Grilled Onions: French onion soup without the soup.

Onions have always been a staple in my house and at my parents' house.  There is a joke that anything my dad eats could use some or more onions, and that if we just served onions, he would still think more onions were needed.

Honestly, I don't understand people who have an aversion to them.  I have a cousin who will pick out minced onions from the dressing at Thanksgiving and who I've seen eat onion rings by pulling the onion out and just eating the batter.  Yes, raw onions can be harsh, but cooked onions are sweet and mellow.  Onions are also good for you and inexpensive, so I think it makes sense to have more onion side dishes.

I think my husband has onion amnesia, especially when it comes to these grilled onions.   He always claims he's not interested in them, but after taking a few bites, he keeps going back for more.  I think these could win over most of the onion haters among us, and I think it tastes kind of like french onion soup without the soup.

Some notes:

• I'm including step-by-step directions below for a grill, but you can also bake these for an hour between 350 and 400 F.  Put on a cookie sheet or oven safe dish while baking, so juice doesn't run all over your oven.
• I can eat one of these by myself, and I really like it over a baked potato.
• I usually use a sweet onion like a Candy or Vidalia, but I've used yellow or white onions too.

Grilled Onions

After getting your grill ready, peel and wash your onions.  Place each onion on a sheet of foil big enough to wrap the onion in.  Cut off the root at the end, and then use a paring knife to hollow out about an inch and a half hole in the top of your onions.  I just leave the onion insides that I've taken out in the foil.

Fill the hole with a bouillon cube or paste (about 1 teaspoon).  I use either beef or vegetable, but chicken would work too.

Top with a pat of butter (about 1/2 tablespoon).  Wrap the onion in foil and place on the grill for an hour.  (potatoes take about this long too)  My grill was at medium heat, but these will work at low or high heat, you'll just need to adjust the time.  I've never had a problem with overcooking these.

When the onion is soft, it's done.  Put it in a container before unwrapping, so you don't get juice everywhere.