Amuse Bouche: Just a little bite

Okay, I'm addicted. I'll admit it.

I realized I had almost let the month slip by without entering the Kitchen Play contest, and I felt a sudden longing. I absolutely HAD to whip something up. I've been entering since the contests first began, and missing a month would be like ... well, missing a month.

It's like when I don't really need more vegetable, but I feel like I have to go to the farmer's market on Saturday or my week isn't complete.

This month's contests are sponsored by the National Onion Association, and that gave me even more incentive. To begin with, I use a lot of onions. And possibly even more important is that the one time I was chosen as a Kitchen Play blogger, it was for the onion association.

I had looked at all the recipes earlier and knew which one I wanted to make. It was a goat cheese and onion appetizer, Carmelized Onion and Goat Cheese Vol au Vents. But I decided to make it a little less ... fancy. I mean, I like puff pastry and all, but crackers end up on my table a lot more often.

The onions, I cooked in the oven because it was on and there was room. Instead of oven-roasting the onions, you could certainly cook them on your stovetop.

Cheese, Onion, and Balsamic Bites

1 large onion, quartered, then sliced
Salt
Olive oil
Chevre
Balsamic vinegar
Crackers

Place the onions on a sheet pan or in an oven-safe baking dish. Bake at 350 (or, seriously, if you have something else in the oven, just go with whatever temp you need for that) stirring the onions occasionally, until they are soft and some have browned. If a few get crispy, that's fine, too, as long as they haven't gone all the way to charcoal. The darkly browned crispy bits were my favorite.

Top your favorite crackers with a bit of chevre, then some onions, then a few drops of balsamic vinegar. Serve warm or at room temperature.

It's a pretty simple little appetizer, but it tastes pretty darned good. If you're not a fan of balsamic vinegar, then a dot of jam would make a nice accent, as well.

Yum