Pickled Red Onions

On burgers, sandwiches, salads...pickled onions add a tartness and subtle crunch! You can play around with seasonings, but here's the basics.

Ingredients

2 red onions

1 C vinegar (white or apple cider typically)

1 T sugar (white or brown)

1 T salt

Optional seasonings (NOT all at once): 2-3 T lime juice, ¼ C orange juice, 1-2 garlic cloves, half a dozen black peppercorns, half a dozen allspice berries or cloves, a bay leaf or two, a few sprigs of thyme, a slice or two of lemon...

Directions

Slice the onions as thin as you can. Fill glass jars or any other heat-proof containers if you'll be using your pickled onions in a week or two with sliced onions. (If you plan to keep your onions longer than 2-3 weeks, use sterile canning jars to seal them air-tight.)

Combine the vinegar, sugar, salt other seasonings in a saucepan; heat to boiling. Pour over pickled onions.

You can serve them as soon as they cool, but the longer they soak, the more pickled they get. Store in the refrigerator 2-3 weeks.

Crispy Fried Shallots (and shallot oil)

Instant upgrade to a simple teryaki chicken bowl (or stir fry, or salad...)

Ingredients
shallots, thinly sliced
flour
oil (for frying)

Directions
Sprinkle & toss thinly sliced shallots with flour; shake off excess.

Heat oil to 265° F. Gently place shallots in oil - don't crowd them or they'll stick to each other. Turn as needed (if they're thin enough, it may not be necessary) until golden brown. Remove using a slotted spoon (or 'spider' if you have one) to paper towel lined baking sheet. Best served warm.

Extra can be stored in airtight container; warm them briefly in a hot oven to restore crispness, as needed.

As long as you haven't burnt them (which taints the flavor of the oil as well), strain the oil to remove all solids. Shallot oil is great for making vinaigrettes, or adding a subtle flavor to other dishes calling for oil.

Glazed Pearl Onions

Most of this appealed to me. I'm not a huge fan of cumin; it was okay here, but making this again, I might sub it out for something else. It needs something to balance the sweet & sour though. You don't need much of this -- kind of like cranberry sauce on the side of your Thanksgiving plate...just a few bites to wake up the plate with zingy flavor!

Ingredients

2 lbs fresh red or white pearl onions

2 ½ T butter

¼ C brown sugar

½ tsp ground cumin

pinch kosher salt

1½ tsp lime zest

¼ C lime juice

½ tsp flaky sea salt

Directions 

Blanche onions: Bring large pot of water to a boil; add onions. Boil 30 seconds; drain and shock (immediately immerse in ice water). Trim root ends, leaving core intact. Squeeze gently from tops to remove outer skins; discard.

Heat butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. When butter sizzles, add onions in single layer; cover. Cook, stirring often, until onions are lightly caramelized (8-10 min).

While onions cook, whisk together brown sugar, cumin, kosher salt, 1 teaspoon lime zest, and lime juice in a small bowl. Pour over onions; toss to coat. Cover; cook over medium, stirring occasionally, until mixture is syrupy and onions tender (5-6 min).

Transfer onions and sauce to serving dish; sprinkle with flaky sea salt and remaining zest. Serve immediately.

Maple Onion Jam

My own spin on a recipe (Cooking Light, last December I think; find the original here), that starts with 5 pounds of onions. A bit more than I wanted in jam form! This is close...

Ingredients
2 lbs yellow onions
4 T brown sugar
¼ tsp minced garlic
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp cardamom
pinch pepper
1½ tsp maple syrup
¾ tsp apple cider vinegar

Directions
Rough chop onions into large pieces. In a crock pot, stir together onion, brown sugar, garlic, salt, cinnamon, cardamom and pepper. Cover and cook on HIGH until onions are very soft and mixture is soupy (8 hours or more).

Remove lid; continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated (approx 1½ hrs)*. Turn off crock pot; stirr in syrup and vinegar. Cool 30 minutes.

Transfer mixture to food processor. Pulse until chunky but spreadable (or desired consistency). Divide into canning jars or airtight containers. Store in refrigerator.

* If mixture is still very soupy, pour off liquid into small saucepan; add syrup. Cook over high heat until reduced and thickened to a very thick syrup. Return to onions; stir in vinegar and cool completely.

Lime & Sesame Vinaigrette

After the relatively recent miso-orange vinaigrette, I wanted to try for another (better) Asian-inspired vinaigrette...

Ingredients
1 lg shallot, finely chopped
1 C fresh lime juice
kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
½ C toasted sesame oil
½ C vegetable oil
¼ C soy sauce
3 T honey or maple syrup

Directions
Combine shallot and lime juice in a bowl; season with salt and pepper. Let sit 10 minutes. Add sesame oil, vegetable oil, soy sauce and honey/syrup. Whisk to combine. Season with additional salt and/or pepper to taste.

This was good on a salad of fresh greens (cabbage, slivered scallions, and shredded carrots play nicely with the Asian flavors) along with mandarin orange wedges topped with crunchy chow mein noodles or peanuts -- sprinkled with sesame seeds, garnished with finely chopped fresh mint and/or cilantro leaves...  Some grilled, diced chicken or pork makes for a heartier salad. Add more or less of anything to suit your tastes.

Fried Cabbage with Bacon, Onion & Garlic

Fried cabbage...not necessarily high on my list. But bacon makes everything better! And onion and garlic round out the flavors. I'll post the recipe as I first found it; however... I could do with less salt, especially with the saltiness of the bacon, and I had no garlic powder on hand, but threw in a good amount of fresh minced garlic. I also felt the end product was a bit overcooked. I'd like my cabbage to be tender, but still have a little crunch to it. But I suppose that's easy to suit your personal taste.

Ingredients
6 slices bacon, chopped
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large head cabbage, cored and sliced
1 T salt, or to taste
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp paprika

Directions
Place bacon in large stockpot; cook over medium-high heat until crispy (approx 10 min). Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until onion caramelizes (approx 10 min more). Immediately stir in cabbage; continue to cook and stir another 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, approx 30 minutes more.

Broccoli-Onion-Bacon Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:
4 strips bacon
1 sweet onion, halved & thinly sliced
2 C broccoli florets
5 eggs
1½ C milk 
½ tsp dried basil, crushed
4 C sourdough bread, 1" cubes
4 oz Muenster or Swiss cheese, ½" cubes
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In large skillet, cook bacon until crisp; remove bacon, reserving drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon and set aside. Add onions to skillet; cover and cook on medium-low heat 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, in small saucepan, cook broccoli in lightly salted water about 3 minutes, until fork tender. Drain.

Uncover onions, increase heat to medium and cook until caramelized (about 5 minutes).

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs,milk, basil, salt and pepper. Stir in bread, broccoli, onion, cheese and bacon. Transfer to 2 quart baking dish; cover and chill 2-24 hours.

Preheat oven to 325°. Bake casserole, covered, 20 minutes. Uncover; bake an additional 20-30 minutes until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

I only had a small, sweet onion when I made this recipe, so (in case you notice in the picture) I added some scallions. Not exactly the same flavor as a sweet onion, but I knew I'd like it anyway.

Greek Potatoes with Lemon Vinaigrette

This was a Bobby Flay/Food Network recipe I tried today (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/greek-potatoes-with-lemon-vinaigrette-recipe2/index.html). I love a good vinaigrette; the lemon and oregano really add a fresh, light zip to roast potato wedges.

Chicken Cutlets with Tarragon-Mushroom Sauce

Tarragon is not usually my favorite (too much like anise, and I'm not a licorice fan). But for variety, this was worth a try -- and better than I expected.

Ingredients:
2 C chicken stock 
½ carrot, cut into 1" pieces 
½ celery stalk, cut into 1" pieces 
¼ onion, halved
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove, crushed
4 (6 oz) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
3 Tbls flour
2 Tbls olive oil
2 tsp butter
1 C mushrooms, quartered
½ C pearl onions
1 Tbls cornstarch
1 Tbls chopped fresh tarragon

Directions:
Combine chicken stock, carrot, celery, ¼ onion (not pearls), bay leaf, and garlic clove in a saucepan. Bring to boil; cook 6 minutes, until reduced to 1¼ cups. Remove and discard solids.

Cut chicken breasts in half (to make 8 cutlets). Season with ¼ tsp each salt and pepper. Place flour in shallow dish; dredge cutlets in flour. Heat a large skilled over medium=high heat. Add 1 Tbls oil and 1 tsp butter; swirl to melt. Place 4 cutlets in the pan; cook about 2 minutes per side, until golden. Remove from pan; keep warm. Repeat with remaining cutlets.

Return skillet to medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and pearl onions, cooking until browned (about 5 minutes) stirring occasionally. I didn't have pearl onions, so I just used a large sweet onion, cutting about a ½ cup in a large dice; tasted fine, though my photo doesn't look as 'fancy' as the one in the magazine with the cute little pearls! :) Add stock mixture; deglaze pan and bring to boil. Combine cornstarch with about 1 Tbls cold water; add to stock and cook 1 minute or until sauce thickens. Add chopped tarragon; season to taste with remaining salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over cutlets to serve.

Parsnip & Apple Soup

This soup is part of my ongoing effort to enlarge my vegetable recipe repertoire (and my personal vegetable palate!)...I thought the inclusion of apples in this parsnip soup would add a little sweetness and a spring-like freshness. Happy Spring!

Ingredients:
1 C apple cider 
½ C half-and-half
3 C chicken broth
1 lb parsnips (3-5 depending on size)
2 leeks
2 shallots
3 Fuji (or similar) apples 
½ tsp salt 
¼ tsp white pepper
optional garnish: crème fraîche and chopped chives

Directions:
Peel and roughly chop parsnips and shallots. Roughly chop the white parts of the leeks. Peel, core and roughly chop apples.

Pour cider, half-and-half and broth into large saucepan; cover and bring to boil. Add vegetables and apples. Cook until tender (about 20-25 minutes--parsnips take the longest, so test a large chunk of parsnip for tenderness).

Purée soup with salt and pepper until very smooth. (Black pepper will flavor the soup fine, but it won't preserve the pure color of the parsnip-apple-shallot base.) Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche and chopped chives.

Chicken Normandy

Ingredients:
4 (5 oz) skinless chicken breast halves 
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ C flour
1 Tbls olive oil
1 Tbls butter
1 Granny Smith apple 
¹/₃ C finely chopped onion
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves 
²/₃ C apple cider 
¹/₃ C heavy cream
1 Tbls grainy Dijon mustard 
¼ tsp kosher salt 
¼ tsp pepper

Directions:
Peel, core, and thinly slice the apple; set aside.

 Season breasts with salt and pepper on both sides; dredge lightly in flour, shaking off excess. Heat oil in large skilled over medium-high heat; add butter and swirl to melt. Place breasts in skillet, top side down. Reduce heat slightly and sauté, turning once, until lightly golden on each side (about 3-4 minutes per side). Transfer chicken to a plate; keep warm.

Return skillet to medium-high heat; add apple, onion and thyme. Sauté until apple begins to soften. Pour in cider; bring to boil. Boil until cider is reduced by half (2-3 minutes). Add remaining ingredients, stirring until well blended; continue stirring and cook 2 to 3 minutes until sauce is thickened. Serve over chicken breasts.

Roasted Onions

The slightly sweet, caramelized flavor of roasted onion is delicious in lots of recipes...soups and stews, mixed vegetable dishes, casseroles, egg bakes, on pizza, etc. Here's how...

onion
vinegar
optional: herbs

I used red onion (relatively sweet and it adds nice color) and balsamic vinegar, but any kind of onion and vinegar can be substituted. While roasting, the acid in the vinegar cooks out, leaving just the sweet, tangy flavors.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°. Halve the onion, root to stem. Do NOT remove the skin. Remove the center-most layer or two of the onion -- the 'core' -- to form a small, shallow bowl in each onion half. Place onions, cut side up, in a baking dish. Fill onion centers with a teaspoon (more or less) of vinegar. It's okay if the vinegar overflows over the tops of the onions. Top with herbs if desired. [Herbs can also be pre-soaked in the vinegar so their flavor is infused into the vinegar, and therefore the onions, as they roast.] Bake 45 minutes.

Let cool. Remove skins; cut off stems. Quarter or slice as directed for use in recipes, or to serve as a side or garnish.

Pepper-Onion Relish

Harry & David sells a delicious pepper and onion relish. Here's a homemade version. :) This is a fine sweet-spicy relish to use on sandwiches and burgers. A softened brick (8 oz) of cream cheese mixed with ½ cup (or a little more!) makes a great chip dip, too.

Ingredients:
1 sweet onion
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 14.5oz can petite diced tomatoes
½ C sugar 
½ C brown sugar
¾ C vinegar
1-2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt (or a little more, to taste)
2 Tbls corn starch

Directions:
Remove stems and seeds from peppers. Finely chop onion and peppers.

Mix all ingredients except corn starch in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce to simmer. Gently simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Scoop or pour about half the mixture into a blender; purée with cornstarch (2 rounded tablespoons). Return purée to saucepan; bring to boil again. Remove from heat.

Immediately transfer to canning jars for long storage, or...
Let cool, then transfer to airtight containers and refrigerate for more immediate use (within 2-3 weeks).

Caramelized Onion-Apple Tartlets

3 Tbls butter

1 lb yellow onions, thinly sliced
¼ tsp salt
2 Granny Smith apples
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 sheets puff pastry, defrosted just before use
3 oz fontina cheese, shredded
1 Tbls minced fresh thyme leaves

Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples.

Melt butter in large frying pan over medium-high heat; add onions and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft (about 5 min). Add apples and stir to coat. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until onions are medium brown (about 30 min). Stir in pepper and salt to taste. Set aside and let cool (about 10 min).

Preheat oven to 375. Open pastry sheets out flat. Using a knife or biscuit/cookie cutter, cut pastry into desired shapes (squares, triangles, circles...) I used a round, scalloped cookie cutter about 2" in diameter. Arrange them, not touching, on a baking sheet. Place spoonfuls of onion-apple mixture on each pastry base; top with shredded fontina and minced thyme.

Bake until puffed and golden (about 15-20 min). Serve hot.

Potato-Leek Soup with Bacon

This soup tasted good -- especially with the bacon -- but the Culinary Arts students thought it was a little thin...and I agree! We're adding extra potatoes (a few more blended and some extra diced chunks as well) to thicken it up before serving it again. :)

Ingredients

2 Tbls butter

8 slices bacon, chopped

3 leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

8 C chicken broth

4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and ½” diced

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 C heavy cream

3 C frozen peas (do not thaw in advance)

½ C chopped scallions

Directions

Cook the bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat until crisp (about 8 minutes). Transfer to a paper towel lined plate, reserving about 2 tablespoons fat in the pan.

Add 2 tablespoons butter to pan, then add leeks and garlic; cover and cook until tender (about 5 minutes).

Add broth, 4 cups water, potatoes and salt and pepper; cover and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring just occasionally. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, partially covered, until potatoes are tender (about 10 minutes).

Purée half the soup in a blender (remove the filler-cap to let steam escape), then return to the pot. Add cream and bring to simmer.

5 minutes before serving, add peas. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with crumbled bacon and chopped scallions to garnish.

Another twist on Potato-Leek Soup: Potato-Leek Soup with Mini Pierogi.

Gingered Pork Potstickers

Ingredients
6 oz ground pork
¼ C diced white onion
2 Tbls minced ginger
1 Tbls minced garlic
4 Tbls diced green onion
1 tsp soy sauce
¼ tsp sesame oil
salt and pepper
12 round wonton/potsticker wrappers
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vegetable oil

Directions
Combine pork, onions, ginger, garlic, green onions, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Bring 2 quarts water to boil in medium stock pot. Place 1 tablespoon of the mixture in the middle of each wonton wrapper. Brush edges of wrappers with egg. Fold wrappers in half and pinch to seal.

Place wrappers in boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Remove;cool individually on cooling rack. When ready to serve, heat saute pan with 1 teaspoon oil; saute on medium-high heat until the skin of wrappers is browned.

Roasted Root Vegetables with Rosemary and Garlic

Ingredients
2 Tbls butter
2 pound root vegetables, large dice/sliced
   (carrots, parsnips, potatoes, red onion, etc.*)
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
3 cloves garlic, peeled and halved

 * I had some zucchini I needed to use up as well. It'll cook up much softer than firmer root vegetables cooked the same amount of time...unless you add it in later. Do as you please. :)

Directions
Preheat oven to 425° F.

Melt butter.In a shallow roasting pan or glass baking dish, stir together melted butter, rosemary, garlic and cut vegetables.Roast, stirring occasionally until vegetables are golden brown (about 50 minutes).

Panzanella -- Tuscan Bread Salad

(a variation on a recipe I got from the chefs at BTC)

Salad:
6 C mixed baby greens
6 C bread, cut to ½" cubes and lightly toasted
   (it's okay, even good, if it's a little stale)
1 C red, green and/or yellow pepper, ½" diced
½ yellow onion, ½" diced
2 C tomato, ½" diced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2+ Tbls pine nuts, toasted, salt & pepper to taste
3-4 oz Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
2-3 Tbls fresh basil, roughly chopped
2 Tbls chives, cut to ½" lengths

Balsamic Vinaigrette:
1 oz red wine vinegar
1 oz balsamic vinegar
1 tsp grain mustard
1 tsp minced shallot
½ C olive oil
1 Tbls herbs (basil and/or chives, parsley, rosemary, sage, etc.)
salt & pepper to taste

Combine vinegars, mustard and shallots. Gradually whisk in oil. Season with salt & pepper. Stir in herbs. Set aside.

Sauté garlic, peppers and onions just to soften (3-4 minutes). Reduce heat. Add bread, tomatoes, pine nuts and enough dressing to coat the mixture. Toss in basil and season with salt & pepper. 

Toss greens with remaining dressing, and spread over a serving platter. Top with warm bread mixture. Sprinkle with Gorgonzola and chives.