Onion, Cheese, & Garlic Pull Apart Bread

So I made another food experimental attempt to take some Pull Apart Bread to this year’s Thanksgiving Dinner.  Based on a request for a repeat of a previous recipe used that of course I wasn’t able to locate…so further online searching ensued and I adapted the below recipe for my  current creation.

image is from a bing.com image search

When beginning online searching I hoped to find or adapt a recipe allowing me to use some (presumably Sage flavored) pork sausage and biscuits we had on hand…however on closer examination I found it was Hot sausage so then revised the plan.  Also, I planned to use a 9 x 13 covered pan  instead of the usual bundt pan, to simplify cooking & serving.

Here’s my version of the adapted recipe…and after we eat it tomorrow I’ll update this posting with a “verdict” on this attempt’s success.

2 cans refrigerated biscuits

1 medium onion

1 1/3 sticks of butter

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup light colored wine

1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

garlic salt with parsley

1 1/2 cups of cheddar jack shredded cheese

1. Dice Onions & cook in Olive Oil and 1/3 cup of Butter, adding Thyme and Garlic during cooking.  (Note:  I cooked them in my metal 9 x 13 pan on the stove top, but using the methods described in the original inspirational recipe may yield better results.)
2. When onions are nicely browned add Water & Wine and simmer til all excess liquid is gone…add Stick of Butter to melt completely.  Remove from heat.
3. Cut Biscuits into quarters and add half to the pan, stirring to coat with onions and butter.  Sprinkle with Garlic Salt and Cheese.  Repeat with remaining biscuits, etc.
4. Cover pan and cook at 350-375 for 15-25 minutes (this will require watching to determine cooking time & temperature…and this particular time I will be at the mercy of the Hostess’s oven settings–I’ll attempt to elaborate results later.)
5. Turn out onto a serving platter or serve from the original dish, as desired.

 

image is from a bing.com image search

The website with the original recipe has multiple photos showing the steps in visual form and there are helpful comments from both the author and visitors to inspire creativity…Please consider checking out the original site below for details…

As with my previous recipe attempt there were multiple sites I considered in developing my own version, these being the main contenders:

https://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/grands-cheesy-herb-monkey-bread/3ef18467-86b1-498d-8e40-a3f1f0d6ee03

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/219639/garlic-and-herb-pull-apart-bread/

http://www.cooks.com/recipe/f727v8hu/easy-pull-apart-rolls.html

http://www.cooks.com/recipe/aq1at71s/pull-apart-bacon-bread.html

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/229347/sams-biscuit-garlic-monkey-bread/

https://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/garlic-parmesan-monkey-bread/196d51a9-e334-4631-b026-cdc860babf92

http://www.brit.co/pull-apart-bread/

The last site listed above has 30 different versions of Monkey Bread!

Here’s the original recipe inspiring this current offering:

Cheese and Onion Monkey Bread

Cheese and Onion Monkey Bread

Cheese and Onion Monkey Bread, serves 10
-2 large cans of biscuit dough

-1 Tbs of butter
-1 yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
-1 Tbs of fresh thyme

-2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

-1 cup butter

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an angel food cake pan with a removable bottom and set it on top of a rimmed sheet pan.

2) In a large pan, add 1 Tbs of butter and the thinly sliced onion. Sprinkle with salt and cook over medium heat until the onion slices begin to brown, about 5 minutes.

3) Add 2 cups of water and a few sprigs of fresh thyme andlet the onions simmer in the water, (which should have picked up the browned bits from the pan) until the onions are soft and juicy- about another 5 minutes. Set aside.

4) Cut each biscuit into quarters.

5) Meanwhile melt the 1 cup of butter in a small sauce pan.

6) Brush the inside of the pan lightly with the melted butter, then begin to add about 1/3 of the dough balls.

7) On top of the dough balls, sprinkle a third of the onions and cheese.

8) Repeat with remaining dough balls and onions and cheese. When everything is in the pan, pour the butter evenly over the entire pan.

9) Bake the monkey bread in the oven for about 45 minutes, and then remove from the oven and let it sit for another 10-15, or until cool enough to handle.

10) Turn out upside down onto a serving platter and pull apart to experience pure, buttery, cheesy heaven!

Update: Verdict

This dish was a hit based on feedback of several family members.  The taste was very good. The texture was a bit dense.

Baking Times, Temps, & Challenges

There were challenges with the baking process (which based on conditions at the hostess’ home meant starting at 350 and ending at 375 degrees).  Also, this dish was made the night before and “refrigerated” (as in left in my vehicle overnight with 30-ish outside temperatures).  We started the baking process with the concoction at this colder temperature, which wouldn’t be the case in likely typical preparation scenarios.  Also, I really don’t know how much time this was cooked for as I repeatedly set the timer for anywhere from 2-5 minutes, after an initial cooking time of 20-25 minutes, and kept checking on the bread.  It seemed to take quite a long time before it began to minimally “puff” up.  So, next time I would try cooking it at 375 initially (this was the temperature suggested on the biscuit packaging) and select an approximate baking time based on reviewing several similar recipes as a starting point.  Also, it would likely be better if the dish was near room temperature prior to baking.  I left the lid on the pan for at least the first half of the total cooking time, hoping this would aid in getting the temperature up sooner, but removed it later to facilitate the overall “browning” process.  Our final result was not nearly as “browned” as the inspirational recipe’s photo, by choice.

Liquid Issues

Regarding the liquid, if choosing to use liquid to plump up the onions & “de-glaze” the sauteing pan I would use less water and possibly more wine (and a wine that was less sweet than the fruity one I’d used).  I had almost no issues with cooking the onions in the same pan I was baking this dish in.  The only real challenge was in layering the dough evenly, since I wanted to ensure that each piece was coated with the butter and the onions were reasonably evenly distributed.

Fats & Pans

There were no issues with adding some Olive Oil to the cooking process, nor with the reduced butter.  There was sufficient butter for it to bubble up throughout the baking process (and the 9 x 13 pan allowed the butter to saturate virtually every piece of bread, which is likely different than had the bundt pan, suggested by the inspirational recipe, been used instead–though the bundt pan would have allowed a more “elegant” presentation than our more “practical” lidded pan–we used the lid, slightly offset, during the buffet food service to help the dish retain heat); it would even be feasible to reduce the butter even more without adversely affecting the quality of the dish.

 

Finally, I would definitely make this concoction again.  In fact none of this delectable bread was left over for another usage…we ended up finishing it off later that night, as it was nearly addictive, even using the microwave to reheat it many hours later.

image from a Bing.com image search for “Thanksgiving”