The Onion Book

Book excerpt: From common yellow globes to gourmet green garlic, onions of every variety abound in this seasonal collection of mouthwatering recipes for every course of the meal (except dessert). Seduced at the age of twelve by the tantalizing aroma of onions slowly caramelizing on the stove, Jan Roberts-Dominguez has been a devotee ever since. "The Onion Book is her tribute to every variety of Allium, from the common yellow globes to Walla Wallas, Mauis, Vidalias, and Texas Sweets, including scallions, chives, leeks, pearl onions, shallots, and garlic. "The Onion Book offers 175 recipes, grouped according to season, for foolproof and delicious dishes ranging from Early Summer Gazpacho to Garlic Pork Stew and Oven-Roasted Balsamic Onions to Carrot and Leek Tart. Sprinkled throughout are fascinating and entertaining tidbits of onion history and lore. (Did you know that until the middle of the eighteenth century Siberia's tax collector was paid in garlic?) Also included are lists of onion festivals held throughout the year in the United States and abroad, as well as mail-order sources for onions of every variety. There is nutritional and health information, as well as tips on how to conquer "onion breath" and onion tears. In short, this is the book for every onion-loving cook to have in the kitchen--a single, infallible source for onion recipes and information of every kind. With a master's degree in home economics, Jan Roberts-Dominguez learned the arts of recipe development and food styling at Western Foods and Associates, a professional test kitchen in San Francisco. Her newspaper column "Green Cuisine" is syndicated through the West, and she writes and illustrates a weeklycolumn titled "Preserving" for the Portland Oregonian from May through October each year. She is the author/illustrator of three other cookbooks, including, most recently, "The Mustard Book. She lives in Corvallis, Oregon.