Dan wrote:

>>> But pearl onions are something else again. My father made
>>> creamed onions for us once. They were good, but it's a real labor of
>>> love. It took forever to peel them.
>
>> Did you boil them for a few minutes before squeezing them out of their
>> skin?
>
> I don't remember what he did. I don't think he's cooked for twenty
> years (he's quite senile now). They were very good, but I was pretty
> sure that I would never do it. I haven't!

I made this last Thanksgiving, and it was *totally* worth the effort:

Peas and Pearl Onions with Oyster Cream
From _Patrick O'Connell's Refined American Cuisine_

3 cups fresh or frozen English peas
1 cup peeled pearl onions [1]
4 tablespoons butter
1 parsnip, peeled and cut into quarter-inch dice
1 teaspoon diced shallot
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 slices country ham, diced
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespoons vermouth
2 shucked oysters
2 cups heavy cream
salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a mixing bowl with ice
water and set aside.

Place the peas in a strainer or colander and submerge the peas into the
rapidly boiling water. Cook the peas until fairly tender -- 2 minutes for
frozen. Lift the strainer out of the water and plunge the peas into the ice
water.

To the same pot of boiling water add the pearl onions and cook until tender,
about 7 minutes, then drain and add to the peas in the ice water. After the
vegetables are completely chilled, lift them out and refrigerate.

In a 4-quart saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium heat. Add
the parsnip, shallot, garlic, ham, and curry power and cook for 3 minutes.

Add the vermouth and oysters and cook until the wine is almost completely
evaporated.

Add the cream and simmer until the parsnip is soft and the mixture is
reduced enough to coat the back of a spoon. Whisk in the remaining butter
and strain the oyster cream sauce, pressing hard on the solids to extract
the maximum flavor.[2]

Fold the peas and pearl onions into the cream mixture and warm through
before serving. Season with salt and pepper.

NOTES:
[1] To peel the onions, I cut an X into the root end and put them into
boiling water for a minute. When cool enough to handle, I cut off the roots
and the skins slipped right off.

[2] The solids left in the strainer can be used to make a very good soup the
next day.

Bob