Sweet Vidalia
When I moved into my first apartment, my Aunt Jennifer brought me a basket with a loaf of French bread, a container of homemade mayonnaise, and several Vidalia onions, the ingredients for my very favorite treatment of the sweetest onion of all–the Vidalia.
Aunt Jen has been making what she calls San Francisco bread for as long as I can remember, and I am now carrying on the family tradition. I love to serve this bread to guests because they can never guess just what exactly is on it. I know it might sound strange, but I urge you to try it anyway, especially if you find yourself in possession of a sweet, sweet onion. I’ve not had one unsuccessful attempt to convert doubtful guests.
A few caveats: you must, MUST only attempt this recipe with homemade mayonnaise. I try hard not to be authoritarian about much in my cooking instructions, but for the good of the onion, please do not contaminate its sweet spring freshness with storebought mayo. The results will not be the same. And, I know there are risks for consuming raw eggs. All I can say about that is that my family has lived on homemade mayonnaise for generations, and we’ve all survived. Do with that information what you will.
I served this bread with our paneed catfish (a dusting of Tony Chachere’s cajun seasoning and a few minutes in a inch of olive oil–nothing too complicated about that) and Ivonne’s lemony potatoes (with rosemary instead of oregano and red new potatoes instead of Yukon golds) last night to our dear friend Casey. Everything was yummy, but I love this bread best. Maybe it just reminds me of home.
Aunt Jennifer’s San Francisco Bread
One half of a loaf of French bread
1/2 cup minced Vidalia onion
Homemade mayonnaise (recipe follows)
Kosher salt
Cracked black pepper
Preheat the broiler. Cut the bread in half lengthwise. Spread each half with a thick layer of mayonnaise. Cover with onions; season well with salt and pepper. Broil for a few minutes, until the bread is brown and crusty and the onions are soft. Slice and serve. Serves 4-6.
Homemade Mayonnaise
1 egg
1 T. cider vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 t. Kosher salt
1/2 t. paprika
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
3/4 cup salad oil (canola or vegetable or a combination), divided
Place all ingredients in the blender, but start with only 1/4 cup of the oil. After the ingredients are blended, with the motor running, add the remaining oil in a very slow, steady stream. The mayonnaise should emulsify, creating a very thick consistency. The blender should start to spurt and sputter. It will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.
May 18th, 2006 at 5:30 am
This reminds me of a childhood tradition. Every Sunday night my dad would eat onion sandwiches for dinner - simply homemade bread (my mom always made bread!) sliced sweet onions, mayo and lots of salt. We never had homemade mayo, but the sandwiches were still pretty tasty. That’s how I knew I was going to be a foodie because at a young age I loved these.
May 18th, 2006 at 7:11 am
san francisco bread is my recipe and if she gave it to you then she gave it to you under false ownery. But I am happy you have it because it has become an all time favorite in all of our households. I guess it doesn’t really matter who’s recipe it actually is but it was mine all the same. And it is very good.
May 18th, 2006 at 7:43 am
When you are broiling the bread, do you put the two pieces back together like a sandwich? I’m excited to try this!
May 18th, 2006 at 10:06 am
Mmmm, Kalyn, homemade bread would make this even more delicious. What a great Sunday night tradition!
Aunt Em, You claim credit for every recipe; who can tell where they really come from?
Hi Mallory! Thanks for visiting! You should leave the bread open-face, with the onions closest to the broiler. This helps them to soften really quickly without burning the bread. I serve the slices open-face too.
May 18th, 2006 at 8:16 pm
Your SF bread sounds great - I’ll definitely give it a try! I believe yuo on the homemade mayo, too. Despite my egg-phobia, I adore homemade ailoli and I’m sure your mayonaise is fab too.
May 19th, 2006 at 5:31 am
This sounds very intriguing! So much so that I almost wish I could stay home from work today to try it. Alas the office calls but I’m goinig to clip this one and give it a try!
I’m so glad that you liked the potatoes! Way to be creative with the recipe!
May 22nd, 2006 at 1:51 pm
Hey!! My family and I had a weekend full of your yummy food. The San Francisco Bread was delicious! We ate every bite. The strawberry salad with hot pepper jelly dressing was our favorite!! We topped the weekend off with your french toast (like we had on our trip to Florida). I must say, you are an excellent cook!! (And you helped me be one, too)
love you, miss you.