The Onion Book

It was at the ripe old age of twelve that I tackled my first onion quiche recipe. This one was a spin-off from the traditional quiche Lorraine in Julia Child'siMastering the Art of French Cooking/i, and the part that piqued my interest had to do with the onions. In my limited experience, onions were typically relegated to supporting-cast status, worthy of little fuss. But in Julia's recipe, there was a full paragraph devoted to exactly how long and at what temperature the huge mountain of thinly sliced yellow onions sitting on my cutting board should be cooked. The directions were specific: "Cook the onions in a very heavy skillet with the oil and butter over very low heat, stirring occasionally until they are extremely tender and a golden yellow. This will take about an hour."brbrImagine that! Devoting so much burner time to plain old onions. What effect could time and temperature possibly have on such a pungent vegetable? In spite of my skepticism, I managed to stick with the directions long enough to be rewarded with the answer. How amazing that this stalwart companion of beer batter and my mother's Texas chili mellowed under the right conditions to smooth sweetness, with a sublime depth of flavor I had never before experienced. It was magical.brbrWell, a discovery of such magnitude just had to be shared with an unsuspecting world. My first opportunity came in a quaint little bistro and deli in the heart of California's Napa Valley wine country. The house specialty being quiche, it was a good bet the management would be thrilled to see their product go from good to "fabulous"--with my help.brbrI seized an early opportunity to sidle up to the cook. "Know the best way to cook onions for quiche?" I inquired, with as much casualness as I could muster.brbrShe nodded solemnly.brbr"Are you sur