5 posts tagged “onion”

I like wandering through the grocer and being inspired by...

what's on sale.

Particularly the "going bad" clearance sales, if it's something I can fix for dinner that night.

Yesterday my browsing was rewarded with 8oz of fresh mushrooms for $1 (down from $2), two Moroccan artisan olive loafs $1.50 each (down from $4.50), grated Romano cheese 5oz. $2.19 (down from $5) and a pound of fresh strawberries for $1.50 (down from $4).

I already had rice at home and a pan full of sausage grease from the morning, so I used some garlic, onion, spices, the mushrooms and Romano to turn that into a Risotto after lots of stirring and adding just enough liquid to keep the rice barely covered (minus the white wine that the Wife doesn't care for.)

Carved the olive loaf tops in a "v" trench, removed the top, added cooked chicken breast slices, and filled the trench with my sort-of Risotto, and baked them to crisp for a few minutes before serving.

The strawberries for dessert were cut and soaked in the tiniest bit of Balsamic Vinegar and sugar.

Taco Salad with Lemongrass Chicken Spring Rolls.

I had the eldest daughter assist with this one.

Just shy of 4, she was able to shred the romaine lettuce leaves by hand.

She also sprinkled the chopped onions into the skillet with the hamburger while it was browning.

Then she poured a little of both ranch dressing and cheesy pasta sauce onto the salad and mixed it in with a spoon.

Finally, she crushed the (generic) chili cheese Fritos by hand and stirred them in.

By then, the frozen Lemongrass Chicken Spring Rolls were coming out of the oven and ready to be placed for presentation just as my wife arrived home from work.

I propose a new named sandwich.

The "Neutered Groove"

Apologies if this list of arranged ingredients already exists under another sandwich moniker.

It's not that I will desist, mind you.

I just want to be clear that it has now been dispossessed of its ingredients and will need to find new ones should it wish to go forward as a named sandwich, or risk being de-listed from the sandwich board exchange.

A "Neutered Groove" consists of:

Two slices of bread, any bread, I usually go wholewheat.

Onions slices and tomato slices, one or two of each.

A spring mix of various salad leafy greens and reds.

Two slices of pepper jack cheese, otherwise known as Monterey Jack with Jalapeno bits incorporated.

Seven deli-thin slices of hickory smoked ham.

Two slices of hard salami.

Point zero eight ounce, approximately, crushed ripe black olives.

One squirt ketchup.

One squirt mustard.

One shot glass.

One bottle of tequila.

One bottle of vodka.

4 albums of music:
A) Gas Huffer - "One Inch Masters"
B) Claw Hammer - "Thank The Holder Uppers"
C) Mercury Rev - "Boces"
D) Col. Bruce Hampton & The Aquarium Rescue Unit - "Self-titled"

Assembly instructions required to qualify as an official "Neutered Groove":

Begin playing the music in the order listed from albums A - D.

Do not shuffle.

Play straight through.

Drizzle the bread with Jose Quervo Black Medallion Tequila.
Butter one side liberally and place in a pan on medium heat (butter-side down.)

Place the one of the two cheese slices on top of the bread.

Simmer the onion/tomato slices in vodka until soft.

Add one of the two slices of hard salami on top of the cheese and bread.

Add all seven deli slices of ham on top of the salami, cheese, and bread.

Add squirt of mustard on ham, salami, cheese, and bread.

Add the leafy greens on top of the mustard, ham, salami, cheese, and bread.

Add the onions/tomato on top of the leafy greeens, mustard, ham, salami, cheese, and bread.

Add the second slice of hard salami on top of the onion/tomato, leafy greens, mustard, ham, other salami, cheese and bread.

Add squirt of ketchup on second slice of hard salami, onion/tomato, leafy greens, mustard, ham, other salami, cheese, and bread.

Add the second slice of cheese on top of the ketchup, second salami, onion/tomato, leafy greens, mustard, ham, other salami, other cheese, and bread.

Add the crushed olives on the second cheese slice, ketchup, second salami, onion/tomato, leafy greens, mustard, ham, other salami, other cheese, and bread.

Add second slice of tequila drizzled bread on second slice of cheese, ketchup, second salami, onion/tomato slices, leafy greens, mustard, ham, other salami, other cheese slice, and bread.

Compress the stack with a large spatula flipper, butter the top slice of bread, and flip the arrangement, ass over tea kettle.

Now, and this bit is truely make or break, do exactly three shots of vodka, and three shots of tequila.

By the time you're done, the bottom side of the sandwich will be golden buttery brown and you'll be in a state fully capable of appreciating this culinary delinquent.

Now, sit in a comfy chair, turn down the lights, eat the sandwich, and let what remains of the play list finish out.

Your groove will be neutered.

Onions and garlic make nice at the family reunion, held in my cast iron pan.

It made my afternoon.

Take one softball sized red onion, and give it a rough chop.

Rough referring to the size and shape of the pieces rendered, not the amount of violence or lack of focus used during the slicing procedure.

That'll just get you a trip to the corner drugstore for more band-aids.

Scoop the onion bits into the pan.

Throw in a spoonful of fresh minced garlic.

Mine being freshly minced from a jar mind you.

Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil (why extra virgin? because you're going to eat it, and you want the taste) and cook over medium heat for a few minutes until the onions are soft and the garlic is opaque, well, more opaque than it started off, just don't burn the garlic, that's no good to anyone.

Then dump onto a plate or bowl of your choosing and savour.

Oh sure, you could make this a bed for a meat dish, but I find it refreshing all on its own.

Essentially it's batterless onion rings, er, bits anyway, but with extra good stuff and none of the bad stuff.

You don't even have to feel guilty.

Unless you're Catholic and you really, really want to anyway.

I finally talked my wife into permitting me a culinary experiment outside the world of white rice that we were both raised in and that our early days together in college, read poor, necessitated.

We were in Costco to buy the usual bulk staples that having two dogs and two kids under 3 require when presented before me in the aisle was a burlap sack from India.

I have an itch for things I haven't tried before.

Yes, Basmati rice is a bit more expensive than the plain ol' white rice, but it being in Costco held down the unit cost considerably.

Anyway, it really is worth it.

I found Basmati rice to be more robust and aromatic than its generic flavor-and-color-challenged cousin.

Longer and delicately thin compared to white rice, Basmati's body-texture actually holds up better after cooking and resists that transformation to mush.

Basmati's longer aging process may account for this characteristic.

So if you're making rice-pudding, sure, go ahead, use white rice.

If you want a good dinner, use Basmati.

Below is one application for Basmati rice I used recently.  Feel free to imitate or improvise the recipe.

(Recipe feeds two, probably with remnants for left-overs)

What you will need:

Quart size pot with tight lid
Large stove-top skillet, or wok
Small bowl to mix sauce in
One cup dry Basmati rice
One and One-Half cups water
Chicken, one breast or five tenderloin sections
1/4 onion
1 Bell pepper
5 baby carrots (very small)
Handful of green beans
Small amount Sesame oil
Couple TBSP Soy sauce
Couple more TBSP BBQ sauce
1 TBSP minced garlic
1 TBSP brown sugar
Pinch of cayeane pepper
1 drop liquid smoke
5 TBSP of water for sauce

Pour water into the Quart pot and apply high heat to boil.  A pinch of salt to encourage boiling is optional.
When water boils, add Basmati rice, place tight lid on pot and reduce heat to simmer (very low)
Set a timer for 30 minutes.
Place chicken in the skillet on high heat. 
Pour just enough Sesame oil over chicken to coat the bottom of the skillet.
In the small bowl off to the side combine the Soy sauce, garlic, BBQ sauce, brown sugar, cayeane pepper, water for sauce, and liquid smoke.  Stir the liquid mix together well and set aside for later.
Slice the onion and bell pepper into long slivers.
Chop the baby carrots into small medalions.
It's probably time to flip the chicken in the skillet at this point.
This is the part of the cooking process that I like to take a 1-2 beer break and or 1-2 glass of wine break.
But I'm detoxing from that wedding in Southern California last week, so nothing for me until Turkey Day.
Okay, check the chicken and see that it's browned and golden nicely on both sides.
Use a chef knife to slice it into small skinny strips, chunks, cubes, or any geometric shape you fancy.
Just be quick, or it'll turn out too tough to chew.  Go, go, go, chop, chop.
Add in the sliced, diced, and chopped vegetables to the chicken.
Add in the sauce you mixed together.
Stir-fry baby, stir-fry your apron off!
Everything should be happy in a minute or two, and if you planned your beer break accordingly and reduced heat throughout the process keenly as needed, you should be done stir-frying with plenty of sauce left, though now reduced, at nearly the exact second that the Basmati rice 30 minutes has expired.

Dish up and enjoy.