gratin on the side

Saturday was a delightfully sunny, cool midwinter day in Chicago. We haven't had snow in ages, so the walking has been fine. Mid-afternoon we wandered out and made our way south, eventually stopping in at Pastoral.

Friends had gifted Conrad with a gift certificate for the store for his recent birthday. We'd never been in before, but we'd heard about it and wanted a good excuse to go. Mmmmm, cheeses. And more, as it turned out. Some wine, some condiments, some olives. Even some serrano ham, which we munched on as we headed north on Broadway.

One of our treasures we found there was a fresh smoked mozzarella. It smelled heavenly, as if bacon were pretending to be a fresh cheese. Yum! I immediately fantasized about what we could do with it.

Actually, I spent more time than I should have today daydreaming about the cheese and thinking of the contents of our fridge. Broccoli? Brussels sprouts? Frankly, I always hated cheese sauces on either. Late in the day, though, an idea hit me: an onion gratin.

Not everyone is a fan of onions, but I'm very fond of them. They can be marvellously sweet, and I thought that quality would offset the smokiness of the cheese well. When I got home, I discovered two roma tomatoes I'd forgotten about - something to round off the onion and cheese.

Into a pan went the sliced onions. I let them get a little brown over a moderate heat, then added chicken broth and cooked it down while watching my new favourite show, Heroes. Seriously, watch this show. Wow. After that, I layered the sliced tomato, sliced cheese, and the onion (seasoned with salt, pepper, and dried thyme) in two ramekins, ending with the sliced cheese on top. Into a hot oven alongside some chicken breasts I'd lightly marinated. The result? Yummy. No dairy other than the cheese, so not too rich. Also, no carbs beyond what's in the two veggies. Filling, though. And good. With the chicken, some asparagus, and a bottle of Chehalem 2002 Pinot Noir, we were quite content.