Each evening, Monday thru Saturday, Mort and Lainey White’s Hemlock Inn serves a tasty smorgasbord of down home southern cooking served family style at large round tables with lazy Susans. Of the dozens of dishes they serve, one of the most requested is the sweet and savory casserole shown above — the Bryson City Inn’s signature Vidalia Onion Pie.

Vidalia Onion Pie
10-12 soda crackers
1 pound Vidalia onions
1/3 stick margarine
1 cup white sauce
1/4 pound sharp cheese

Melt margarine and pour half into the crushed crackers. Blend well. Save enough cracker crumbs to sprinkle over top. Press cracker crumbs into pie pan.

Slice the onions thin and saute in remaining margarine until tender but not brown. Put onions on the pie crust and pour over white sauce to which the sharp cheese has been added and melted. Sprinkle a few cracker crumbs over top and bake in 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Serves 8.

Favorite White Sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
pinch of salt
1 cup milk

In heavy saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, and slowly add milk. Stir constantly with whisk until thick. Yield: 1 cup.