Italian Onions (Family Favorites)

The next recipe I wanted to revisit from my cookbook, Carrie's Experimental Kitchen, for the Family Favorites theme is this one for Italian Onions; especially since today is National Hot Dog Day. This Italian Onion recipe originated from my Great Uncle Artie Palladino and he graciously shared it with me a few years ago. He uses water instead of chicken broth so if you're looking for a vegetarian option, you can use that or vegetable broth instead. I really like how simple and quick these are to make and they have become a staple at all of our summer barbecues. Since I don't eat hot dogs, I personally like to add these Italian Onions to a nice juicy burger or grilled Italian sausage sandwich . 

Italian Onions
Prep Time:  5 minutes    Cook Time: 35 minutes   Total Time: 40 minutes    Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 Vidalia Onion
• 1 tbsp. Butter
• 1/2 c. Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 3/4 c. Ketchup (I used Heinz)
• 1 tbsp. Dried Oregano
• Kosher Salt, to taste
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Cut the top and bottom off of the onion and peel back the skin. Cut the onion in half lengthwise, then slice into thin strips. 
2. Add the onions to a medium saucepan along with the butter and simmer over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes. 
3. Once the onions have started to soften, add the chicken broth and reduce heat to low. Simmer approximately 15 minutes until the onions become translucent; stirring every 5 minutes.
4. Add the ketchup, oregano, salt and pepper and simmer for another 15 minutes. Serve hot. Can be prepared up to three days ahead of time and kept refrigerated. 

Nutrition Facts

Calories 70, Carbs 11.7g, Fat 2.9g, Protein .3g, Fiber .3g, Sugar 10.7g

*Calculations based on ingredients entered into Calorie Count and may not be 100% accurate. 

Enjoy! 

Italian Onions Shopping List

You can find this recipe for Italian Onions, along with 180 other recipes in my cookbook available at many online retailers like Amazon, BN.com and IndieBound. Signed copies or hardcover versions are available by emailing carrieexpktchn (at) optonline (dot) net. 

If you are a Goodreads member, I'm holding a Giveaway where you can enter for your chance to win a copy for yourself, but hurry, Friday, July 26, 2013 is the last day to enter!  

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Carrie's Experimental Kitchen

by Carrie Palladino Farias

Giveaway ends July 26, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Vanilla Almond Onion Straws

My family and I generally don't eat onion rings. In fact, I think the last time I even ordered one out was several years ago when the kids first wanted to try a Bloomin' Onion. I was making some steak on the grill recently and my usual topping would be sauteed mushrooms (like these Mushrooms Vittoria..YUM!), but when I reached for them, they were starting to go bad. 

I decided to make these onion straws instead, using up the little bit of Vanilla Almond Milk I had left in the container as well. (I'm in Spring Cleaning mode and wanted to purge my refrigerator who am I kidding?!). I thought they would make a nice topping added to our steak and boy was I right...they were fantastic! It had a little bit of a sweet flavor from the milk and by cutting them thinner, they were super crunchy. I bet these would be awesome on some thick juicy burgers as well. 


Vanilla Almond Onion Straws
1 Red Onion, sliced into 1/4" rings
1 c. Silk Vanilla Almond Milk
1 Egg
1/2 c. All-Purpose Flour
1/2 c. Cornstarch
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
Canola Oil, for frying

Directions:
1. In a bowl, whisk together the almond milk and egg. 
2. Add the onion rings to the milk mixture and allow to soak fully covered for 15-20 minutes. 
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch and salt. 
4. Dip the milk coated onion ring into the flour mixture and set aside until all rings have been coated. Discard the remaining mixture. (You can do this twice if you like your onion rings extra crunchy, but I just did mine once).
5. Heat the oil in a large saute pan. (I used approximately 1/3 cup and a nonstick pan. Just enough to coat the bottom). 
6. When the oil is hot, add the onion rings and allow them to brown for approximately 4-5 minutes; flipping halfway through. They should be golden brown. 
7. Remove the onions and drain on paper towels to absorb any excess grease. You may need to fry these in two batches depending on the size of your pan. 

*Nutritional Information per Serving: This recipe was too difficult for me to calculate since most of the milk/egg mixture was discarded after soaking and the frying in oil aspect. 

Enjoy! 

*I was not compensated in any way by Silk to write this post. I personally use and enjoy this product. All opinions are my own. 

Potato Encrusted Fried Shrimp with an Onion Sherbet Dipping Sauce

When Hilary from Baking Bad posted a month ago that she wanted to do a Chopped Challenge on her blog I was all over it. I don't watch many cooking shows (or much tv before 9pm for that matter) but I was introduced to the show Chopped on The Food Network when visiting my Mom in FL last year. Her and her husband are AVID TFN watchers and this show came on during one of our visits. I have to say that the show really intrigued me. The contestants are given 4 ingredients (most of the time they're really "out there") and they have to make an appetizer, meal and dessert course. With each course, one contestant is eliminated, leaving only 2 contestants to make the dessert course where the panel of judges get to decide who gets Chopped and who is the winner. I love to watch the creative juices flow as they decide what it is they're going to make with what they are given. 


So with this challenge, we were given 4 ingredients. 
1. Instant Mashed Potatoes (which I've NEVER purchased, let alone eaten in my life...well except for the time we had to make them at Johnson & Wales while I was in college for the dorm students!)
2. Shrimp...Which was going to be a little tricky since I don't eat any fish/shellfish. I had to rely solely on my "guinea pigs" ;)
3. Fruit Roll Ups...Here we go, this was going to be the tricky part
4. Pearl Onions...Again, don't eat these either. 


So this is what I came up with. The Verdict was that the shrimp were INCREDIBLE and the potato coating was extremely tasty. The Onion Sherbet Dipping Sauce was "ok" but a little sweet for my family's taste. This is what I used, so you be the judge! :)

Potato Encrusted Fried Shrimp with an Onion Sherbet Dipping Sauce
1lb. Extra Large Shrimp (21-25), cleaned and deveined
1-7oz Box Instant Mashed Potatoes
1 Orange, zest only
1 tbsp. Fresh Thyme
Egg Wash (2 eggs + 1/4 c. 2% Milk)
1 c. All-Purpose Flour
Canola Oil, for frying

Prepare three separate bowls. One for the flour and one for the egg wash. In the third bowl, mix together the instant potatoes, orange zest and thyme. Dip each piece of shrimp first into the flour, then egg wash, then into the potato mixture. Pour approximately 1" of oil into a large frying pan and heat. Carefully place shrimp into the hot oil and fry until both sides are golden brown and shrimp is white in color and cooked through. Drain on paper towels or brown paper bag to remove any excess oil. Serve with Onion Sherbet Dipping Sauce.


Onion Sherbet Dipping Sauce
1-9oz. Package Frozen Pearl Onions in Cream Sauce, defrosted
4 Fruity Ice Cream Fruit Roll Ups (Orange, Strawberry, Raspberry)
1/4 tsp. Dried Thyme
1/2 Orange, juice only
1 tbsp. Balsamic Pear Vinegar


In a small saucepan, add all of the ingredients and stir until the fruit roll ups have melted. Pour into a blender and liquify. Strain the sauce through a sieve and reheat sauce. Serve with shrimp. 


This recipe will be judged by anyone that goes to the Baking Bad website. This week she will be featuring all of the contestant entries. So head on over there this week grab a cup of coffee or tea and plan to stay a while because Hilary has some wonderful recipes of her own over there. You will be able to vote for the entries and I'll keep you posted as to when the voting will begin! (JUDGING OVER)




Enjoy!