snapshot: braised spring red onions

one of the luxuries

of buying from a farmer's market

is that everything is so

fantastically fresh (hopefully, anyway)

that when used, each ingredient

can deliciously stand on its own.

that was my thinking with the

spring red onions (and spring garlic)

we found perched in crates.

we chose the ones we wanted -

the stalks on both were over

two feet long, but the farmers cut them

down to practical

carrying and storing size.

after considering everything under the sun

fancy to make with the finds,

i decided to simply braise them

and they were a treat.

to do: halve small or quarter large

spring red onions (3 to 6 depending on how

many you're feeding)*, keeping a couple

inches of the stalk or stem attached.

heat saute pan or skillet

large enough to hold the onions,

over medium-high heat.

coat with olive oil or cooking spray.

when hot, add onions, cut side down.

season with kosher salt

and cracked black pepper.

let cook 2 minutes, or until golden brown.

using tongs, carefully flip onions

and cook 2 minutes more, or until

golden brown on both sides.

pour in enough white wine to cover

vegetables halfway.

bring to a boil;

reduce heat to a simmer and cover.

cook 6 to 10 minutes, or until knife

slides easily into and out of onions

and the wine is mostly reduced.

while wine is still bubbling,

use tongs to transfer cooked onions

to serving plate.

carefully pour braising liquid onto

plate.

*yes, i used a combination of the

onions and garlic, but we learned

that garlic is cooler in theory. they

seemed to get tougher with heat and the one

that each of us ate, made us very aware

of the whole cloves that are hiding

in the bulb. or maybe they're not

hiding. either way, we weren't in love.

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.

i have an affinity for side dishes

i went to a great restaurant with friends last year,
and there, on the hand-written blackboard, i saw my dream meal.
20 vegetable side dishes. pick four. there's your dinner:
artichokes hearts with parmesan
roasted grape tomatoes with garlic
beets with goat cheese
mixed mushrooms with leeks and herbs

i was in heaven.
and i've thought about recreating this dish
or one like it
for many meals since.

there's just one problem.
a very agreeable, thankfully adventurous, rarely complaining problem:
i have a husband.
one who, puts up with tofu, my love for lime juice and avocado and a recent obsession with
seaweed. who brings me to restaurants that specialize in vegetables and who actually finds it
amusing when i spend an afternoon experimenting with different sweet potato sandwich recipes.
but, one, who really, really, really just wants
a steak.

so every time i feel myself sliding toward a side dish supper,
i stop somewhere short of making a plate that looks like
i just ransacked the farmer's market. and instead, try to make
it look like a meal. sort of.

which brings me to last week.
i had my heart set on roasted parsnips
but then i remembered the purple potatoes and the onion
sitting not-so-patiently on the counter.
in the grocery store
i stared at the seafood counter,
the chicken and the turkey
before remembering
i had a carton of eggs in the fridge.

i like to separate the vegetables, just in case one cooks faster than the other. it's an easy way to avoid burning your onion and serving crunchy potatoes. once cooked, you can mix together, or keep the cobb effect.

i'm telling you, when faced with a lot of veggies and no plan,
roast 'em,
poach an egg,
toss it on top
and call it dinner.


this time i used parsnips (they are so sweet and delicious, when you let them brown for a while), a sweet onion, purple potatoes and cremini mushrooms. but, the options are endless: a bowl of garlicky swiss chard, grilled asparagus, sauteed tomatoes, just to name a few. it couldn't be simpler, you just cut them all up into somewhat similar-sized pieces (obviously, i don't care if they look identical, but it is important for them to be the same size so that they cook evenly), put them on a roasting pan with a drizzle of olive oil, some kosher salt and pepper. and then wait for them to shrink, brown and sweeten. use the last ten minutes of the roasting time to poach the eggs. i sprinkled the finished plate with chopped chives and a few drops of admittedly-decadent truffle oil -- both completely up to you.

ok, i'll admit it. i forgot about these at first. but it worked out well - they cook much faster than the others. while, i think the other vegetables are fine with cooking spray, mushrooms need a little flavor coaxing from olive oil.

and please, don't be scared to poach an egg.
believe me, i understand. there's boiling water,
in a shallow saucepan,
and timing
and the whole thing seems so freaking delicate. but it's easy.
and it's by far, my favorite way to prepare and enjoy an egg.


Roasted Root Vegetables
4-6 parsnips, peeled, quartered lengthwise and cut into thirds
1 sweet onion, peeled, halved and sliced
1 pkg. (8 oz.) purple peruvian fingerling potatoes, brushed and quartered
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cremini mushrooms, rubbed clean with a paper towel and sliced
6-8 cloves of garlic, peeled
olive oil
kosher salt
cracked black pepper

Heat oven to 400˚F. Coat foil-lined baking sheet with cooking spray or a thin coating of olive oil. Place parsnips on left side (or whatever placement makes sense to you). Drizzle with oil or spray; sprinkle with salt and a few cracks of black pepper; toss with your (clean) hands. Repeat with onions and potatoes. Sprinkle garlic cloves on baking sheet. Repeat with mushrooms on a separate foil-lined baking sheet. Roast 20-30 min., or until vegetables are golden brown and tender, turning once or twice. Toss together; divide mixture among two plates. Gently place poached egg over vegetables. Sprinkle egg with chopped fresh chives and add a few drops of white truffle oil, if desired.


Poached Eggs
2 large eggs
1 Tbs. vinegar
1 tsp. kosher salt

Crack each egg into separate extra-small bowls. In medium saucepan, heat 2" water over high heat until just starting to bubble. Stir in vinegar and salt -- they both help the egg set faster and prohibit the white from fraying and spreading. Wait until the water bubbles again, then gently dip the rims of the bowls into the water and let the egg slip out; lower the heat to about medium. As soon as the egg starts to set, slip a spatula underneath to loosen from the bottom of the saucepan. Next, very gently flip the egg. Let cook about 2 min., more, or until the white is reasonably firm and the yolk is still runny (it will appear slightly wobbly if you give the egg a small shake). Using spatula or slotted spoon, remove the egg from pan and let the water drip off; blot with paper towel, if desired. Using scissors, cut frayed edges.*

*I never do this, but if you want a prettier presentation, this is how they make it happen in restaurants.