Vidalia Onion Relish

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At work today, Chris, my demo partner, was talking about an onion relish she had just made.  She got the recipe from one of the Food Network guys and just loved it.  The dicing of 4 cups of onions brought tears to her eyes, but the finished product brought a smile to her face.

I decided I needed to make some.

Once upon a time we had a caramelized red onion relish that I really, really liked, but, alas, it is no more.   I used up my last jar a while ago and kept thinking I wanted to just make some - but never did.

I thought I might try and make one today, but the vidalia's looked really good.

I sliced instead of diced, and kinda made up the recipe as I went along.  I have to admit that I did good.

Vidalia Onion Relish

  • 3 pounds vidalia onions, sliced
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 tsp celery seed
  • 3 tbsp sherry vinegar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • salt and pepper

Saute the onions in the butter until beginning to brown, stirring often.  Add celery seeds, then vinegar, mixing in well.

Add sugar and cook until syrupy, about 3 or 4 minutes.

Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Chill until ready to use.

Tomorrow, I'm going to serve it on top of cold grilled flank steak on baguette slices for an hors d'oeuvre.

Yum.


White Onions and Red Peppers

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I thought about Italian sausages all day.  Spicy hot Italian sausages.  With onions.  And peppers.  And shavings of Locatelli.

It's great when reality matches imagination.  I imagined all day just how great those sausages would be on the grill and then topped with onions and peppers - and biting into them was every bit as good as I imagined.  I cooked the onions and peppers in a drop of olive oil and added a pinch of salt and pepper.  Nothing else.  I didn't even toast the roll.  I used a potato peeler to shave off pieces of the cheese.   We had garlic fries on the side.

No vampires in our neighborhood, tonight!


Sometimes Iceberg Lettuce Is Good.

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There is something deeply satisfying about the watery crunch of iceberg lettuce that brings me back to my childhood;  a time when a salad was always iceberg  lettuce, and a fancy salad was a wedge of iceberg lettuce.  Topped with 1000 Island dressing, of course.

Many folks believe that iceberg is one of the least-nutritious of the lettuces, but every now and again, I want that crunch.  So... I figure if I add a few nice nutritional things to the salad, I break even.

Tonight it was roasted vegetables - zucchini, broccolini, mushrooms, yellow bell peppers, leftover flank steak, and a homemade 1000 Island dressing.  And a couple of cherry pepper shooters.

I also made a few slices of garlic toast.  I burned it - but we ate it, anyway.  It wasn't totally and completely charred.


Leftovers

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To say that the California Supreme Court ruling today put me in a cranky mood would be an understatement.  But even cranky non-married homosexuals have to eat, so it was a scour the fridge for leftover's evening.  I just wasn't in the mood.

Last night's onions and peppers went on a chicken breast and mozzarella cheese went on top if it.  Leftover baked beans from Sunday, and leftover rice.  Done.

Dessert will be leftover ice cream.

I need ice cream tonight.


Memorial Day Mexican

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I figure anyone can grill burgers and dogs on Memorial Day (we did it yesterday!) but it takes a true reprobate to make fajitas!  I did actually grill the flank steak, but that's pretty much about where tradition ended.

When I picked up the flank steak on Friday, the thought process was to make my Spicy Orienta Flank Steak at some point this weekend for an hors d'oeuvre.   I never got around to it - we had more food all weekend long than may emerging nations see in a year.

Today may be a holiday, but it's also my Monday grocery shopping day (lord knows I can't grocery shop any other day of the week!) so whilst meandering through the store, seeing all of the huge Memorial Day Barbecue displays with the catsup and mustard and 2-for-1 hamburger buns, I thought... "Fajitas would be good tonight"!

And I was right - they were!

First I made a dry rub for the flank steak:

Dry Rub

  • chipotle powder
  • garlic powder
  • cumin
  • smoked paprika
  • Mexican oregano
  • salt and pepper

Mix well and rub into flank steak and allow to set for an hour or so at room temperature.

And then it was time to make the Mexican Rice.

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The rice recipe idea comes from Bon Appetit.  I made a couple of changes (how unusual) like substituting Happy Hal's Jalapeno Relish for the serrano chiles, and I cut everything in half  -I just didn't need that much.  And I added a bit of chopped tomato to the rice and used beef stock instead of chicken stock.  Otherwise, I made the rice just as the recipe states...  LOL!

Mexican Rice

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large white onion, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon minced seeded serrano chiles
  • 2 cups long-grain white rice
  • 3 1/4 cups low-salt chicken broth
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • Cilantro Dressing (homemade)

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and serrano; sauté until onion is translucent, about 9 minutes. Mix in rice; stir 2 minutes. Mix in broth and salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook until rice is just tender and broth is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes.

Transfer rice to bowl; cool to barely lukewarm, stirring occasionally, about 1 1/2 hours. Add 1/2 cup cilantro dressing to rice; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

And the Cilantro Dressing.  Definitely make your own!!!

Cilantro Dressing

  • 1 1/4 cups (packed) coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 5 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon minced seeded serrano chile

Combine all ingredients in processor. Blend until almost smooth. Season dressing with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to room temperature; rewhisk before using.)

The rice was surprising.  It's served at room temperature and has a hidden kick to it.  Even cutting the recipe in half, I doubt I used a full third of a cup of oil.  I don't think it needs as much oil as the recipe calls for.  I really liked it and it has given me a few ideas...

5-25-guacamole

And Victor made guacamole for the very first time in his life!  (I know, I was pretty shocked, m'self!)  And, he nailed it!

Victor's Guacamole

  • avocados
  • diced tomato
  • diced onion
  • garlic powder
  • Tabasco sauce
  • fresh lime juice
  • salt and pepper

Chop, mix, eat.

The other accompaniments were refried beans, corn and flour tortillas, and sour cream.

All in all, a great dinner and Victor has a couple of days of luncheon leftovers.


Luncheon is served...

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The pasta salad was to-die-for-good.

Little purses of pasta stuffed with prosciutto - how can it be bad?  And an anchovy vinaigrette that was out of this world!  Unfortunately, there's not going to be a recipe, because Victor just 'made' it.  There was the pasta, zucchini, oil-cured olives, yellow bell peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, shaved cheese...  The dressing had balsamic, garlic, anchovies, and olive oil that I know of... Sorry I can't be more help.  This particular salad was born of the things that were in the refrigerator today.  It was wonderful and it will never be identically replicated.  That's okay, because the next one will be equally good!

I had cut up a ton of fruit salad on the 22nd, and it was dwindling down.  Victor added half a small watermelon - all nicely cubed - and in just a few minutes it picked up that lovely champagne flavor.

There were also a few cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and baked beans...

And there's plenty of leftovers for dinner tonight!


Sunday Fun

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A yummy breakfast!

I love those little frozen croissants!  Proof overnight and bake in the morning.  See?!?  Every now and again I don't have to mill the wheat or milk the cow before making something.  I can take shortcuts, too!

And those croissants are worth taking a shortcut, for.  They are infinitely better than packaged croissants, and we don't have a bakery nearby that malkes them fresh...

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Breakfast was a split croissant with fresh mozzarella melted over Canadian bacon and topped with poached eggs.  I toyed with the idea of a hollandaise, and then said hell with it - this was enough!

A second croissant to sop up the perfectly runny yolk, and it was gastronomic-btreakfast-heaven!

Victor's making pasta salad right now and later we're grilling burgers and dogs...  I might make some potato salad, too.

It's a holiday food-fest.

I like it!


More Barbie Fun

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There is some serious fire under those onions and cubes of beef.  I had to keep 'em moving around... but that's part of the fun of playing with your food.

I had to get more of the spring bulb onions - they are just too good for words - and the rest of the grill pan is broccoli, baby yukon gold potatoes, bell peppers, and mushrooms.  I added a tomato at the last minute for some color.  A drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper is all they needed.  Simple is good.

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Just got off the phone with Victor's mom.  She'll be over for lunch tomorrow - burgers and dogs, pasta salad, fruit salad...  I have chicken breasts marinating for tomorrow night's dinner, and flank steak for Monday.

I have a feeling this is going to be a bit of a food-centric weekend.

But then - when isn't it?!?


A Classic BLT

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After grilling steaks all day long, I really wasn't in the mood to come home and grill some more.  Mariel to the rescue!  Marie and I work together and she mentioned she was making BLT's.  I immediately knew I had to have one for dinner.  It was a perfect idea.

I got home and first thing I said to Victor was "how about BLT's for dinner"?  His immediate response was "start cooking"!  It seems he was really in the mood for a BLT, as well!

We already had a multigrain pullman loaf, so I toasted some nice, thick slices, cooked some bacon, slathered on the mayo, and we had an early dinner.

It was absolutely perfect.  Just what I wanted.

I also cut up a huge batch of fruit salad - melon, strawberries, blackberries, and added a bit of champagne.  Everything is better with champagne, right?!?

And now it's sit back and relax.

Cupcakes later on.

Life is good.


Outdoor Dining

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First off...  Do you have ANY idea how wonderful a grilled spring onion tastes?!?   All I can say is WOW!  So sweet, so mild, so unbelievably tasty.  Can you tell I really liked them?!?  Yumlicious!

The weather is absolutely perfect right now...  Thank the stars for wireless networks and laptop computers!  It's definitely too nice to be indoors.

And with weather like this, you just have to grill and/or eat salads.  It's a rule.  A good rule, I might add (since I'm such a non-rule follower most of the time)!

Underneath that huge plate of food is a bed of arugula.  Topped with:

  • The aforementioned grilled spring onions
  • grilled peppercorn pork tenderloin
  • grilled zucchini
  • sliced baratta
  • feta
  • oil-cured olives
  • thin-sliced cucumber
  • strawberries
  • blackberries
  • grape tomatoes
  • alfalfa sprouts

And topped with a vinaigrette made with:

  • Spanish olive oil
  • 15 year old balsamic
  • fresh basil
  • fresh oregano
  • fresh mint
  • fresh parsley
  • garlic  cloves
  • salt and pepper

The cheese got nice and soft under the pork tenderloin.  The strawberries and blackberries contrasted with the feta and the onions.  The olives added saltiness.  It was a total taste-sensation.  And cleanup was a snap!

We have cupcakes for dessert.....


More Grilling Fun

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I got to leave work early today.  The weather was just perfect.  Why stay inside?!?

I wanted to finish reformatting my laptop computer and getting it set up to work outside, so Her Highness The Dog and I headed out back.  Cybil crawled under her favorite rhododendron and I started with the simple stuff - reinstalling the virus protection.  I'm downloading the free McAfee from Comcast, but the preinstalled Norton won't delete.  McAfee won't install with Norton on the computer and then I lose my wireless internet.

Three hours later, everything is working just as it should and I have to move because the sun is way too hot and the glare is way too glaring.  The saltines I ate for lunch have not fulfilled their promise, and it's getting time for dinner.  If I had just spent three hours in the kitchen we'd be eating like kings tonight.  I definitely hadn't thought this through.

Pork chops on the bone, a stovetop variation of Phoebe's baked beans, and brussel's sprouts with mustard.   I have the coals ready, the beans on the stove, brussel's sprouts a cookin' - and decide I'm making cupcakes for dessert.  Right now.

I had planned on making them earlier in the day, but I spent three hours playing with the computer.

Out comes the three-year old copy of Bon Appetit and the Limoncello cupcake recipe.  A quick scan tells me that the limoncello is in the glaze/icing, so I don't have to run downstairs right away.

Stir the beans, zest and juice the lemons, sift the flour, stir the beans.  Cover the brussel's sprouts, measure the buttermilk.

Victor comes into the litchen at just the right time, and he is immedieately delegated to grill the chops.  I love a man who can cook!

Cupcakes get into the oven, pork chops perfectly cooked, beans are great, brussel's sprouts overcooked and mushy.  Oh well.  Three out of four ain't bad.  Four minutes into dinner, the timer goes off.  Cupcakes are out and cooling.

Sometime during all of this I realize that there is no limocello downstairs.  Drat.  Victor needs to make a new batch, but just hasn't gotten around to it.  But there's plenty of butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar...  A lemon cream cheese icing is born.  Basic.  Simple.

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The Bon Appetit recipe:

Strawberry-Topped Lemon Cupcakes with Limoncello Glaze

Cupcakes:
2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup finely grated lemon peel

Glaze and topping:
3/4 cup (or more) powdered sugar
3 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp limoncello or other lemon liquer
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp freshly grated lemon peel

18 strawberries

For cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 18 standard muffin cups with paper liners. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in dry ingredients in three additions alternately with buttermilk in two additions. Beat in lemon juice and lemon peel. Divide batter among liners.

Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to racks.

Meanwhile, prepare glaze and topping: Stir 3/4 cup powdered sugar, butter, limoncello, lemon juice and grated lemon peel in small saucepan over low heat until butter melts and glaze comes to simmer. Whisk in additional powdered sugar by tablespoonfuls if glaze is very thin. Spoon 1 tsp warm glaze over each warm cupcake. Cool cupcakes completely.

Arrange 1 strawberry atop each cupcake. Drizzle remaining limoncello glaze over. Let cupcakes stand until glaze sets, about 2 hours.

They were really good.  One thing to note, though, is the cake is much more of a sponge-type than a soft-crumb type.  The cream cheese frosting was great, but I can really see how the warm limocello glaze being drizzled over the warm cupcake would be perfection.

Make the glaze!

I'm going to, next time!


Purple asparagus is really green

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Years ago, Victor and I were at a farmers market in Oakland somewhere, and we bought purple green beans for some ridiculous price - maybe 8 bucks a pound. Really ridiculous.  I was going to do something fun with them - a cold bean salad or something - and dropped them into boiling water to blanch them.  They immediately - as in immediately - turned green.  That was the very last time I ever bought purple green beans.

Fast-forward 15 or so years and what's on the market?  Purple asparagus.  I bought them knowing they were going to turn green.  I was not disappointed.  They turned green.  But, they at least were a deeper green than the asparagus we had the other night.  And they did taste good.

Victor made a tomato vinaigrette for them with grape tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, fresh basil, and sherry vinegar.  Yumlicious.

Simple grilled chicken breast with papaya lime marinade and white rice.

And we still have a few cookies for dessert!