New crock pot?

Freezing, that a good idea. I'll bet you can POOF anything.

Yup, one of the electronics stores in the SW burbs (Fry's) had the Rival 6.5 qt. programmable for $20, so we took a ride. For a $25 savings, I felt no guilt in replacing the old one I had.

OOH!! Fry's!!
What else did you buy??
Linda C

Peppi, I'm glad you posted that. I've had a craving for Fr Onion soup. What recipe do you use?

Nancy

A bit much at 5:30 am with my coffee! Next time the pot goes in the basement.

lol, Been there. Last time I put them out on the back porch with the windows open. We made a huge batch at Thanksgiving (just kept adding onions as they cooked down...I'm not sure how many we fit into the pot, but it was heavy). We'd found some beautiful onions at the restaurant supply place...50# for less than $6!

I froze some, too, but haven't tried them yet.

Ha!The smell can be a bit over whelming can't it? I use to live in a condo attached on one side by a neighbor who cooked onions constantly, I swear. I love onions, but this made me physically ill. I think it must have been coming thru the heating vents! We had to leave when I was going thru chemo. And it seems to linger so danged long too... Well, at least when you're not the one cooking them :)

What a great idea!!
I never would have thought of making caramelized onions in a Crock pot LOL
The smell in the morning...I would have loved it. I take carmelized onions and put a poached egg on them and add salsa and sour cream; my version of Huevos Rancheros from Suzanne Sommers Fast & Easy Cookbook.

Linda

Peppi - thanks for the reminder. I have some baggies of these in the freezer and will have to pull them out for the Pizza party.

wizardnm: Couldn't be simpler to turn frozen carmelized onions into soup. I crockpot 8 lbs at a time (using olive oil rather than margarine), divide them in thirds and freeze. To make soup I thaw a pack and and heat them up in a little olive oil. Then stir in 3/4 cup of white wine (i.e. one little bottle from a four bottle pack) and cook it down for a bit. Add a couple of branches of thyme, a bay leaf, a quart box of beef broth and a pint box of chicken broth and simmer for about 20 minutes. Fish out the thyme and bay and add 1-2 T. cognac. Ladle hot soup into crocks, place the crocks on a rimmed baking sheet, top with bread and gruyere and broil until bubbly.

I never would have thought of doing that with onions or a crock pot. I figured caramelizing onions wouldn't be that big a deal to do just when you need them. But then the more I read your posts, and especially jxbrown's post, the better the idea sounds to me. I'm gonna give it a try. I just wish we'd have some winter here, so soup would sound better!

What else do y'all use caramelized onions?

Sally

Sally - I love them on hamburgers and grilled steaks.

I'm just about to carmelize some onions for tonight's dinner...I add 4 oz of Gorgonzola 2 TBSPs balsamic vinegar and toss w/ a pound of pasta. Yum!

How brown do the onions get? I like dark walnut colored caramelized onions. To the edge of burnt.

BB- Those that stuck to the side were crispy, and the rest had a nice brown tone to them. Not quite walnut, more dark oak. Can you tell I am remodeling right now? I am getting to know more about wood tones than I want too!

Nancy, my recipe is the similar to jxbrowns, only I use some red wine in place of the brandy- white wine. The key is a really hearty beef stock, no chicken stock. Simmer well and pull out the leafy stuff, add a large crouton and cheese.

I will make it this weekend when the temps plummet to zero.

Oh, yeah, it's supposed to get kinda cold here, too, this weekend. I'll try it then!

Sally

The longer the better for carmelizing. Mmm. NOT early in the morning though. I agree it's a bit much for morning coffee. It still lingered in the air the night i made it.

Here's a good recipe.

2 lbs onions (red or sweet), sliced thin;
 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil;
 6 cups rich beef stock;
 ¼ cup unsalted butter;
 2 bay leaves;
 1 tsp sugar;
 1 tsp whole black peppercorns;
 ½ cup brandy (optional);
 ½ lb gruyere cheese;
 1 loaf of crusty Italian or French bread.

In a large heavy bottomed skillet heat the butter and oil until it just begins to brown on medium high heat. Add the sliced onions and stir them to coat with the butter and oil. Sprinkle the sugar on top and stir to incorporate sugar. Cook the onions until caramelized to a dark golden brown. That process will take approximately 30 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the brandy (if you omit the brandy deglaze the pan with some of the beef stock). Transfer the mixture to a soup pot and add the beef stock, peppercorns and bay leaf. Allow to simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes to an hour. Ladle the soup into oven safe bowls or crocks. Submerge a well toasted piece of bread in each bowl and cover with the cheese. Put the cheese covered bowl under the broiler until the cheese melts and is browned to the desired level.

-by Den on Chowhound

Bumblebeez, I found that the onions are a bit juicy when they are done. I dried them out and finished them in a saute pan.

Thanks, I'll have to give them a try someday.

I like to refrigerate the onion soup overnight to allow the butter to solidify on top. Makes it very easy to skim the butter off and lowers the fat content of the soup.