I found a recipe for a Fench dish on the internet (supposedly authentic French recipe) and it calls for brown onions. Here's my question to all you chefs......what the heck are brown onions? I know red (purple). yellow and even green (shallots) but I have never heard of a brown onion. If someone could clarify this for me I would greatly appreciate it as my daughter is cooking this recipe as part of her French launguage project. Oh, one more question.....if a recipe calls for roquefort (I know I spelled in incorrectly) cheese, is there a good substitute for this cheese or any recipe that calls for an aged cheese? Unfortunately my system can no longer handle aged cheeses so I can no longer enjoy my favorites (cheddar, bleu, parmagiano reggiano, etc.). I can eat Monterey Jack, Swiss (have not tried aged Swiss, just the old deli Swiss), etc. Thanks so much! Teabat: Thanks so much! I drive right past TD everyday! Just hadn't seen anything called brown onions in Safeway. Any suggestions on the cheese? The recipe called out to use brown onions. It is suppose to be an authentic French recipe. So my question was "what are brown onions" as I have never heard of brown onions. As far as the aged cheeses, it's not that I can't tolerate them as I love them but my system no longer tolerates them. I could eat cheddar & blue cheese until the cows come home but my system doesn't like them anymore.....unfortunately. So what I was trying to find out was what are some good cheese to substitute with. For instance if a recipe calls out for cheddar what would be a good substitue so as to not really change the taste of the original recipe, same with if it calls for blue cheese, what would be a good substitute so the taste of the recipe does not change or not change dramatically (trying to keep to the original recipe & taste but having to substitute certain aged cheeses). Does Feta cheese work well as a substitue for Blue cheese, etc? Thanks!

Brown onions: A sweet add on to any french dish. Go to a local Trader Joes. The have them there. And they are organic.

shallot Notes: Australians use the term shallots to describe green onions, but to Americans, shallots are shaped like small brown onions with papery brown skins. They have a more delicate, garlicky flavor than other cooking onions, and are a common ingredient in French sauces. Many people find them too hot to eat raw. They're available year-round. Substitutes: green onions (white part only) OR onions (1 small onion = 3 shallots) + dash crushed garlic OR red onion OR green onions OR garlic Spanish onion Notes: These are similar to yellow onions, only larger and a bit sweeter. Substitutes: Bermuda onion OR red onion (sweeter) OR yellow onion Blue Cheese Substitutes: Roquefort OR Maytag Blue ... for unadventurous guests. Substitutes: Cambozola OR Bleu ... quite as good. Substitutes: Stilton OR Gorgonzola OR Roquefort Danablu See Danish Cheese Gives synonyms, equivalents, and substitutions for different kinds ... flavor and textures. Substitutes: cheese alternatives OR ... word for sheep), Roquefort, Manchego, Idiazábal. hope this helped. enjoy.

I'm not sure what they mean by brown onions, but I know that in French cooking you can never go wrong using shallots. As for the cheese, if you really cannot tolerate an aged cheese -- which I believe includes all forms of blue cheese (gorgonzola, stilton, etc.) -- you might be able to get close to the desired effect with a good feta cheese, well drained and crumbled. It has a sharp, tangy quality that I have rarely seen in fresh cheese.