Have a good Easter weekend

[Guest]

Well, after all this danger and excitement, I'm off to Strasbourg for the weekend in search of a decent onion tart. Anyone else doing anything as exciting as that over Easter?

See you next week - I hope!

[Ralph]

Well, after all this danger and excitement, I'm off to Strasbourg for the weekend in search of a decent onion tart. Anyone else doing anything as exciting as that over Easter?

See you next week - I hope!

*****

I'm looking forward to hearing Handel's Orlando at the City Opera tomorrow.

[Corlyss_D]

What is an onion tart?

[jbuck919]

What is an onion tart?

It's European slang for a smelly prostitute.

Actually, it is what we would call a pie with a filling made mostly of onions. I must have a recipe somewhere if you're seriously interested. Oh those French; they make magic out of everything they cook.

[Corlyss_D]

It's European slang for a smelly prostitute.

Why, Nigel! You ol' dog, you!

Actually, it is what we would call a pie with a filling made mostly of onions. I must have a recipe somewhere if you're seriously interested. Oh those French; they make magic out of everything they cook.

Sure. Shoot it to me. I'm domestically incompetent and need recipes I can cook without poisoning myself or burning the house down. This doesn't involve a crock-pot or pressure cooker, does it?

[jbuck919]

It's European slang for a smelly prostitute.

Why, Nigel! You ol' dog, you!

I forgive you (I'm not sure Nigel will). You've obviously been up for at least 48 hours nursing your "sick child."

Actually, it is what we would call a pie with a filling made mostly of onions. I must have a recipe somewhere if you're seriously interested. Oh those French; they make magic out of everything they cook.

Sure. Shoot it to me. I'm domestically incompetent and need recipes I can cook without poisoning myself or burning the house down. This doesn't involve a crock-pot or pressure cooker, does it?

It's odd that French cooking does not entirely deserve its mystique. It is their dedication to eating well that makes the difference. Here is a totally similar recipe from (you will appreciate this) a southern US cookbook (you can leave out the bell peppers if you want authenticity).

Sweet Onion Tart
From Diana Rattray,
Your Guide to Southern U.S. Cuisine.


Sweet onion tart or pie with sweet onions and red bell pepper, thyme, and butter.

INGREDIENTS:

recipe for 1 pastry pie crust for 9-inch pie (or use a refrigerated ready to bake crust)
2 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 pounds Vidalia, Texas Sweets, Walla
Walla, or other sweet onion, sliced (about 7 to 8 cups sliced)
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3/4 teaspoon dried leaf thyme, crumbled
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

PREPARATION:

Roll out dough to a 12-inch circle. Press crust into a 10-inch tart pan or 9-inch pie plate. If a pie plate is used, crimp edges. In a large skillet over medium low heat, melt the butter. Add onions, red bell pepper, salt, thyme, and black pepper. Cook, stirring, until onions are soft, about 15 minutes.

Place onion mixture in prepared pie crust. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes, until pie crust and the onions are golden, about 40 to 45 minutes.

Sweet onion tart serves 6.

[Corlyss_D]

I forgive you (I'm not sure Nigel will). You've obviously been up for at least 48 hours nursing your "sick child."

I really wasn't confused, John. I was expecting Nigel to read this post.

It's odd that French cooking does not entirely deserve its mystique.

Funny but I've never associated French with good cooking or tasty food. Me mum grew up in Louisiana and learned to cook from her older sister, Jean. Mum always attributed to Jean an instinct for blending spices and tarting up mundane recipes with a magical blend of seasonings that made every dish unique and delicious. She had the same ability or instinct and always spoke of it as the "French" genius. I on the other hand never wanted to spend more than 5 min. on food. If it takes longer than 5 min. to think of it, hunt it, kill it, clean it, cook it, eat it, and clean up, I'm not interested. This learning to cook at my age is . . . um . . . experimental at best. I found a letter I wrote to my mother when she was in Switzerland in 1960 or 61 in which I describe how patient my dad was with my "cooking." I had particular difficulty with gravy, having to throw out the first batch for whatever reason. The second batch always turned out okay. By the time she returned after the two weeks, I just routinely threw out the first batch without even tasting it - it was kinda like a ritual.

It is their dedication to eating well that makes the difference. Here is a totally similar recipe from (you will appreciate this) a southern US cookbook (you can leave out the bell peppers if you want authenticity).

Thanks for the recipe. I've copied it to a file.

[jbuck919]

I forgive you (I'm not sure Nigel will). You've obviously been up for at least 48 hours nursing your "sick child."

I really wasn't confused, John. I was expecting Nigel to read this post.

And I wasn't being dense. I honestly did not think that Nigel would have to so distort his customary screen name to get back here; therefore I did not recognize him as the guy going to Starsbourg.

Strasbourg is another one of those cities that Nigel would claime to be a museum in itself without having one that I'm supposed to put on my list. Maybe I will. There, I can be an equal clod in both French and German.

[Corlyss_D]

Strasbourg is another one of those cities that Nigel would claime to be a museum in itself without having one that I'm supposed to put on my list. Maybe I will. There, I can be an equal clod in both French and German.

Is it like Rottenberg ob der Tauber? I loved Rottenberg. In fact I loved being outdoors in Germany. Most everywhere you looked was beautiful.

[Guest]

I'm sure Nigels taste in "prostitutes" is at least on a par with his taste for fine food and wine. And is considerably better than his taste for operas.

[Auntie Lynn]

Well, happy Easter blessings to all...

I am having a frabjous Easter, thank you. Daughter and I went to Stanford Shopping Center today and spent a zillion dollars on absolutely NOTHING we needed. Bloomingdales had everything gorgeous so we gave them all our bling bling in exchange for a surfeit of packages we could hardly carry. Drank lunch and chased that with a couple of vanilla latte.

Then Auntie Maim hit the 280 and came home to rest her tired tootsies and assess the damage...

God must love World Class Shoppers...

[A.LaPorta]

Well, happy Easter blessings to all...

I am having a frabjous Easter, thank you. Daughter and I went to Stanford Shopping Center today and spent a zillion dollars on absolutely NOTHING we needed. Bloomingdales had everything gorgeous so we gave them all our bling bling in exchange for a surfeit of packages we could hardly carry. Drank lunch and chased that with a couple of vanilla latte.

Then Auntie Maim hit the 280 and came home to rest her tired tootsies and assess the damage...

God must love World Class Shoppers...

Stanford shopping center? Well, it appears that today I came dangerously close to encountering your actual physical presence, rather than just your "web" presence.

[Guest]

Well.

I turn my back for a weekend, and what do I find when I return? My name linked with prostitutes, and someone pretending tarte à l'oignon can be made with sweet peppers and no cream.

Moderators, shame on you!

[Corlyss_D]

someone pretending tarte à l'oignon can be made with sweet peppers and no cream.

Moderators, shame on you!

We were thinkin' o' ya, Nigel. Ain't that enough?

Got a better recipe?

[Guest]

I don't think it's for you, Corlyss, if you don't like to spend time cooking. The recipe I have calls for a pound-and-a-half of onions sliced as thinly as possible and stewed gently, covered, with butter and oil. It then asks you to beat three egg yolks and a "good" quarter pint of cream. But my guess is that's too much egg and not enough cream, so I'd be tempted to up the cream to about half a pint and use only two egg yolks. Plus plenty of nutmeg and black pepper and some salt to taste. You blend the custard with the onions - once they're cool, of course. You then use this fragrant mixture to fill a pie crust and bake it good and hot so that a thin golden crust forms on the top.

Also, my recipe doesn't include "lardons" of streaky bacon cut into matchsticks, but it's quite likely an Alsatian cook would include some.

I'm afraid the only tarte à l'oignon I found in Strasbourg was degenerate stuff more like a stodgy quiche. I can find that in Paris.

Ages ago, on Classical Talk, I started a thread for lazy cooks, because that's what I am. Stuff that's good and quick and easy (but which, therefore, means getting your hands on the best possible produce - and having decent tools). If you're interested, I can start that again here.

[Guest]

Strasbourg is another one of those cities that Nigel would claime to be a museum in itself without having one that I'm supposed to put on my list. Maybe I will. There, I can be an equal clod in both French and German.

I'm sorry to say that Strasbourg seems to have gone the way of Florence: submerged under tourism. However, as in Florence, (a) most people must just come for the day - it quietens down in the evening; (b) the great mass of tourists seem to stay away from the museums (or to be more precise, in Florence they only go to the Uffizi). So I had a very agreeable afternoon the the Palais Rohan, whose 18th century interior hasn't been over-restored, and where there's a really delightful collection of figurative porcelain: porcelain elephants, camels, cabbages and cauliflowers, boars' heads, etc...

I'm also sorry to say that what a native Strasbourgeoise told me seems to be true: it is now hard to find good Alsatian food in town. You have to go out into the villages. I'll have to make my own onion tart, after all.

[Ralph]

Strasbourg is another one of those cities that Nigel would claime to be a museum in itself without having one that I'm supposed to put on my list. Maybe I will. There, I can be an equal clod in both French and German.

I'm sorry to say that Strasbourg seems to have gone the way of Florence: submerged under tourism. However, as in Florence, (a) most people must just come for the day - it quietens down in the evening; (b) the great mass of tourists seem to stay away from the museums (or to be more precise, in Florence they only go to the Uffizi). So I had a very agreeable afternoon the the Palais Rohan, whose 18th century interior hasn't been over-restored, and where there's a really delightful collection of figurative porcelain: porcelain elephants, camels, cabbages and cauliflowers, boars' heads, etc...

I'm also sorry to say that what a native Strasbourgeoise told me seems to be true: it is now hard to find good Alsatian food in town. You have to go out into the villages. I'll have to make my own onion tart, after all.

*****

Try to see a recent documentary, "Venetian Dilemma," that catalogs the incredible damage mass tourism is doing to Venice's slowly dwindling permanent population.

[Guest]

I didn't get the same feeling in Venice, oddly. Venice seems better able to cope with the hordes. But in Florence, I thought, sadly, that I would probably never come back (I probably will, of course), and from now on stick to the smaller, less visited towns like Mantua.

[Corlyss_D]

God must love World Class Shoppers...

Auntie, you must indeed have stamina to actually go to a mall to shop. I haven't done that in so long I can't remember the last time. Locals in DC used to look aghast when I told them I hadn't been to Tysons since 1984. I have been to malls to see a show, but not to shop. What a horrifying idea.

So whadya get? Can I see

[Corlyss_D]

I don't think it's for you, Corlyss, if you don't like to spend time cooking. The recipe I have calls for a pound-and-a-half of onions sliced as thinly as possible and stewed gently, covered, with butter and oil. It then asks you to beat three egg yolks and a "good" quarter pint of cream. But my guess is that's too much egg and not enough cream, so I'd be tempted to up the cream to about half a pint and use only two egg yolks. Plus plenty of nutmeg and black pepper and some salt to taste. You blend the custard with the onions - once they're cool, of course. You then use this fragrant mixture to fill a pie crust and bake it good and hot so that a thin golden crust forms on the top.

Sounds delicious. Is that cream whipping or half and half?

Ages ago, on Classical Talk, I started a thread for lazy cooks, because that's what I am. Stuff that's good and quick and easy (but which, therefore, means getting your hands on the best possible produce - and having decent tools). If you're interested, I can start that again here.

Sounds like a good idea. I'm about the laziest cook you'll ever meet.

[Guest]

Whipping or half and half? Er, whipping, I suppose, if that means nothing is done by halves. Full cream. This isn't diet food. In France I would use crème fraîche, which tastes slightly sour and is so thick, when cold, that a spoon will stand up in it.

Do you have some kind of food processor or blender? If so, we can start with gazpacho, as summer's on the way...