Ohhh - Onion OOOOs

There's a saying "Make hay while the sun shines", well the sun has been shining lots this week! With temperatures above 100 degrees I'm glad I'm in the kitchen making lunch, not in the hayfield. So with a bit of this guilty feeling, I looked for some good ideas for lunch for those who were in the hayfield. A new beef sandwich recipe (a later blog), fresh tomatoes, corn on the cob, fruit cobbler (blog from Feb. 13) - and Oven Fried Onion Rings.
I had just purchased a bag of Vidalia Onions at the store, and wanted a special way to use them. Vidalia onions are unusually sweet, due to the soil in the area of Georgia where they are grown. That area is a legally defined area of 13 counties and portions of 7 more. They are only available in our area in season, so they are a special treat when found. There's even an annual Vidalia Onion Festival, and this is Georgia's official State Vegetable.
The recipe is from the Food Network and easy to do, a bit of a mess but worth it. I prepared half of the ingredients and 1 1/2 onions for a generous 3 servings. Even if you're preparing a full or larger amount, I would prepare the dipping bowls, at least the panko breadcrumbs, in smaller batches, mine got pretty messed up at the end! Also, I sliced the onions very thin, about 1/3 inch - I have a great tool for holding the onion for slicing from Pampered Chef - it looks like a hair pick! With slices that thin they didn't need to be turned. This recipe makes a very crunchy onion ring - much better than the fast-food deep-fried varieties!

Oven Fried Onion Rings

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

3 teaspoons salt (divided)

2 cups buttermilk

4 eggs

3 cups panko breadcrumbs

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 large yellow sweet onions, cut into ¼ - ½ -inch slices

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Placed parchment paper on 2 baking sheets and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine flour, paprika, and 1 ½ tsp. salt. In another bowl or shallow dish, whisk together buttermilk and eggs. Add half of the flour mixture to the buttermilk and beat until smooth and thickened.

In a separate bowl, combine the panko, olive oil and remaining 1 ½ tsp. salt.

Light dredge the onion rings in the flour mixture and then drop into the buttermilk. Drain the excess batter and then dredge in the panko mixture.

Arrange on the prepared baking sheets in a single layer. Place in oven and bake until golden brown 14-12 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time, flip over each onion ring to ensure even crisping and browning (think slices may not need to be flipped) 

3 steps of dipping - messy but worth it!

Ready to go into the oven

Fish Tacos

Fish Tacos? Not a usual thing at our house, in fact I previously thought fish tacos were, well - kind of 'fishy'. Aren't tacos supposed to be beef? They usually are here, but the fish tacos did prove to be a good light summer supper. After raves from daughter Sara and a delicious order from a menu in Santa Fe, I decided to try them at home. Sara shared her recipe with me, and of course I adapted it for our taste and ingredients on hand.

Fish Taco Ingredients
white fish (tilapia is our choice, wish we could find more selection and better prices in our area) - we allowed about 4 oz per person
fish breading (I used a commercial package I had on hand - it was flour, cornmeal and seasoning. I added a dash of paprika, ground cumin and chili powder)
Flour tortilla (We used the 6 inch ones, the restuarant had 4 inch tortillas that made an attractive plate. For a special dinner, I might make my own or cut the 6 inch ones smaller)
shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
chopped tomatoes
shredded cabbage (from a bag of slaw mix)
chopped green and red peppers

Cilantro Lime Sauce (this is what makes it really good!)
1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup Kickin' buffalo mayonaise (new product - good!)
juice of 1 - 1 1/2 limes
1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro (I didn't have fresh, so I used 1 Tablespoon cilantro paste - comes in a tube, very handy)
dash ground cayenne papper
dash ground cumin
Mix together and check the consistency. Add a teaspoon of milk if it needs to be thinner.

Rinse and blot dry fish. Mix breading ingredients in a plastic bag, coat fish by dropping in and turning. Melt 1 Tablespoon each olive oil and butter in a skillet, when melted and hot, add fish. Cook fish 5 minutes on each side over medium heat.
Serve the tacos by coarse-chopping the fish onto the tortillas and adding tomatoes, cabbage, peppers and cheese as garnish. Drizzle with Cilantro Lime Sauce.
We served this with Spanish rice and chips. Easy Spanish rice is to make regular (minute) brown rice and add a couple of tablespoons of salsa.
Hmmm - we will do this again, good for a summer supper. But we won't forget our beef tacos!

Here's my plate at Capital Grill in Santa Fe

Fish Taco at home, on a 6-inch tortilla

Salad Season

About a month ago, our local United Methodist Women's group had their spring guest day - a salad luncheon. It seems like summer is the Salad Season, and covered dish get-togethers with salads are a tasty and refreshing meal.
There are an abundance of salad recipes that can be sweet, tangy, savory or smooth and can include any fruit or vegetable or even meat you want to. Salad recipes also go in trends, food has fashions just like clothing and home furnishings. In my recipe collection, I have old recipes from my mother that parallel a timeline of history; Seven-Up Party Salad and Watergate Salad reflect current events and trends of their times. Lots of Jello salads were popular in the 60's and 70's. Today salads often have ethnic flavors, such as Greek, Italian, or Mexican, to coordinate with popular main courses.
Whatever the favorite flavor, salads are a tasty and often cool and refreshing summer side for grilled meats, or a light meal in themselves. And, as with UMW luncheons, a good selection of tastes for a shared  meal. Here are a couple of recipes I took to that luncheon. The Pasta Salad has an Italian flair and is one of my favorites. The ColeSlaw salad recipe was shared by a friend who called it "the Catholic Church Women's Funeral Dinner Salad". She said it is easily increased if needed with a quick trip to the grocery store for another bag of Coleslaw, sometimes a necessity during a funeral dinner.

Black-Eyed Pea Pasta Salad

1 jar (7-1/2 oz) marinated quartered artichoke hearts

1 cup uncooked tricolor spiral pasta (my family likes it with more pasta)

1 can (15-1/2 oz) black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained

½ cup shredded Swiss (or Provolone) cheese

½ cup chopped green pepper

½ cup chopped sweet red pepper

½ cup thinly sliced red onion

½ cup sliced pepperoni, cut into thin strips (the mini-pepperonis work well)

½ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup prepared Italian salad dressing

Drain artichokes, reserving ¼ cup liquid; chop and set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine the artichokes, peas, cheese, peppers onion and pepperoni. Drain pasta; add to artichoke mixture.

In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, salad dressing and reserved artichoke liquid. Pour over pasta mixture, toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Cole Slaw Salad

1 sack coleslaw mix

1 cup frozen peas

1 bag shredded cheese

½ bottle Otts poppy seed or honey mustard dressing

1 cup dry roasted peanuts

Mix – add peanuts at end, just before serving.

Mama Mia Meatloaf

I thought I already had the best meatloaf recipe, and I consider meatloaf a personal preference. Something you only eat at home, because nobody else makes it like 'mom' does, or at least your favorite version. It does seem like we each have a different idea of what meatloaf should be, so I never order it at a restaurant and seldom like it when other people prepare it! But, on a whim, I tried another recipe (which I tweaked), and this is a nice alternative, not that I'm giving up the 'tried and true' version (Meaty Monday blog of November 21, 2011).
Meat loaf has been around for centuries and was a way to make a small amount of meat serve many people, use food ingredients on hand, and make tough meat palatable. Thank goodness we now have more appetizing reasons to serve meatloaf and can use nutritious and tasty ground beef instead of the odd and less desirable cuts of earlier meatloaf.
This recipe has an Italian flavor and makes a nice change from spaghetti with meatballs. I served it with squash cakes (the abundant plants of last summer left some seeds in the garden!) and pasta salad.

Mama Mia Meatloaf

1 egg, beaten

1 cup marinara sauce

½ cup Italian seasoned croutons (crush to make crumbs)

½ cup finely chopped green peppers

¼ cup finely chopped onion

2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

2 pounds ground beef

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tbs. grated Parmesan cheese

In a bowl, combine the egg, ½ cup marinara sauce, crouton crumbs, onion,  green pepper,  Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Add beef, mix well. On a large piece on heavy-duty foil, pat meat mixture into a 15-inch x 10-inch rectangle. Sprinkle cheese to within ½ inch of edges. Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting with a short side and peeling foil away while rolling. Seal seam and ends. Transfer to a large baking sheet with sides. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Pour remaining ½ cup of marinara sauce over meat loaf and sprinkle with cheese. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes. 

Here is the meat mixture ready to roll before baking

The finished meatloaf - yumm!

Favorite Dessert for a Favorite Friend

This week was another change at the County Extension Office where I worked for so many years. The Office Professional and my good friend Cherie retired after 28 years of handling the details for fairs, 4-H enrollments, agents schedules, newsletters, and many other events. She will be greatly missed, but I know she is looking forward to more 'coffee time' and I'm looking forward to more 'friend time' with her.
In honor of this change, we held a small gathering of friends for lunch and dessert - with coffee. This dessert is a favorite of mine, and I knew Cherie would like it as it contains two of her favorites - coconut cream and ice cream! It similar to a previous dessert I posted, but I think this one is even better! The previous recipe works well for a covered dish buffet, while this one is best served immediately.

Coconut Cream Dessert
2 1/2 cups crushed butter-flavored crackers (about 68 crackers or 2 sleeves of Ritz)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons margarine, melted (this is one recipe where margarine is really better, butter makes a very hard crust, difficult to cut and serve)
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened
1/2 cup cold milk
2 packages (3.4 ounces each) instant coconut bream pudding mix
1 carton (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1/3 cup flaked coconut, toasted
In a bowl, combine the cracker crumbs and margarine (food processor works well - crush the crackers, then add the melted margarine to form the crust). Mix well. Press into an ungreased 13-in x 9-inch x 2-in dish. In a mixing bowl, combine the ice cream, milk and pudding mixes. Spread over the crust; top with whipped topping and coconut. Cover and freeze for up to 2 months (as if you could stay out of it that long!) Remove from freezer 15 minutes before serving. Cut into 15-18 servings.
One serving of 15 is 390 calories, you could reduce calories by using skim milk, sugar-free pudding mixes, and fat-free whipped topping, and by cutting into smaller pieces!
I think it would be fun to try this in different flavors - chocolate with chocolate pudding topped with shaved chocolate curls, lemon with lemon pudding and crushed lemon drops on top, or other flavors of pudding mix accented on top with corresponding chopped dried fruit for flavor and visual accent.

It's creamy and yummy!

One of Cherie's retirement joys
will be Grandmothering!