A Day of Caramel (and Caramelizing!)

Let it be known, I have always called it car-mel. I'm not sure where this "a" in the middle came from, but the modestly classless sunburnt neck in me is protesting. BUT, aside from my down-home-with-a-slight-slurring-twang...I adore this stuff.

We've just had the Apple Festival here, which is sort of ..like the fair. Except...there's more food, no rides, and the parking is even more atrocious. On the good side, there were quite a few little tents sprung up with home-made organic BBQ sauce and various sauces. And holy Lord Almighty, there were caramel apples. I took two home with me yesterday; both were devoured before 6 PM today.

This evening has been balmy and beautiful, and we feasted at our little sushi joint up the road. And then, after making some green tea and reading ..I made some French Onion Soup. This isn't your canon-style soup, but the basic elements are there.  We've really been avoiding the beef lately, so I needed to experiment to get around the beef-stock problem.  (This is the caramelizing part).

First:

See that brown sugar! It's big, and sweet, and moist.

Here's what I used. You'll see some brands here, I'm not necessarily advertising. This is what's working for me, and easy enough to get your hands on. 

This is my staple, since it has a rich enough flavor to work with the onion. I used about a whole box, maybe a little more, plus a good glug of wine. 

That's what was on my fingers..........

Since rosemary is best fresh, I sizzled it in the pot with the garlic, before I added the stock.

 I got pretty excited with the rosemary, and used about two stems' worth, chopped finely and tossed in first with two small cloves of garlic. Normally, I'd include some bay, but I though it might be overwhelming with everything else going on here.

Modestly above average wine on it's own, but very forgiving and balanced. Drank some of it, threw some in the stock. Smelled up the whole house lovely!

Now whilst that is going, choppy choppy:

Add another half of one, because you want some extra to pick out of the pan.

I just sliced up both buggers, with the onion halved first. Then I took the slender cuts and made them into thirds. Nothing scientific about it, just don't cut your hands off. If you need knife skills, Gluten Free Girl and the Chef will get you rolling. 

I did a mixture of olive oil and butter in the pan. On medium heat, I softened up the onions for a few minutes and then added the brown sugar:

It takes them a good while to be soft and sweet, and they should be browning before you take them off the heat. 

I know I'm not talking much about proportions, but I think one shouldn't be married to the measuring cup. Even flour will absorb more or less water depending on so many factors...even in the perilous world of baking, which is closest to chemistry! Before I stop preaching, here's my point---

You have to know what you want your food to taste and look like. We've all had French Onion before, so the magic is in which lovely ingredients you decide on, and how they balance. Be patient and attentive, get a second opinion if you need it. 

Here's what it looked like:

Of course, tomorrow I'll put on the crouton + cheese and throw those munchkins in the oven. But that's the easy part. 

AH! and here also, since I was hungry...the long aggrandized tomato sandwich! This time with mozza, and on the rosemary-sea salt bagel (I'm sure you can tell, I've been on that train lately).

Please don't mind the mess. Or the lumpy bagel...

I wound up eating it in pieces, so that I could get the most out of both ends of the bagel. By the time I was done with it, it was more lasagna than sandwich. But I was really in food stupor by that point!