One of the perks of food blogging is all the creative and thoughtful gifts that people bestow once they find out about your blog. I’ve received wonderful things like fresh, home-grown produce, exotic spices, and unique baked goods (you wouldn’t believe how tasty potato chip cookies are!). Despite all these treats, I think my favorite gifts are heirloom recipes. This particular recipe is a holiday tradition that comes from my grandfather on my mom’s side.
My mom told me this dish is one of my grandfather’s absolute favorites and nary a holiday feast goes by that he doesn’t make creamed onions to accompany. According to my grandfather, this is a traditional American farmer dish typically made to go with holiday meals. Sweet onions were always used because this recipe was a good way to use up a lot of them at once, since their shelf life is shorter than regular cooking onions.
- 3 large sweet onions (such as Vidalia), peeled and sliced into ¼ to ½-inch strips
- 8 tablespoons (115 g) salted butter
- 1 pint (2 cups/475 ml) heavy cream
- ¼ cup (50 g) sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
- Add the onions to a lidded 3-quart pot and barely cover them with water.
- Bring to a boil, then turn heat down, cover the pot, and simmer until the onions are soft and translucent but not mushy, about 7 to 10 minutes.
- Drain the onions and put them back into the pot.
- Add the butter, cream, sugar, and salt and cook over low heat until warm throughout.
- Serve in small soup bowls as a first course.
Be sure not to overcook the onions; they’re ready to drain when they’re soft and translucent but not mushy, as pictured in the photo above.
I’m wishing a very Merry Christmas to all! May you and yours have a very happy and safe holiday!
Update (March 13, 2013): I made this dish again and snapped a few pictures, so I decided to update the photos in this post. As a point of comparison to show how much my photography has evolved, I kept one of my original photos (below).
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
Passion4Food here to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year. May 2011 bring you lots of happiness and friendship. Have an awesome day with your love ones!!
jen @ http://www.passion4food.ca
I agree, Heirloom recipes are truly something special!
Merry Christmas :)
Merry Christmas Faith! It is heavenly what things we can give & receive as food bloggers. I have never heard of creamed onions, sounds so interesting! XO
Wishing you the happiest of holidays.
I am an onion lover and this is an ideal way of serving onions.
This is really unique. I have never seen this dish. It does sound delicious. I agree; those recipes passed down are the best, even more special that it is your grandfather’s favorite:)
I hope you had a very merry Christmas!
Hi Faith–I love the white-on-white look of this dish—the way you’ve sliced the onions elevates the appearance. This is always such a delicious, savory-sweet treat.
I was guessing this was a side dish. But a first course? How interesting! I bet it’s just perfect on a cool winter evening, too. Nothing like a bowl of creamy goodness to warm you up from the inside out. Happy holidays! ;)
I make something like this, but with parmesan added and we serve it with steak…yummy goodness! I’ll have to try this!