Roasted Onions Filled with Savory Bread Pudding

I often get requests for healthy cupcakes.  I'm guessing that these stuffing-filled onions weren't what you had in mind, but you can think of them as edible cups with savory cake.  Stuffed onions are a fun item to bring to a Summer potluck.  They're easy to prepare, visually pleasing, and a fun novelty. Not a single person at the block party I took them to had ever consumed a stuffed onion before, and everyone was looking forward to this post so they could get the recipe - "Hi, neighbors!"  

You can serve these stuffed onions whole, but that would be a bit too much onion for each person.  I'd recommend bringing them to the table whole (you've got to show them off!) and then cutting them into wedges.

Savory Cupcakes - Fig, Goat Cheese, and Onion

Have you ever thought you were going to drink Sprite, only to find that your server had mistakenly refilled your glass with water?  While water can be satisfying, if caught unaware, the sip can be strange and unnerving.  Likewise, when you hand someone a savory cupcake, you have to warn them to not expect a sugar rush (although with my savory cupcakes, the onion on the top should be a bit of an indicator).  Once savory cupcake tasters have clear expectations, they can settle in and enjoy a unique culinary experience.

My friend Danielle best described these fig, goat cheese, and grilled onion savory cupcakes as follows:

It tastes like dinner.  You know how after you've had a good meal, you are left with a sweet satisfied feeling in your mouth?  That's this cupcake.

The cupcakes were dense and biscuit-like, and while I chose to top them with a light spread of fig and goat cheese frosting, they would also be well received served naked (the cupcakes - not you) during a cocktail party.

Grilled Onions with Balsamic Vinegar and Brown Sugar

Grilled onions are the sweet cousin of the bad boy, make you cry raw onions.  Grilled onions still have an edge (as your breath will attest to), but grilled onions are sugary enough to make their way into a cupcake.  Sometimes, however, sweet things can be made even more appealing.

See what I mean?  Well, for grilled onions, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar do the trick.