on sandwiches, make French Onion Soup with it, scramble it into eggs.  It really fancies up anything you put it on. And it keeps for about two weeks in the fridge.  Bon Appetit!