There is no single ingredient that I have a stronger love/hate relationship with than onions.

Onions are amazing in just about every savory dish: there are few sauces, soups, and stews that are not improved by a bit of onion. And the fresh bite of raw onion and smoky sweetness of grilled onions are hard to beat on hot dogs, burgers, brats, and other sandwich-y type dishes.

My absolute fave? Caramelized onions. So, so delicious, but they’re kind of a pain/time commitment to prepare. I like baking because you just chuck the thing in the oven, set a timer, and walk away until it's ready. So anything that requires constant supervision is a big no for me.

Which brings me to the hate aspect of onions: having to prep them. Nothing like burning eyes with tears running down your face and shoddy knife skills to make you never want to cook with onions ever.

Luckily, this recipe I tested over Thanksgiving and hope to perfect for Christmas is SO easy, requires minimal chopping, and gets pretty darn close to the delicious sweetness of caramelized onions. My only suggestion is to remember to set timers and not forget about the onions during the stovetop portion, so you don’t accidentally char the tops. Ask me how I know…

(What, I already said I was bad at things that require constant supervision! Don’t worry, the char scraped off easily and my family loved this side dish)

Slightly charred roast onion halves

Roast Onion Halves Recipe

Ingredients:

6 onions
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Sugar (both brown and granulated are fine)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Halve and peel the onions, but don’t cut off the root.
Put in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper (to taste; I did about a teaspoon of salt and many grinds of black pepper) plus a pinch or two of sugar. Toss so the onions are evenly coated with oil and seasonings.
Place cut-side down in a cast iron skillet (or any oven-safe pan) and cook over medium heat for ten minutes. If you don’t have an oven-safe pan, you can sear on the stovetop and then transfer the onions to a baking dish for the next step.
Flip the onions so they’re cut-side up and then transfer the pan to the oven.
Roast for 30-40 minutes until the onions are soft and sweet.
Enjoy!

Variations: Would also be great with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, red pepper flakes or cayenne, and/or maple syrup instead of sugar (watch carefully because it burns easily at high heat!)

Cast of characters: Onions, salt, pepper, brown sugar, and olive oil

Halve and peel the onions, then toss in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients, making sure the onions are evenly coated with the oil and seasonings.

Place in a heavy, oven safe pan and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes.

Flip the onions cut-side up and slide into a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven. Cook for 30-40 minutes until onions are soft and sweet. Enjoy!

Do you have a love/hate relationship with a particular food or ingredient? Let me know in the comments!

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Homicide and Halo-Halo (February 8, 2022)

Death at a beauty pageant turns Tita Rosie’s Kitchen upside down in the latest entry of this witty and humorous cozy mystery series by Mia P. Manansala.

Things are heating up for Lila Macapagal. Not in her love life, which she insists on keeping nonexistent despite the attention of two very eligible bachelors. Or her professional life, since she can’t bring herself to open her new café after the unpleasantness that occurred a few months ago at her aunt’s Filipino restaurant, Tita Rosie’s Kitchen. No, things are heating up quite literally, since summer, her least favorite season, has just started.

To add to her feelings of sticky unease, Lila’s little town of Shady Palms has resurrected the Miss Teen Shady Palms Beauty Pageant, which she won many years ago—a fact that serves as a wedge between Lila and her cousin slash rival, Bernadette. But when the head judge of the pageant is murdered and Bernadette becomes the main suspect, the two must put aside their differences and solve the case—because it looks like one of them might be next.

Pre-Order

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Patty melts are absolutely delicious and (IMO) even better than burgers. The traditional version is made with juicy ground beef, but you can certainly mix it up with ground turkey or chicken. The only drawback to making these instead of burgers is an extra step or two in the process, which is why I make them extra-large—eight big ounces per patty melt. No, I do not eat the whole eight-ounce sandwich myself, and that's the point...

Cut this mondo patty melt in half, and you’ve got dinner for two. Cook two of these big boys, and you’ve got dinner for four.

Less sandwiches = less work.

And less work always helps me eat with joy! ;)

A Note from Cleo

Cleo Coyle has a partner in

crime-writing—her husband.

Learn about their books

by clicking here and here.

The 5-Napkin Burger is a popular eatery here in New York City, which is what inspired our 8-Napkin Patty Melt. Why eight napkins? One napkin for every ounce of meat, of course.

Our readers might recall this sandwich from a scene in our 12th Coffeehouse Mystery, Holiday Buzz. Coffee hunter Matteo Allegro, weary of the healthy but flavor-challenged appetizers served at a string of Manhattan holiday parties, ventures into the December night to bring back a more satisfying snack—this 8-napkin patty melt. He shares it with his partner in the coffee business, Clare Cosi, while she shares the facts (and a cogent theory) behind the murder of a part-time employee.

To see more recipes from the book, click here.

Click here for the
Free Recipe Guide.

AND NOW...

Our Secrets to Making

The Perfect Patty Melt

🍴

To download a free PDF

version of this recipe that

you can print, save,
or share, CLICK HERE.

Click here for Free PDF to -
The Perfect Patty Melt

OUR SIX SECRETS

Secret #1: Be patient with grilling the onions. Cook them long enough to caramelize and you’ll have a much tastier sandwich.

Secret #2: Use large slices of bread and shape the patty long in order to fit the bread.

Secret #3: Don’t make the patty or bread slices too thick, about an inch.

Secret #4: Once your ingredients are ready (the onions caramelized; the burger cooked), build the entire sandwich on a spatula. This will allow you as much time as you need to fix the ingredients just right. Then you can move the spatula to the hot pan, and slip the entire sandwich into the bubbling butter in one quick move.

Secret #5: To prevent your grilled onions from falling out of the sandwich, follow the "building" instructions in the recipe (you'll see it below). The trick is with the placement of the cheese.

Secret #6: Use the spatula to push down on the sandwich during cooking; a simple way to make a delicious “pressed sandwich” without a sandwich press.

And here is the full recipe...

Cleo Coyle's (Perfect)
8-Napkin Patty Melt

Makes two 8-ounce Patty Melts (for four servings)

Ingredients:

1 large yellow onion

(a bit of) vegetable oil and butter

4 large slices of bread (see my note below*)

16 ounces (1 pound) ground beef

8 slices of Swiss or cheddar cheese

Kosher or sea salt

*A note on the bread: A patty melt this big requires large (but not overly thick) slices of bread. Fresh crusty Italian or rye bread from a rustic loaf will make a truly amazing patty melt. If using pre-packaged bread, go for the super-sized sandwich-style and not the standard slices.

Directions:

Step 1: Cook the onion – Peel and chop the large yellow onion. Place a pan over low heat, melt a bit of butter, add a splash of oil, and stir in the onions. Slowly cook the onions, stirring often, until they are caramelized (soft, sweet, and dark golden brown), about fifteen minutes. Set the cooked onions aside.

Step 2: Form and cook the patty - The shape of the ground meat patties should fit the bread that you're using, so shape the meat accordingly. Each patty should be 8-ounces in weight and about 1-inch in thickness (or a little less). Cook the patties over medium-high heat, three to four minutes per side. For best results, try to flip the patties only once. When the patties are cooked through, set aside.

Step 3: Build your sandwich – Start by buttering two slices of the bread...

- Place one slice on a spatula, buttered side down.
- Lay one or two thin slices of cheese on the bread.
- Place the cooked ground meat patty onto the cheese.
- Place another slice of cheese over the patty.
- Add half the caramelized onions.
- A final slice of cheese should cover the onions (when it melts this last slice will help to hold the savory sweet onions inside the sandwich).
- Finally, top the patty melt with a slice of buttered bread, but this time you want the buttered side up.

Step 4: Grill and press – Heat a skillet and add a bit of butter. When the butter begins to bubble, use your spatula to transfer the fully-built sandwich to the hot pan. From this point on, treat the patty melt as if it were a grilled cheese sandwich...

Toast one side for 3 to 4 minutes and then flip. After flipping, press down hard on the sandwich with your spatula. Pressing the patty melt as it cooks will help the parts of the sandwich fuse together. Grill for 3 or 4 more minutes, until the cheese is completely melted. (Make the 2nd sandwich exactly the same way.)

Serve hot! A dill pickle is a thing of beauty with a patty melt. The bright tartness of the pickle (not to mention the happy, green color) nicely complements the rich unctuousness of the sandwich. Cole slaw, French fries, or potato chips are tasty sides, too. However you serve it, I certainly hope you will...eat with plenty of joy!