French Onion Pasta

I found a recipe for French Onion Pasta on Pinterest but upon looking at the recipe, I realized the main ingredient was onion soup mix and no real onions.  Blech.  So I searched out a similar recipe and found one made from scratch WITH onions who had the same reaction to the same Pinterest recipe as me.  Find her recipe here.  I mostly followed it.

Ingredients:

1 T butter

1 T EVOO
5 medium yellow onions
a couple tsp of italian spices (whatever you have on hand, thyme, rosemary, oregano, etc)
a couple tbsp of brown sugar
salt and pepper
1-2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 lb dry pasta (I used penne)

4 c beef broth (I followed her recipe but didn't find it enough liquid to adequately cook the pasta so add some more water and throw in a bouillon cube or 2 to bump up the beef taste without buying more cartons of beef broth)

2 c water (bump up to at least 4 cups but be sure to add some bouillon because this will become your sauce- you could add bouillon after the pasta cooks if you want)
salt

tsp or 2 of italian spices

dash garlic powder
a couple of bay leaves

2 T butter

2 T flour

1 ½ c shredded gruyere (this would have been lovely but I just used mozzarella)

1 ½ c shredded cheddar (also mozzarella because that's what was in my fridge)

Directions:

1. In a large frying pan, heat your butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add onions and herbs and salt and pepper and cook down until deep brown and caramelized. Around 45 minutes. Around the 25-30 minute mark add in some brown sugar to bump up the sweetness in the carmelized onions and the worcestershire sauce for nice depth of flavour.

2. In a stock pot, combine the beef broth and water and bouillon; bring to a boil. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 450^◦ F. 

3. Cook the pasta according to the package directions in the broth mixture. Add the herbs/seasoning to the boiling water so the pasta absorbs all the flavors. 

4. While the pasta cooks, melt the 2 T butter in a small bowl. Add the flour and stir to make a paste and reserve. 

5. When the pasta is al dente, use a spider or slotted spoon to take the pasta out of the water and dump it into an 8x11 casserole dish, saving the cooking liquid. Set aside pasta and bring the remaining broth back to a boil. Add the butter/flour paste and whisk and until combined and thickened and the flour taste has cooked out. 

6. Add most or all of the thickened broth (depending on how saucy you want your pasta) to the pasta and stir. Add about half the cheese and the caramelized onions and mix gently. Top with remaining cheese.

7. Place the casserole in the oven for about 10 minutes to heat through and melt the cheese.

Bits and Bites

Homemade bits and bites mix my mom always makes at Christmas time.  It will give you bad breath though.

3 cups shreddies
2 cups cheerios
1 1/2 cups pretzel sticks
1 1/2 cups cheese nibs/bits or fishies or something similar
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp onion salt
3/4 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp hot sauce
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne (if you don't like spicy then omit or reduce)

Combine cereal, pretzels and cheese nibs.  Melt butter, add rest of spices and seasonings and mix well.  Pour over dry ingredients and mix to coat.  Lay out on a cookie sheet and bake at 275 degrees for 25 minutes, stirring once half way through.  Let cool completely and enjoy.