Hi Whats4Dinner -- Merrill is on the phone doing an interview and will be off in about 30 minutes. Can you take it off the heat? If so, I'll make sure she gets your message and responds so you can pick it up from there. Ok?!

yep! thanks :-)

Hi there! Sorry about the delay. You can leave it on to cook longer -- you're basically waiting for the liquid to evaporate and the sugars to caramelize, which can take a while. You didn't double the recipe or substitute something else for any of the ingredients, did you? Either of those could affect the cooking time as well.

Sorry about my delay; had to run out and retrieve DD from school (California time :-)
Hmmm, I did fiddle with the amounts. I used a whole 16 oz bag of frozen pearl onions (completely thawed) but upped everything else proportionally and no substitutions. I think I may also be making the mistake of adding water too frequently and I think I also tend to over-stir.
Even if it doesn't end up "gooey" it tastes DIVINE!!!! I'll post an update in an hour or so. You guys ROCK!!!! Thanks :-)

Alas, I must confess, it never happened..... :/
Maybe I didn't add enough sherry or sugar at the beginning. I left it simmering for at least 3 hours but was forced to pull the plug as it was time to make dinner (fish tacos for the omnivores, vegan chorizon/sweet potatoes pour mois!).
Like I said, it still tastes DIVINE and I'm definitely keeping it for the big day :-)