Fried Vidalia Onion Food

CRISPY VIDALIA ONION RINGS IN BUTTERMILK BATTER

Steps:

• In a 3-quart pot, preheat 4-inches oil to 375 degrees F.
• In a shallow bowl, combine flours, cayenne, paprika, salt, and white pepper. Pour the buttermilk into another shallow dish.
• Toss the onion rings in the flour mixture and shake off excess flour. Add to buttermilk mixture and make sure the rings are thoroughly coated. With a clean hand, add rings to flour mix again and shake off any excess flour.
• Begin to fry in preheated oil in small batches, 1/4 of total amount at a time. Cook onion rings for about 3 to 5 minutes, turning occasionally with metal tongs or slotted spoon, until crispy and browned. Drain on paper towels and keep in warm place (low oven, about 200 degrees F) until ready to serve. Sprinkle with extra salt, if needed.
• In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, sweat onions and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add peppers and vegetable stock and stew until 1/2 of stock has evaporated. Add spices and chiles. Cover with vinegar and wine. Allow to cook, uncovered, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Let cool, then puree in a food processor, and season with pepper and salt, to taste.
• Yield: 3 cups Preparation Time: 30 minutes Cooking Time: 1 hour

CREAMED VIDALIA ONIONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a stoveproof gratin dish over medium-high heat; add 4 pounds Vidalia onions (cut into wedges) and cook 5 minutes. Add a pinch each of nutmeg, cayenne, salt and black pepper, then add 3 tablespoons white wine and simmer 2 minutes. Whisk 1 1/4 cups half-and-half and 3 tablespoons flour; stir into the onions and bring to a boil. Mix 2 tablespoons melted butter, 1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), 2 tablespoons chopped chives, and salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the onion, cover with parchment paper and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and broil until golden, 5 more minutes.

VIDALIA ONION FRITTERS

Steps:

• 1. Place 1 3/4 cups flour, the baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and whisk to mix.
• 2. Place 2 cups of the milk, the eggs, vinegar, and hot sauce in another bowl and whisk until blended, then pour into the flour mixture and whisk until just blended; do not overmix. Stir in the sliced onions and let the batter rest for 30 minutes. It should be slightly thicker than heavy cream. If it isn't, sprinkle in a little more flour. If it's too thick, add a little more milk. The batter should look somewhat free-form, not doughy.
• 3. Preheat the oven to its lowest setting.
• 4. Pour vegetable oil to a depth of 4 inches into a large, heavy saucepan and heat to 375°F on a deep-fry thermometer. Drop the onion fritter batter into the hot oil by the tablespoonful, a few at a time, and fry, turning once, until the fritters are golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes in all. The fritters will have an irregular, spiderlike look, with a few loose pieces of onion escaping here and there. Check a fritter by breaking it open to see if the center Is cooked; it it still seems unset, cook 1 minute more. Drain on paper towels. Place the fritters in the oven to keep warm while you finish frying them all. Serve on a doily-lined platter or in a lined woven basket accompanied by the dipping sauce in one or more bowls.

FRIED VIDALIA ONION

Steps:

• 1. Heat oil in a deep-fryer to 350 F. Whisk together the egg and the milk in a medium sized bowl. In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, peppers, oregano, thyme and cumin. Slice 1/2-an inch off the top of the onion and the bottom of the onion. Slice the onion in half, about 3/4-of ghe way down without slicing all the way through. Slice into quarters, then into 1/8s. Repeat this until you have cut the onion into 14 sections. Spread the "petals" of the onion apart and dip the onion in the milk mixture. Then coat it liberally with the dry ingredients. Separate the "petals" and sprinkle the dry coating between them. Place the battered onion in the hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove to a paper towel lined sheet tray and season with salt and pepper.
• 2. Creamy Dill Sauce: In a small bowl, combine ingredients and whisk together. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve with Fried Vidalia Onion.

CORN AND VIDALIA ONION SALAD

Steps:

• Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for medium-high heat, or preheat the broiler.
• Place the corn on the grill or in a broiler pan. Cook, turning every 5 minutes, until lightly browned all over, about 20 minutes. Let cool, then cut the kernels from the ears (you should have about 3 cups).
• Coat the grill or broiler pan with cooking spray. Grill the onion slices for 5 minutes on each side.
• Combine the corn, onions, cilantro, tomatoes, vinegar, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Toss well and serve.

GREEN TOMATO AND VIDALIA ONION GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Render bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. Transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Add the bread crumbs to a small bowl. Remove 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat from the skillet and stir into the bread crumbs. Add the onion rounds to the skillet in batches and cook, without breaking the round slices apart, until there is some golden color, about 5 to 6 minutes per side.
• To assemble the gratin, overlap the green tomato slices in 1 row in a large baking dish, about 9 by 11 inches. Next, make a row slightly overlapping of the partially cooked onion rounds, being careful to keep the slices intact. Repeat steps until all tomatoes and onions are used. Season tomatoes and onions lightly with salt and heavily with pepper. Crumble the bacon over the vegetables; sprinkle the grated Cheddar over the top followed by the bread crumbs. Bake until the cheese is bubbly, about 30 to 45 minutes. If the top is getting too brown, loosely cover with foil.

THE ABSOLUTE BEST FRIED VIDALIA ONION RINGS

Steps:

• Slice onions into rings. In 1 bowl, mix together flour, salt and baking powder. In another bowl, beat egg yolk, then stir in milk and vegetable oil. Combine wet and dry ingredients, stir until smooth. In a third bowl, beat egg white until soft peaks form, then fold into egg-flour mixture, stirring until smooth. Dip onion rings into batter and deep fry.

VIDALIA ONION AND MUSHROOM PIE

Steps:

• Fit the pastry into a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate, then flute edges as desired; cover with plastic wrap and chill while making the filling.
• In a large skillet melt butter over medium heat; add in the sliced onions with mushrooms; saute for about 15 minutes or until the onions are tender (adding in the garlic if using, the last 3 minutes).
• In a large bowl whisk together the eggs with whipping cream, Parmesan cheese, thyme, salt, black pepper and nutmeg.
• Add in the onion/mushroom mixture; stir to combine then spoon into the prepared pie shell.
• Place the pie plate onto a baking sheet.
• Set oven to 350 degrees (set oven rack to bottom position).
• Bake for about 45 minutes or until done.
• Delicious!

KICK A%% FRIED ONION RINGS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
• Combine the buttermilk, hot pepper sauce and sugar in a medium bowl until the sugar dissolves.
• Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, Old Bay, salt and pepper in a shallow baking dish.
• Peel and cut the onions into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
• Separate the onion slices into rings and towel dry.
• Dip the rings in the buttermilk and shake off the excess liquid.
• Dredge the rings in the flour mixture, shake off the excess.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil to 400 degrees over medium-high heat in a large heavy pan.
• Add the onions to form a single layer on the oil's surface and cook until golden brown, no more than 3 minutes.
• Using tongs, transfer the onions to the paper towel-lined plate.
• Let stand 2 minutes to drain, then carefully transfer to the rack in the warm oven.
• Repeat till all are fried.
• Season with salt!
• Serve!