buttermilk lime ice pops

i had one of those moments recently.

you know what i'm talking about -

you go into home goods,

crossing your fingers that the perfect rug

or lamp or outdoor furniture has arrived,

only to leave $7 poorer and the

proud new owner of ice pop molds.

it was kind of inevitable that they -

or something similar -

would one day find their way into our house.

larry likes cold desserts. a lot.

i'm not sure, but i think he would pass up

cake or a slice of pie or maybe cookies,

for a bowl of ice cream. a few months ago,

he was looking through the latest

williams-sonoma catalog and he pointed out

a mold machine that was very tempting,

but was absolutely overpriced. and last month,

when visiting my sister, she pulled

mickey mouse molds - procured earlier in the

year in disney - out of the freezer.

it was only a matter of time.

we are in major money watching mode,

thanks to the whole house buying/moving thing.

we cannot make frivolous purchases.

but, when i saw these molds, i knew that it

was a decision that meant more than spending

out of turn. it meant taking a stab at being

a good wife. if the tables were turned and i held

a deep love for anything icy,

larry would have bought them without pause.

he was away and i instantly envisioned filling

and freezing them, greeting him with a pop

upon his arrival. but then, it was three days later,

he was due home in about 4 hours and i hadn't

done anything. i started looking at recipes

and saw a lot more work than i was expecting:

simmering, blending straining, partial freezing.

i was not up for this.

but, then, i had one of those fortuitous moments

that i always think only happens to other people.

i saw a recipe for buttermilk and lemon ice pops.

two days before, still unsure which hamburger buns

i was going to make (these or these),

i picked up a carton of buttermilk. afterward,

i was lingering somewhere at annoyance at myself

for the unnecessary purchase and the desire to make

a chess pie, but it was still sitting in the fridge,

destonationless.

but now, ice pops.

it seemed too good to be true.

there was only one thing: lemon.

i spent a long time anti-lemon.

as you can see here, here and here,

i've grown out of that. but, i still got annoyed

this year when the irish soda bread that i picked

up was lemon-scented and i wasn't so

sure that i was up for lemon ice pops.

luckily, i love lime.

saying that i love lime is probably an

understatement. i can never have enough.

and so, buttermilk-lime ice pops were born.

have you ever tasted buttermilk?

not good, right? and, yet. i can never resist

sampling just a tiny bit, even though i always

regret it. i just can never get over how unpleasant

it tastes. yet by adding just a couple ingredients

to make a dressing or a glaze, or now, ice pops,

it's harshness turns into tangy deliciousness.

and for these,

it really is only a couple of ingredients:

lime juice,

lime zest,

sugar and salt.

you zest,

you juice,

you mix,

you pour,

you freeze and

you're done.

but, i'll be honest with you

about one thing that's not

so much fun:

then, you wait.

for at least four hours.

or, if you're like us,

you wait for three days,

because well, you are really

tired and dessert is the last thing

on your mind once you start commuting.

but when you finally take a lick,

or a bite, if that's how you roll,

i think you'll find they were worth

the wait: tangy, tart, sweet and,

yes, icy. for an ice pop, they feel indulgent,

but they're not so bad as these

things go. and, they're bordering on

mysterious. larry guessed sour cream,

cardamom and many other things

before i told him buttermilk and lime.

and, now, i think i'm up for pops

that might take a little more work.

but, it's important to say that when

i made these, i hardly felt like a slacker.

buttermilk lime ice pops

adapted from bon appetit magazine

i have a confession: i have no idea what size molds i bought. and i thought they were big, but after using them once, i'm now thinking they're normal. so when i was making this recipe, i doubled it, but it was probably unnecessary, considering i had a ton left over. my mold makes six, this recipe originally called for eight 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup capacity molds. as for the lime zest - i learned after several botched attempts at perfectly distributing orange zest in the olive oil pound cake that it's best to take a minute and use your fingers to separate, before adding zest to your liquids. otherwise, they clump up around the whisk, or just settle into lumps into the final product.

3-4 juicy limes

3/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt

1 2/3 cups buttermilk

zest enough limes to measure 2 tablespoons (this took me two limes). juice enough limes to measure 1/3 cup lime juice.

in 4-cup measuring cup or bowl with pour spout, whisk together sugar, lime juice, lime peel and satl. whisk in buttermilk. divide mixture among ice pop molds, leaving 1/4 inch space on top. add tops; cover and freeze 4 hours, or until firm.

sauteed onion, poppy seed and gruyere bread

our first stop in maine

was portland.

we had plotted out the trip

for months, finally settling

on a bed and breakfast -

i'm a hotel girl, usually -

just outside the port.

at first i was bummed.

i like the idea of car-free

vacations, of walking everywhere

and never worrying about parking.

i also like the idea of hotels.

to me, they provide anonymity

and

don't coerce you into sharing your life story

with strangers while eating

a (seemingly mandatory)

breakfast that required

you to set your alarm

because meals are served

promptly at 9 am.

(can you tell that we've stayed at

bed and breakfasts before?)

but, for many reasons,

we decided to stay at the

morrill mansion and i must say

that as soon as we were there,

i was happy. on the first day,

it poured. not just poured.

think - a hurricane in the islands

making its way north kind of rain.

it was freezing cold, too.

as we stepped from the plane,

into the cold watery onslaught,

i re-evaluated every piece of

clothing i brought,

kicking myself for

the sundresses and tank tops

and wondering where i

could buy a parka if

this kept up all week.

(i think i forgot where i was...hello.)

we rented a car and as we drove

the short drive, i freaked out

about anything i could possibly

think to freak out about:

this is our vacation and its raining hard

(not unlike our honeymoon),

larry is behind the wheel of a

car he is not familiar with,

does anyone in front of us

actually know how to drive in the rain?

and what was i thinking?

two pairs of flip-flops does not

a well-rounded shoe selection make.

when we finally got to the b&b,

my mind

was ready for a rest.

the innkeeper brought us upstairs,

handing us warm chocolate chip cookies

along the way, settled us into our

room with comfy chairs and a bed

with tons of pillows.

this could work, i thought.

then, i turned around, noticing

the stack of home and food magazines

and thought, scratch that,

this is nice.

they never give you the current

issue of food & wine in a hotel room.

it was still pouring.

we weren't really ready to

take portland by storm

when it was in the midst of one.

so instead, i grabbed the f&w,

and began to chill out,

starting with a story about

amazing cottages

that i had never heard of,

located about 30 minutes away

from where we were staying.

humph.

and then, i turned to

the recipe for

pull-apart cheesy bread.

i probably would have read

it and continued on if not

for two things:

1) by far the biggest influencer -

they mentioned monkey bread.

my family? we're big fans of

monkey bread.

2) while i'm not so crazy

about poppy seeds, something

about my childhood made me

a sucker for bialys, with which

the poppy seed mixture shared

an obvious resemblance.

so i read the recipe once each day

(even though we woke up sunday,

and every day that followed to

gorgeous weather)

until we left for ogunquit,

willing myself to remember

to look up the bread when we got

home. a teeny tiny part of me toyed

with ripping it out of the magazine,

but then i flashbacked to every single

time that i read an article in a doctor's

office and the one page i've needed to finish

the story is half torn. so i left it there

for the next people visiting the mcguire room.

it took a few weeks and someone

mentioning to me

that they found a place where

poppy seeds are dirt cheap

(to which i thought,

i've never had a reason

to buy poppy seeds) before

the light went off in my head.

so, i found the recipe,

gathered the ingredients -

purchased my first poppy seeds ever -

and thought, this shouldn't

be too bad.

as the onions sauteed,

i grated the cheese and measured

out the poppy seeds.

when the onion was

sweet

and tender,

i stirred in the poppy seeds,

transferred the lot to a plate

and waited patiently for

five minutes until i could

stir the cheese in.

so far, so good.

the dough was simple, too.

flour

butter

baking soda and powder

salt

buttermilk.

i couldn't go wrong.

but when it was time to

dump the dough out on the counter,

i knew that i couldn't.

yes, the recipe said, soft dough,

but this? this would slide across

the counter, probably too liquidy

to be too sticky.

i added 1/2 cup more flour

to the mixture and it seemed firmer,

so i took a chance.

unfortunately, what was in front of me

was still not very close to dough.

i'm not sure how much flour

i kneaded in,

but it was a lot - i'd dare to say

almost a cup more until

i could get it to work with me.

realizing that i would never

be able to roll the dough out,

let alone, cover it with

the poppy seeds and onions,

cut the whole thing into strips

and layer them,

i went to plan B:

praying, pleading and plotting.

i quartered the dough,

pressing the first piece into

the bottom of the loaf pan to

completely cover. i spread

one-third of the onion mixture

over that, and then cobbled together

pieces of dough from the second section

to make a cohesive layer.

each time i worried that i would not have

enough dough to make it, but somehow,

i was cut a break - it worked.

i baked the bread,

keeping a close eye, not sure how

the four layers would cook,

opposed to the ten i was supposed

to have (where did i go wrong?)

and was relieved when it was out

of the oven in pretty much

the same amount of time.

however, this version?

not a looker.

for me,

it baked up almost

biscuit-like,

very tastily dotted with

cheesy sweet onions.

the poppy seeds? i guess

i can understand why

they are there.

in its original form

and what i turned it into,

the bread is absolutely

an interesting alternative

to a loaf of crusty bread

or even a dinner-appropriate

quick-bread.

it is not monkey bread-like, in

my opinion. it is not in ball

form and you still have to cut

the bread - once the slices

are on the diner's plate they

can be pulled apart to

play with and enjoy.

however, this recipe gave

me a great idea and i hope

that you'll see a savory

monkey bread from me

sometime in the future.

but, the inspiration for

something new we can

play with

and

maybe one day, fall in love with?

looking back, its

probably worth a rainy

afternoon in maine.

sauteed onion, poppy seed and gruyere bread

adapted from food & wine magazine

i was very torn - should i give you my cobbled together version or the original from the magazine? i think, that as long as i already gave you the wet-dough disclaimer, i should give you a chance to make good on my semi-disaster by posting the recipe as it was intended. just remember that if you have trouble, more flour will help and you can always make a patchwork version. the flavor is worth it, i think.

1 1/2 sticks cold, unsalted butter, divided

1 large sweet onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

kosher salt and ground pepper

1 cup shredded gruyere cheese (3 ounces)

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and dusting

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

heat the oven to 425˚f. grease 9 x 4 1/2" metal loaf pan (mine is 5 1/2" wide).

cube butter; place one stick back in fridge until ready to make the dough.

in large skillet over medium heat, melt remaining 1/2 stick butter. remove 2 tablespoons of butter to small bowl; cover and set aside. add onions to skillet and cook 8 minutes, or until onions are softened, but not browned. stir in poppy seeds and season with salt and pepper. transfer onion mixture to plate; chill 5 minutes, or until cooled slightly. stir in gruyere; set aside.

meanwhile, in food processor, pulse flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. add reserved chilled butter; pulse until butter is the size of peas. add the buttermilk and pulse 5 or 6 times, or until a soft dough forms.

turn dough out onto a well-floured work surface and knead 2 or 3 times. pat or roll the dough into a 2 x 24 inch rectangle. spread the onion mixture on top. cut the dough crosswise into 10 pieces. stack 9 pieces onion side up. top stack with remaining slice, onion side down. carefully place the stack in the prepared loaf pan. (as i mentioned above, i had to pat the dough into place inside the loaf pan, which worked, but it's clearly not the best method - the first layer is stress-free. the next ones though, you have to worry that you're going to get the onion mixture caught in the dough as you're trying to spread it.) either way, brush top dough layer with remaining butter.

bake on the center rack, 30 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown and has risen. let the dough cool for at least 15 minutes, before unmolding and serving.

you can also make it ahead of time - it was just as good the second day. i wrapped it up in foil and reheated in a 350˚f oven.

i will stay strong

when i sat down to write this post,

to think about what i wanted

to say,

one thing struck me:

i couldn't concentrate thanks to

the overwhelming

urge

to make another batch

of these onion rings.

and really, that doesn't usually happen.

yes, i often really enjoy what

i make - otherwise, it would be kind

of cruel to share it with you and

then end a recipe with a little

asterisk that read

*i thought the pictures were pretty,

so i wanted to show you and tell

you the story of how it came to be, but

this cake actually tasted terrible, 

make at your own risk.

and sometimes, i'm excited

to make the dish again,

but it is not often that all i can

think is,

i want one. now.

so that should tell you something.

full disclosure:

i have always loved onion rings.

if given the option, i'm sure

i would choose them over fries.

i've always loved them 

beer battered,

dipped in tempura,

breaded,

and yes, even in a loaf,

which i realize is probably

high on the list 

of gluttonous foods.

but, it's very rare 

that i actually have some.

and when i do, i'm often overcome

by general guilt and overall grossness.

greasy foods leave me feeling...well, greasy.

but that doesn't mean 

that i don't

think that they 

look and smell

like the most amazing food ever.

a few weeks ago, we were running

out the door when my sister,

called from college,

slightly panicked.

she had promised her roommates

a surprise when they returned,

but after trying unsuccessfully

to recreate the recipe

for healthy onion rings

on the back of a cereal box,

she was left with eggy,

slick onions and a bowl

of clumpy crushed flakes.

we ran through several

fixes, all based on the limited

ingredients she had in

her apartment.

nothing worked and

she had to scratch the whole

thing.

later that night,

i remembered a recipe that i've

been considering for years:

ellie krieger's

oven baked onion rings.

they always looked very good,

but some commenters complained

here, too that everything just slid off

the onions, leaving a nude ring,

in its wake.

i had skipped the recipe 

up until now for two

main reasons. 

1) they looked very simple, 

but anything

involving breading 

always seems like

a project. 

i'm not sure why.

2) i never have buttermilk 

in the house

and it felt like a waste 

to buy a carton

for this side dish.

it had been weeks since my sister

had attempted to make

the onion rings,

but i hadn't stopped thinking

about her problem.

and, by now, 

i've made this salad,

and therefore, am the proud

owner of low-fat buttermilk.

from the get-go, 

i knew there would be a major

change when i made the rings.

ellie used crushed potato chips,

which to me, just sounded

weird. i worried that in 

the end, they would just

taste like potato chips.

so i used panko instead

and added a bit

of kosher salt

along with the cayenne pepper

she originally used.

then, i thought back

to sbp, 

or the standard breading procedure

that we discussed at length

in culinary school.

i knew i learned something there.

these tips though, aren't really so top secret

(but they really did help).

basically, you must coat 

the onions with flour 

before you do anything 

else, but you also must pat off

as much excess flour 

as possible

before dunking the rings in

buttermilk. 

then, even though

it might take longer, you must

let as much 

buttermilk drip off

as possible,

before tossing into the panko.

and, you really have to 

repeat this process,

one persnickety ring at a time.

it was oddly painless -

resulting in panko that stuck

to the onions, 

and did not clump together

in their bowl of crumbs.

when they were done,

i coated them well in cooking spray

(thinking again that i really

need to invest in an oil sprayer)

and popped them in the oven.

when they came out, 

i sprinkled a touch of kosher

salt over the golden rounds,

placed them in a bowl and thought,

wow, they really look like

like onion rings.

they tasted like them, too.

the coating was crisp

and adhered well to

the very tender

onion.

they were spicy, too, thanks to 

the cayenne.

i really loved these 

onion rings.

and while i wouldn't go

as far as to start making

them every night,

or even every week 

(i think at some point guilt would

kick in for these, too),

i will certainly make them again.

they're a nice way to splurge 

without regret, later.

but, considering the fact 

that i really still want one,

(just one more, that's all)

i won't lie to you:

these onion rings 

may just be habit-forming.

spicy baked onion rings

adapted from ellie krieger

besides using panko instead of potato chips, i followed the recipe relatively closely. one step that i skipped and may or may not do next time, was to grind the panko a little finer. on one hand, i loved the texture that this size grain lended to the rings. my argument for grinding would be that, as i was afraid would happen, the cayenne was unable to evenly incorporate and fell to the bottom. as a result, the rings coated last were significantly spicier. 

also, ellie's recipe instructs to only use the largest rings, but since the medium, pop-in-your-mouth rings are my favorite, i took my chances and just watched them closely. they were fine. i would save the small rings for another use.

1-2 large vidalia onions, peeled (i used one very large onion and it was plenty)

1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided

1 cup low-fat buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups panko breadcrumbs

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

heat oven to 450˚f. place aluminum foil on baking sheets (the recipe called for one - i needed two). coat with cooking spray or mist with oil. 

slice onion into 1/2" wide circles; carefully separate into rings, setting aside medium and large pieces; save small rings for another use. from one onion, i had 16 rings. pour 1/2 cup flour into large resealable plastic bag; add onion rings and shake to coat.

in small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, remaining flour, salt and ground pepper.

place panko in a separate small shallow bowl; add cayenne and season with kosher salt; set aside.

remove one onion from the flour; shaking and patting to remove excess flour. dip onion into buttermilk mixture to coat, turning if necessary. let excess buttermilk drip off. place onion in panko mixture and coat completely. place onion on baking sheet. repeat, one at a time, with remaining onions. coat onions well with cooking spray or oil. 

bake 1o minutes; spray onions again, place pan bake in oven, turning 180 degrees. bake 10 minutes more, or until the onions are tender and the breading is golden brown. sprinkle with kosher salt.