Eli Cooks » onions

Sausages with Peppers and Onions

Eli — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:36:55 +0000

It’s that time of year when it’s not really summer anymore, but I’m still loathe to admit it’s really fall. The trees still have their (green) leaves. I can get away with short sleeves most days. But there’s definitely a bit of chill in air, and the beach doesn’t have much appeal. This time of year I tend to stick to simple things in the kitchen. Have a few last chances to just eat tomatoes out of my hand. Spend more time outside before it gets too cold. So here’s a quick recipe equally at home in the summer or fall. Something tasty to eat before you get back to denying that it really is fall.

Sausages with Peppers and Onions
This is really more a method than a recipe. You can adjust any or all of the ingredients to your taste

a few Italian sausages (I prefer spicy ones)
a few bell peppers
an onion
a few glugs (maybe half a bottle) of beer
maybe some water

Heat a skillet over medium-high, add sausages and cook until brown on each side, about 2 minutes. Remove sausages and set aside.

Add the onions and peppers to the pan. Cook 5 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally, until just starting to brown. Put the sausages back in and pour in the beer, cover and cook another 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sausages are cooked through and the liquid is absorbed. You may need to add some water if it starts get dry before the sausages are done.

Ribeyes with Bacon, Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms

Eli — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:00:26 +0000

How to consume your weekly allowance of saturated fat in one meal without regret.

Usually I try to eat reasonably well. I’m not on any kind of weight loss plan; I don’t count calories or follow a specific plan, but I try to eat a lot of whole grains and fresh vegetables and limit my meat consumption. Sometimes though, I just want something completely indulgent something that doesn’t follow anyone’s definition of eating healthy. This is that thing.

It’s basically steak with a bacon sauce. (Except that when I say bacon sauce, what I really mean is bacon fat sauce. And really, what could be better (or more heart attack inducing?) Sure it probably has half your calories and all your fat for the week, but it’s incredibly decadent. I think if possible, the sauce is actually more rich and flavorful than the steak. That said, the sweet caramelized onions and the mushrooms give as much to the flavor as the bacon. The flavors of all three (along with a bit of vinegary bite) are pretty well balanced.

Ribeyes with Bacon, Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms
If you’re interested in a slightly more healthy version, I’m sure this would be good with some or all of the bacon fat removed before you add the onions. But really, if you’ve read this far, you’re probably not looking for anything healthy.

2 8 to 12 oz ribeye steaks
1/4 lb bacon, cut into smallish strips
1 large sweet onion, halved then sliced
1 lb button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 tsp malt vinegar
1/2 tsp dry vermouth

Get the steaks out and let them sit on the counter while cooking the onions. This lets them come to room temperature before cooking them.

Fry the bacon over medium high heat until crisp. Remove the bacon pieces from the pan.

Add the onion slices and turn down to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally for 20-30 minutes, until the onions are well-browned, but not black. About 10 minutes before the onions are ready, heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat. (Just leave it empty on the burner to 10 min to get it really screaming hot.)

Add the mushrooms and the cooked bacon to the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes, until the mushrooms are cooked.

Meanwhile, salt and pepper the steaks, then give the pan a good shot of cooking spray and toss in the steaks. Let them cook for about 4 minutes on the first side. Do not touch them for the first 4 minutes. Turn the steaks over and cook until they reach your desired doneness: about 3 more minutes for medium rare. Do not touch the steaks while again until done. If you want your steaks more done, you might need to turn the heat down once the steaks are in the pan; for medium rare, leave it cranked to high. Once the steaks are done, remove them from the pan and let them sit 5-10 minutes before eating.

When the mushrooms are cooked, add the vinegar, vermouth and a bit of salt to the onions and mushrooms. Serve the onions/mushrooms/bacon over the steak.

Spiced Bread and Butter Onions (with Peppers)

Eli — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 02:36:47 +0000

I think it’s rather obvious at this point that I’m a big fan of pickles. It’s possible that I like making pickles even more than I like eating them. Possible, but it’s a close call. One of my favorite parts of making pickles is the waiting. You do all the work up front, but you can’t tell how they’ll turn out for weeks. Maybe someone with a bit more experience in pickle-making could taste a pickle that hasn’t been aged and tell immediately what it will be like in a week or a month, but not me. I’m not in a hurry to learn though; that anticipation is great. There’s always some chance that when you crack open the jar, it will turn out to be horrible…and that’s happened to me a few times. But it makes the times it does work that much better.

These pickles were one of the good surprises. They definitely exceeded my expectations. I based them (very loosely) on the bread and butter zucchini from The Joy of Pickling (an excellent resource for pickles of all kinds.) I’d made those previously (by the book the first time) and they turned out wonderfully, but my favorite part was the onions. This time I wanted to focus even more on the onions. I wasn’t quite ready to go for full-on pickled onions with nothing else, so I tossed in a few bell peppers. Honestly, the peppers are good, but completely superfluous.

I also wanted to play up the spices a bit, and thought I might as well mix them up while I was at it. A few months back I was at the Spice House and saw cassia buds. I’d never seen them before and was curious. They let me take one to taste and it was lovely…like cinnamon, but decidedly sweeter and more mellow, with floral top notes. I had no idea what I would do with them, but I had to get some. Well, right on the label it says they’re commonly used in some Asian pickles. Perfect! I thought they would pair well with some bright coriander. And now, a few weeks later, these onions confirm that choice.

Spiced Bread and Butter Onions (with Peppers)
Adapted (wildly) from The Joy of Pickling’s Bread and Butter Zucchini

These pickles have a lot in common with traditional bread and butter pickles, but they have a lot in…uncommon…too. The spices are definitely present, but not overwhelming. The star here is the sweet, tangy onions themselves.

1 lb onions, cut into 1/4″ thick rings
1/2 lb bell peppers, cut into 1/4″ thick rings
1/8 cup salt
2 cups cider vinegar
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 Tbsp mustard seeds
1 Tbsp whole coriander
1 Tbsp cassia buds (you could probably substitute about 1″ cinnamon stick)

Toss the onions and peppers with the salt, then cover with about a tray of ice cubes. Let it sit for about 2 hours. Drain throughly.

Bring all remaining ingredients to a boil in a medium pan. Add the onions and peppers and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Scoop all the onions and peppers into a quart jar and pour in enough of the liquid to cover. (You’ll probably have some leftover liquid, but to me it’s easier to just have some extra than to run low.) You could use a 2 piece cap and process these in boiling water for 5-10 minutes, or you could just use an old pickle jar with a regular lid and eat them all within a month or so.

Let sit in a cool, dark place for 3 weeks, then enjoy.