Cornmeal fried Onion Rings

Something new in the Curious kitchen - deep frying! I wanted a little adventure and a little sinfulness, even if it is still Lent. To take the chill off the early spring, the menu on a Sunday was grilled ribeye steak with fresh-fried onion rings. The recipe comes from Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten.

I have not tried deep frying before because it seems to me it makes a great mess and maybe complicated too. To counter this, to fry I have used a deeper pot (a Le Creuset in this case) to prevent splattering, and had everything in place before starting the process. In the end, it was a simple recipe and the end result is addictively delicious!

Useful tools: deep and heavy pot, candy thermometer, metal tongs

Cornmeal-fried Onion Rings
Serves 4-6

3 yellow onions (or 2 Spanish onions) - peels and sliced to 1/2-3/4 inches
3 cups buttermilk or 3 cups milk and 3 tablespoons white vinegar (let sit 5 minutes)
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup medium cornmeal
1 quart (4 cups) vegetable oil

Heat oven to 200F and have sheet prepared with paper towel, when ready to fry the onions.

Combine buttermilk, 2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Add onions and soak for at least 15 minutes (up to a few hours). In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Soaking and dredging stations

Heat oil to 350F in large pot (use a candy thermometer or equivalent to measure). Working in batches, lift out some onions and dredge in the flour mixture. I found using a fork made this easy. The rings should be lightly coated - just this amount makes a crispy flavourful coating.

Ready to go in the fryer

Drop the rings into the oil (don't crowd), and fry for 2 minutes. Flip using tongs once, frying until golden brown.

Readjust the heat if the oil gets to hot or cools off

Put the finished rings onto the sheet and sprinkle liberally with salt.

Keep them warm in the oven until all the onions are fried. They keep for about 30 minutes. Serve them hot!

These were excellent with a hot grilled steak:

Hidden love in the loaf

Got a picky vegetable eater (i.e., doesn't eat vegetables)?. Do they happen to love meatloaf? Here is something I whipped up last Sunday that is not only mouthwatering comfort food, but you can be comforted to know that you are giving multiple vegetables and healthy fiber in each serving to the one you love. This meatloaf has a slightly sweet, savoury flavour, with a hint of smokey bacon - a nice change of pace. Perfectly paired with mashed potatoes or polenta.

My inspiration was a fridge full of leftover Swiss chard (from the fantastic recipe from last week), and other vegetables just languishing in the crisper. The great thing about this recipe is that you can pull out anything in this category, as it will be finely chopped beyond visual recognition. So before we get into an ethical debate on non-disclosure ingredients, I pull the desperate times desperate measures card.

Useful tool: food processor or chopper (I just put all the vegetables in at the same time and finely chop)

I apologize for no photos for the next couple posts - it has been a busy couple weeks!

Hidden Love Loaf
Serves 6
Total Time: 1.5 hours
Inspiration recipe from Gourmet, February 2008

1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs (from 2 slices whole wheat bread)

1/3 cup whole milk

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced (optional)

1 cup swiss chard (or other greens: kale, spinach), finely chopped

1 pepper (sweet bell, poblano, anaheim), finely chopped

1 medium carrot, finely chopped

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon soy sauce (or 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, skip the pom. molasses)

1/2 tablespoon pomegranate molasses (optional)

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 pound bacon (about 4 slices), chopped (I try to use brands without nitrates)

1/2 cup pitted prunes, chopped

1 1/2 pounds ground beef chuck

1/2 pound ground pork (not lean)

2 large eggs

1/3 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Soak bread crumbs in milk in a large bowl.

Meanwhile, cook onion, garlic, greens, pepper, and carrot in butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Cover skillet and reduce heat to low, then cook until carrot is tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soy sauce, molasses, vinegar, allspice, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Add to bread-crumb mixture.

Finely chop bacon and prunes in a food processor, then add to onion mixture along with beef, pork, eggs, and parsley and mix together with your hands.

Pack mixture into a 9- by 5-inch oval loaf in a 13- by 9-inch shallow baking dish or pan.

Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of meatloaf registers 155°F, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Let stand 10 minutes before serving, with a secret smile of satisfaction.