"Front and Center" - Wisconsin (again)
This was the third and last book in the "Dairy Queen" series. I enjoyed it . . . it was good to get more details on the life of D.J. Schwenk, but I wasn't too happy with the ending. I mean, all of the details were nice, but it could have used just a bit more, and the way it was written was kind of an abrupt stop in my opinion. Overall though, I still enjoyed the series and I'm glad I read all three of them. It gave me a greater appreciation for farmers and student athletes . . . two groups of people I don't really know very much about. Have any of you read them . . . what did you think?
In other news, I made this insane
caramelized onion mac & cheese. My aunt shared the recipe with me on Pinterest and it just sounded so fantastic that I couldn't pass it up. Caramelizing the onions took quite a bit of time (WAY TOO MUCH) plus all of the chopping . . . check it out: that is a lot of onions!
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| Three pounds of onions chopped into 1/4 inch slices |
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| After 1 hour |
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| After 2 hours . . . according the recipe, they should be done by now |
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| After 3 hours . . . perhaps I should turn the heat up a bit? |
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| After 4 hours . . . I'm getting very frustrated |
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| Yup, after 5 hours . . . grr |
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| About 5 and a half hours in . . . finally done |
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| Finished masterpiece |
While it was good, it turned out to be very heavy tasting. Not bad, just a bit much for a main course. It would make a stellar special side dish though. I still think I taste and smell like onions the next day ;) Also, the sauce was
really salty on its own. The sweetness of the onions balanced it out well, but it was a little disconcerting knowing how much sodium was in the dish. Oh well, it was good to try :)
I also made the 2nd batch of
crock pot bean soup. It was much improved by soaking the whole batch overnight in 3 cups of water and the addition of 1 tsp. baking soda before cooking. I also did half and half water and chicken broth to reduce the salt level. I don't really know which it was, but the soup was much better this time around . . . thanks for the suggestions!
Hope you all have a great week :)
Wow! That dish took quite a long time! How did it smell in your house?
ReplyDeleteIt looks good…
Thanks for keeping us up to date on all of your delicious recipes. Love, Mom
It smelled like onions :)
DeleteThat mac 'n' cheese looks awesome! One trick for caramelizing onions faster is to add salt and sugar to the onions after about 15 minutes in the pan. The salt draws out moisture from the onions, and the sugar helps jump start the caramelization. Another trick would be using two pans instead of one. This way you have more surface area covered, and are less likely to 'steam' the onions. Since the dish sounds like it was too salty at the end, maybe try a low-sodium broth, and then just season to taste at the end with any additional salt? Regardless, your picture makes it look pretty darn tasty! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips T.J. :) I have added sugar before, but I wanted to follow the recipe exactly so I could give an accurate review of it. Now I know . . . add salt and sugar or risk babysitting it all day. The tip about multiple pans is a good idea too . . . I never thought of that. I did use low-sodium brother, I think I shouldn't have added so much salt, but again, I was just following the recipe. Glad you liked it :)
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