Simply Fry an Onion

Before I begin, I must tell you that I use iron fry pans or an iron Dutch oven whenever I can. Iron is the original non-stick cookware when seasoned properly and it even puts iron into the food you are cooking. The other cookware I use often is a pressure cooker. It cuts cooking time to nothing and it leaves so many of the nutrients in the food! But that's a topic for another day.

Okay, about onions. Even thought I love to cook, there are some nights when I haven't planned a meal or I'm really not in the cooking mood. Supper time might be minutes away and soon there will be hungry folks home from their busy days. What to do?!!! Simply fry an onion! There is nothing better than the smell of an onion frying in butter when you walk in the door.

Now, slicing that onion is a trick in itself. I remember years ago, even before I was married, my husband Dave and I were visiting some friends of ours and when I volunteered to help the experienced wife with supper, she asked me to slice the onion. I had that thing slipping and sliding all over the counter! I'm not sure what my slices looked like, but I know I was embarrassed about them.

A few years later I was so happy to learn the secret from a cook on the Phil Donahue Show. If you look at the picture these directions will make sense to you. Just slice the onion in half lengthwise and see the end that looks like a little mustache? Well, leave that one on and slice a little bit off the other end so you can peel it easily. Don't ever cut the mustache off because it holds everything together and you can slice it as thin as you want into half rounds or you can put vertical cuts as thin as you want and spread it out like a fan to see it won't even fall apart then. If you now slice across these thinly cut strips, you have tiny little diced onions! Either way, you end up with that little moustache as the last thing left, having done a very good job.

Well, back to frying that onion..........I melt butter in an iron pan, but you could use oil if you want. While that is frying on low you can start some rice or pasta because you will need something to serve your fantastic stir fry dish over. I'll write about cooking rice another time. Okay, now, look in the frig and see if you have any sun dried tomatoes, green pepper or mushrooms that you can add to your onion. Put in some garlic, which you can slice almost exactly as the onion if you don't want to use a garlic press. Add whatever leftover veggies, shrimp or strips of meat you have, some pesto and a little chicken or beef broth (I use granulated bouillon and some water). You can even drizzle in some wine or cream and season as you like. I love it with shrimp, cream and creole seasoning served over fine egg noodles. Well, there you have it! Just don't tell your family that you didn't know what was for supper an hour ago!

Oh, and remember the jelly jars I mentioned yesterday. Try some Bonne Maman Preserves - I get them at Kroger. They are delicious, don't have any high fructose corn sweetener and the jar label soaks off easily. The little red and white checkered lid has a great seal so you can use it for nuts, dried fruit or even leftover fried onions! Enjoy!

Simply,
Mary