Hello Friends,
I have another little story to tell you about. One day my Aunt Tourmaline told me I was old enough to go to a grown up place to eat. Off we went to "Joaques Cafe'". Now, for a 12 year old this was somethin rather special! When we walked in, they even had a lady with some fancy menu's in her hand to take us to the table we were to eat at, nothin a'tall like the tastee freeze where you just went in and sat down and hollerd your order to the fat lady behind the counter! The waitress wasn't a waitress atall, it was a man who had a proper nice uniform on and he was so pretentious, his hair was all slicked up and he was the picture of a hemmroid in the makin! He offered us a wine list, but Tourmaline just shook her head and her nostrils flared up real big like when she was annoyed (I knew she was thinkin bought that experience she had in New Orleans when she came back with the spanish moss in her hair and the hiccups that lasted forever and a day).
We opened those menus and my goodness, I wasn't able to read a darn thing, the whole thing was in words that would have frightened a school of fish! Tourmaline just looked at me and said, darlin, dont worry, I'll take care of it all. Now, she said, do you like pie? She promptly told the waiter we would have an order of "Quickie Lorainne", the waiter gasp, I got bugg eyed, and I am sure that anyone in earshot got a good laugh. Well, she'd tried to be a social butterfly, but, it juz wasn't in the works for her. Anyway, we later made up this dish at home, and we did learn the proper pronunciation of it. Here is Tourmalines version, and I still think "Quckie" is a better word for it all! Hope you try it and I know ya'll will like it.

Tourmalines Sweet Onion Pie
By Tourmaline Cales of Orange, Virginia


3 Tblspns. Butter
2 Cups sliced sweet onions (Vidalias do best)
1 9 inch deep-dish pie shell
1/2 Cup grated Monterey Jack or Swiss cheese (or a mix of both)
2 Eggs
1 Cup of half and half (thats a 50/50 mix of sweet milk & cream)
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2-3 Tblspns freshly grated Parmesan cheese, "For topping"
1/8 teaspoon paprika powder "For topping"


Now, you first preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Then, you brown off your onions in the butter until they are slightly brown and VERY VERY limp. Place that mess into your pie shell. Top it all off with your cheese and then you mix up the eggs, half & half, salt, mustard, and pepper. Pour that all over the dish, and then you sprinkle on your parmesan cheese and paprika powders. Now, you put that into the oven (and put it on a cookie sheet just in case a bit overflows and dont dirty the oven), and bake that at 400 degrees for bought 15 minutes, or so, and then, you turn the oven on down to round 325 or so, and let it sit there for another 20 or 30 minutes, till you can stick a knife in it and it comes out clean.
What you get when it cools a bit is one delicious creamy onion pie that would melt the heart of anyone who says they dont like onions. Sweet, delicious onion like custard all enveloped in a crusty pie shell. Serve this jewel up with some grilled meat and a nice slice of watermelon for dessert, it's sure to please anyone on earth, I promise you that.
Hope ya'll enjoy it, and till next time, take care.

David In Virginia