Baked Onion Casserole from Iowa

I knew it, Erma. A week can’t go by with out you liquoring up a good recipe.

That Kentucky Prune and Black Walnut Bread sounds so good that I am going to make a loaf this afternoon. Lucky for me that I always have a jar of brandied prunes ready to use.

Brenda’s new daughter-in-law brought an interesting casserole to the dinner yesterday. Nice to learn that some of the younger women can cook. She said it was one of those dishes that her family always had, and she could not bear the thought of Thanksgiving without it.

It’s Iowa Baked Onion Casserole because her family is from western Iowa. Duh. Since you all love onions, I thought you might want to try this out.

Iowa Baked Onion Casserole:

2 pounds of onions, thickly sliced
8 slices buttered toast
¼ pound Cheddar or American cheese
2 eggs
2 cups milk
½ teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
1 tablespoon butter
Paprika

Cook the onions in boiling, salted water until tender. Place half of the toast in a 13 x 8 inch baking dish. Arrange a layer of onions and a layer of cheese over the toast. Repeat with a second layer.

Beat eggs slightly with a hand whip. Add milk, salt and pepper. Pour over the onions and dot with butter. Sprinkle on paprika. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Serves 8

Rich, Sweet Tomato Dressing

Erma dear, I love my Shaker cookbooks too, and I have you to thank for taking me to Shakertown at Pleasant Hill. We have spent so many days wandering through the grounds and looking at all the exhibits and displays. I will even confess to snipping a few buds and seeds from herbs in their herb gardens to bring home.

Imagine the Shaker sisters cooking for a hundred or more at each meal in their giant kitchens, which they wisely placed partly underground for cooling, and then preserving, drying, canning. So many people think of the Shakers as one of those odd groups (okay, they were communal and celibate) who did everything in old fashioned ways like the Amish. What people forget is that the Shakers were big into inventing labor saving devices. If there were Shaker sisters today, they would be the first to use food processors, commercial mixers, and heavy duty baking equipment.

Recently I found some Washington State Walla Walla onions in the grocery. How they ended up here in Iowa, I do not know, but there were a couple small bags and I grabbed all they had. You know me Erma, I ate one straight out of the bag. I firmly believe that onions are a health food.

When we stayed at a little B and B outside Seattle several years ago, they served a salad dressing with Walla Walla onions. It works with other varieties as well, just not quite as sweet. This is a robust dressing with plenty of tang to enliven bland mostly lettuce salads.

Onion Dressing From Washington State:

1 small Walla Walla sweet onion
¼ cup catsup
½ cup salad oil
¼ cup wine vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ teaspoons paprika

Finely grate the onion on a grater. Add everything else and whip with a whisk well. Refrigerate. Before serving you may need to stir the dressing again.

Makes 1 ½ cups