Fancy Schmancy: Let’s Talk Onions November 18, 2008
Posted by glassowater in My Little Life, food.Tags: food, onions, Thanksgiving
5 comments
No Thanksgiving is ever complete without an appearance by my favorite stinky vegetable: Onions.
A lot of my recipes require onions in one form or another. Whether it be as flavoring in a brine, filler for a bird or a secondary ingrediant in many other dishes from chilis and curries to marinaras and stuffings, onions are everywhere in my diet. And for Thanksgiving, onions are given a special place to shine as their own separate side dish.
Here I will give you two separate ideas for serving onions that will allow their sweetness and spiciness to shine through without overpowering the other dishes on the table.
First up: CLOVE ONIONS
This is so simple, it’s hardly worth calling this a recipe.
one bag medium sized onions
dried cloves
salt
pepper
butter
Peel about 12 onions or so. Basically, you want enough to fill a good sized two inch deep baking dish. Slice off the tops and bottoms of the onions so that they will sit flat and have a flat top. Butter the baking dish and arrange the onions in the dish. Take individual cloves and insert them into the tops of each onion. If you have picked the right size, you should be able to insert about 6 cloves per onion top. Be sure to insert the clove deep enough to infuse the onion but not so deep that you lose the clove. You want to be able to easily remove them after baking. Nobody wants to bite into a clove. Woody grittiness does not make for a pleasant eating experience. Apply a dab of butter to each onion and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap in tinfoil and place into a 350 degree oven for about 50 minutes. Onions should be cooked but still slightly firm. Remove cloves, places onions in serving dish and enjoy. Simple, easy, fun and packed with flavor!
Second: PEARL ONIONS IN A BALSAMIC VINEGAR DEMIGLAZE
Ok, this one is a little more involved, but the reward at the end is well worth all the effort.
1 lb of pearl onions, peeled
1/2 cup good quality balsamic vinegar
3-5 tablespoons of sugar
kosher salt
pepper
fresh rosemary
fresh thyme
parsley
1/4 cup red wine
After removing fresh time and rosemary from their stems, chop coarsley and add to a preheated deep sautee pan. Allow herbs to brown slightly. Do not burn or roast, you just want to develop the flavors a little. Add balsamic vinegar. Please make sure you use the good stuff. Your tastebuds will thank you later. Allow balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan and bring to a simmer. Add sugar and whisk until sugar desolves completely. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer and thicken. Add onions and toss till all the onions are coated. Red wine to deglaze the pan again, salt and pepper to taste and cover. Reduce heat and allow to simmer covered for 20 minutes on low heat. Chop fresh parsley and combine with onions in a serving dish. Enjoy!
I think I came up with this recipe after watching a Food Network show. I don’t remember exactly how much is mine or how much was on the show, but I’ll take the full credit for the deliciousness. The onions come out sweet with the tartness of the balsamic vinegar balanced by the rosemary and thyme and the wine. These make wonderful fillers for my Leftovers Shepherds Pie. But again, that’s for later…..
Squash: My Mother’s Favorite Side Dish November 18, 2008
Posted by glassowater in My Little Life, food.Tags: food, squash, Thanksgiving
4 comments
When I was a kid, I HATED squash. Hated the smell, the texture, the taste. The whole experience from beginning to end was nightmare of buttery bland squishiness and yet, my family loved it. I always felt a little left out when my family would ooo and aaah over the savory orange pile on their plates that they couldn’t wait to dive into. Meanwhile, I would be sitting there, holding the fork as far away from me as I could, poking at it like i expected it to spring to life and smother me to death with it’s oozy creaminess.
That was then.
As we grow older, our tastes definitely become more and more sophisticated. The more our palettes experience, the more we find we like, dislike, tolerate or outright loathe. Squash grew on me. It took a long time and it took alot of patience and experimentation on my part.
You name it, I have probably tried it: spaghetti squash, hubbard, acorn and, of course, the dreaded staple of the Thanksgiving Feast: butternut squash. I have experimented with many methods for preparing squash, but today, I want to share my ultimate butternut squash for thanksgiving. After years of experimenting, this concoction is the one that made me a true fan of something I once considered so vile.
ULTIMATE BUTTERNUT SQUASH
You will need:
1 whole butternut squash
2 small baking apples
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup of water
teaspoon vanilla
fresh ground nutmeg
allspice
fresh ground cinnamon
1/2 stick of butter
1/4 cup cream
pinch kosher salt
pinch of pepper
half lemon, juiced
dried cranberries (optional)
almond slivers for garnish
Cut the squash in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds. Place it skin side down onto a cookie sheet and place in a 350 degree over for 40 minutes or until it is fork tender. Then turn off the oven and turn on the broiler. Place squash halves under broiler for about 5 to 10 minutes. Careful! Don’t let it burn, you only want to bring out more of the sugars in the meat by lightly browning the edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Remove the skin from the squash and place the meat in a large mixing bowl. Break down squash with a hand masher or fork. Combine 1/2 stick of butter, pinch of kosher salt (to taste), pinch of pepper (to taste), 1/4 cup of cream and fresh ground nutmeg with squash and mix thoroughly and set aside.
Peel and core the two apples. Roughly chop them into chunks and place in a shallow bowl. Combine with the lemon juice and set aside. In a medium sauce pan, combine the water, sugar and brown sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and add apples, ground cinnamon, vanilla and allspice. Simmer on low heat until mixture thickens. Remove from heat allow to cool to room temperature.
Add the apple mixture to the squash and combine roughly. You don’t want this to be a smooth mixture, you want it rough and chunky. (Note: you can combine dried cranberries to this at the end if you like) Spoon into a serving dish, garnish with some almond slivers and a little parsley and enjoy.
This single dish, from years of playing around with different squash recipes, has made me a fan for life. The nutty roasted flavors of the squash right out of the oven combined with the sweet goodness of apples, spices and sugar come together to create a savory side dish that can stand alone as a star all by itself. This side makes a hearty and sweet addition to my Leftovers Shepherds Pie, but thats a post for another time.
