Wednesday, November 19, 2008

A Favorite Thanksgiving Dish: Cheesy Onion Casserole

Since Thanksgiving is only a week away, I wanted to share a couple of my favorite family recipes. As you can maybe imagine, Thanksgiving is one of my family's favorite holidays. My Mom always does it up big. Last year for a group of 11 people, my parents prepared a Turduckin and rotisseried a 14 lb Turkey. Thanksgiving is a day of total hedonism where we gorge ourselves silly and have enough left overs for an army!



Cheesy Onion Casserole, a family favorite, is so delicious the left overs are always fought over and my Mom has to evenly and judiciously distribute. No Thanksgiving is complete without a casserole and this one is literally as easy to make as it is to eat!

Cheesy Onion Casserole
  • 2-3 Tbs butter or margerine
  • 3 large sweet onions or 4 medium white or yellow onions
  • 2 c. shredded swiss cheese (8 oz.)
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted**
  • 2/3 c. milk
  • 1 tsp. soy sauce
  • 8 or so slices of French bread
Slice onions. Know any tricks not to cry while cutting onions? I whistle which works pretty well, but you need a lot of onions for this recipe. Any ideas??



Melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat, and add onions. Saute onions until clear, a little brown is ok. In a shallow 2 qt. casserole pan, layer onions, 2/3 of cheese and pepper to taste.

In a sauce pan, heat soup, milk, and soy sauce, stirring to blend. Pour soup mixture in a casserole and stir gently to mix. Top with bread slices. Bake at 350 uncovered for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, top of bread should be nice and toasted.



Push bread slices under the sauce and top with the remaining cheese.



Bake for 15 more minutes and you are done!



Sooo good!

**You can make this vegetarian by substituting cream of mushroom soup instead of cream of chicken.

15 comments:

Regis said...

The only onion trick I know that works worth a damn is to slice them underwater, but that's a bit of a pain. I just cry and let it happen.

This recipe makes me wish I could still eat cheese.

twistbarbie said...

Oh this sounds delicious! well done lady! as far as the onions are concerned my little grandma in Iowa always suggests chewing gum while you slice... I have done this and it works out well, but it could be that I have great faith in her prairie magic! :)

Andrea said...

I'm sure it works, but, although this is rediculous to admit, I have a debilitating fear of gum. It just freaks me out. What can I say, we all have our irrational fears. Don't we?

Anonymous said...

Looks awesome! I may try it out for our 40-some people.

As for onions, the collected wisdom of Harold McGee and Cooks Illustrated add up to barrier methods (goggles, contacts, etc) or a nearby open flame to oxidize the sulfur compounds. Both actually work, and I keep chemistry goggles in the kitchen for frying anyway.

Dc said...

i've also heard that burning a candle close by helps. burns up the tear inducing gases maybe?

this is my first comment, i found the blog by way of painfully hip. but i'll admit to bookmarking the coq au vin post so i can ogle it at random hungry points in my day. that is some seriously delicious food pr0n.

Anonymous said...

Andrea,

When I have to slice a lot of onions for this casserole and for the stuffing, the last few years I have been lighting a candle near my cutting board. I think I read that in a Martha Stewart column. It seems to work. Can't wait to see you for Thanksgiving and my birthday! Love you lots, Mom

Unknown said...

Hey Andrea! I absolutely love your blog and congrats on the Time Out Chicago Post. This onion bake looks amazing.
I fully endorse the candle burning trick for onions- and yes it's from Martha. I used to cry and burn so much i couldn't open my eyes but having a candle on my cutting board does the trick.
btw- i'm a total cupcake/baking junkie so i'll have to send you some pics of my creations :)

sugor said...

Not only are your recipes wonderful but your pictures are amazing! They make everything look absolutely tantalizing.
Great job, Andrea!

Anonymous said...

Oh my God. So this is the first Forkable recipe I have tried to make, and I went to the store and was like, "What? THREE POUNDS of butter?" So I called you and it went straight to voicemail (so busy with local magazines calling you and all I guess). So I just bought three pounds of butter and came home and realize it says 3 tbs. So, hopefully you can publish some butter-heavy recipes in the next month.

Andrea said...

Just put it in the freezer, it'll keep until you get around to using it all. I love the way your mind works. Three pounds of butter, that sounds like a recipe for a coronary.

Anonymous said...

I've found turning on the stove (gas burner) helps with tears. Also, apparently a super-sharp knife will keep it to a minimum.

chop chop!

Anonymous said...

OMG .. that looks so tasty. I may make a mini one just for me. My husband, darling man, hates cheese and onions. Freak of nature, I know.

Lovely blog!! I adore it!

Diane said...

Swimming googles make working with onions a tear-free experience. It also entertains any witnesses.

Andrea said...

Ha ha. I think swimming goggles are are an awesome idea!

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