If you live in SoCal, you are probably being driven crazy by the rain. I’m sick of having cold ankles. And a cold back. The two worse places to be cold in my opinion. I haven’t had a breath of fresh air in 48 hours. I LOATHE getting wet, so I even did all my Christmas shopping online. Nothing can get me to go out in the rain right now. And to go shopping and rub up against a bunch of smelly, wet people who are pushing and shoving to buy stuff before Christmas this Saturday?
No thank you.
I think I’ll stay inside and watch my movies. And catch up on all my shows that I missed the entire semester.
And bake some cheesy onion bread. :)
My mom made soup because it’s all rainy and nonsense outside (according to the news, we’ve gotten a third of our annual rainfall in the past week only.), so I made some thick, buttery bread to go along with it last night. It’s basically biscuit dough layered with sauteed onions and a mix of Mozarella and Parmesan cheese. When it came out of the oven last night, the Mozarella was oozing. Mmmmmmm.
Perfect comfort food for a miserable day like today. Although, I have a coffee date with a friend in a couple of hours which means I’m going to have to go outside very soon. Blargh.
Pull-Apart Cheesy Onion Bread
adapted from Food&Wine Annual Recipe Book
1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, 1 stick cubed
1 large onion, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded Mozarella cheese
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk (I made my own with some vinegar and regular milk.)
*The original recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds to mix into the onion mixture but I didn’t have any on hand.
**As for the cheeses, you can choose any type of cheese that you like: Gruyere, Gouda, Jarlsberg, etc.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Butter a 9X5 metal loaf pan.
In a large skillet, melt the 1/2 stick of uncubed butter; pour 2 tablespoons of melted butter into a small bowl and set aside. Add the chopped onion to the skillet and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until it is softened, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Scrape onion mixture into abowl and refrigerate for 5 minutes until cooled slightly, then stir in the cheeses.
In a food processor, pulse the 2 cups of flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Add the stick of cubed butter and pulse until the butter cubes are the size of small peas. Add the buttermilk and pulse 5 or 6 times, just until a soft dough forms.
Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead 2 or 3 times. I found the dough to be really soft and sticky, so much that my hands were a mess, so I added a couple tablespoons of flour to make the kneading easier.
Pat or roll the dough into a 2 by 24 inch rectangle. Spread the onion meixture on top of the bread. Cut the dough crosswise into 10 pieces. Stack 9 pieces onion side up and then top with the final piece onion side down. Carefully lay the stack in the prpeapred loaf pan and brush the top with the reserved melted butter.
Bake the loaf in the center of the oven for about 30 minutes, until it is golden and risen. Let it cool for at least 15 minutes before unmolding and serving.
