Onion Casserole

For Thanksgiving this year, I volunteered to make this onion casserole that I found reading one of my Silver Palate cookbooks. It looked rich and decadent, perfect for the holidays.

You can see the layers of red onions, white onions, and leeks here. It sounds like it might be too many onions, but the cheeses all meld together to make a most excellent marriage.

We ate the leftovers with a steak for our Saturday date night.

This recipe is a little bit more expensive than my usual fare (okay, a lot), but it is. so. worth. it! Every once in a while, at least. And, thanks to my generous mom, I don't really contribute much to the holiday meal, so it wasn't a big stretch to bring a really great dish for everyone to share.

Three Onion Casserole
from the Silver Palate Good Times cookbook

2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 large red onions, thinly sliced
4 medium leeks, well rinsed, dried and thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups havarti cheese, grated
2 (5 ounce) packages Boursin cheese (I used one 8 oz package that was on sale)
1 1/2 cups gruyere, grated
1/2 cup dry white wine

Preheat oven to 350. Make a layer of onions, using a third each of red onions, white onions, and leeks. Sprinkle with havarti. Make another layer, using another third of onions. Top with the Boursin. Make a third layer, using the last of the onions. Sprinkle the top with the gruyere. Pour the wine over the top. Bake for one hour, covering with foil if the top gets too brown.

The recipe said to serve immediately, but this worked fine to cook at home for 45 minutes, travel an hour and a half, then reheat for 15 minutes in a hot oven at my mom's house. It was perfect.

**it also made so much that it wouldn't fit in one dish, so I used my regular 9x13 dish for Thanksgiving, then had a small (6x8) dish that we had for leftovers. The small dish I baked for 30 minutes, then refrigerated. When it was time for us to eat it, I reheated for about 30 minutes at 350. Both ways worked great, with no loss of texture or flavor.

Definitely try this one. Most first time dishes at Thanksgiving are "one timers", but this one will definitely make a repeat performance. And it was really good with beef, so it would be perfect with Christmas prime rib. You'll love it, too!