Name: Creamed Onions with Bacon and Chives
Ingredients: 100 or so pearl onions, unpeeled (from 3 10-ounce bags); 2 1/2 ounces bacon (applewood-smoked is suggested), cut into a small dice; 1 1/4 cups heavy cream; 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; 2 tablespoons sherry; 1/2 bunch chives, cut into 1/2-inch segments; Kosher salt, to taste (I used 1 teaspoon of

Creamed Onions with Bacon and Chives

Could anything be simpler than creamed onions? I mean, it’s cream, and then it is onions. And you cook them together. The end. Or perhaps the beginning of another piece of evidence that I can take the simplest thing and make it, er, . First, I involved Thomas Keller, or rather, he beckoned me. I was getting a pedicure a couple weekends ago (figuring I’d put my family and also those other moms at the gym class I took the baby to out of their misery) and on the armrest was that week’s New York Magazine, boasting from some great New York chefs within. Obviously, I turned there first and though, again, creamed onions are really just cream and onions therefore not inherently interesting, the recipe was from Thomas Keller and he is a master of taking the seemingly simple and making it amazing. I was in.

By smittenkitchen · From Open Recipes · 7 ingredients

Why it works: Onion and chive match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,907 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓

Creamed Onions with Bacon and Chives

Ingredients

100 or so pearl onions, unpeeled (from 3 10-ounce bags)
2 1/2 ounces bacon (applewood-smoked is suggested), cut into a small dice
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons sherry
1/2 bunch chives, cut into 1/2-inch segments
Kosher salt, to taste (I used 1 teaspoon of

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

176Calories

5 gProtein

10 gFat

12 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bacon	1 slice cooked (8g)	43
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Chive	1 tbsp (3g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By smittenkitchen. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Onion + chivetop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,907 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Nutmeg + chivetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together300 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Cream + nutmegtop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,920 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Onion + nutmegtop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,371 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Nutmeg + sherrytop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,246 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, nutmeg, sherry, chive):

Leekfits better
Shallotfits better
Spinachfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cream, nutmeg, sherry, chive. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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