Thursday, April 15, 2010

Bloomin' Onion

Serves 2 to 4 as an appetizer or snack

· Dipping Sauce

· 1/2 cup mayonnaise

· 2 teaspoons ketchup

· 2 tablespoons cream-style horseradish

· 1/4 teaspoon paprika

· 1/4 teaspoon salt

· 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano

· Dash ground black pepper

· Dash cayenne pepper


 The Onion

· 1 egg

· 1 cup milk

· 1 cup all-purpose flour

· 11/2 teaspoons salt

· 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

· 1/2 teaspoon ground black

· 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

· 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

· 1/8 teaspoon cumin

· 1 giant Spanish onion (3/4 pound or more)

· Vegetable oil for frying pepper


1. Prepare the dipping sauce by combining all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Keep the sauce covered in your refrigerator until needed.

2. Beat the egg and combine it with the milk in a medium bowl big enough to hold the onion.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, peppers, oregano, thyme, and cumin.

4. Now it's time to slice the onion-this is the trickiest step. First slice 3/4 inch to 1 inch off the top and bottom of the onion. Remove the papery skin. Use a thin knife to cut a 1-inch diameter core out of the middle of the onion. Now use a very sharp, large knife to slice the onion several times down the center to create the "petals" of the completed onion. First slice through the center of the onion to about three-fourths of the way down. Turn the onion 90 degrees and slice it again in an "x" across the first slice. Keep slicing the sections in half, very carefully, until you've cut the onion 16 times. Do not cut down to the bottom. The last 8 slices are a little hairy, just use a steady hand and don't worry if your onion doesn't look like a perfect flower. It'll still taste good.

5. Spread the "petals" of the onion apart. The onion sections tend to stick together, so you'll want to separate them to make coating easier.

6. Dip the onion in the milk mixture, and then coat it liberally with the dry ingredients. Again separate the "petals" and sprinkle the dry coating between them. Once you're sure the onion is well-coated, dip it back into the wet mixture and into the dry coating again. This double dipping makes sure you have a well- coated onion because some of the coating tends to wash off when you fry. Let the onion rest in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes while you get the oil ready.

7. Heat oil in a deep fryer or deep pot to 350 degrees. Make sure you use enough oil to completely cover the onion when it fries.

8. Fry the onion right side up in the oil for 10 minutes or until it turns brown.

9. When the onion has browned, remove it from the oil and let it drain on a rack or paper towels.

10. Open the onion wider from the center so that you can put a small dish of the dipping sauce in the center. You may also use plain ketchup.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Chicken Fiesta Taco Cups

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cups taco sauce
1 cup shredded chicken (cooked in above mentioned taco sauce)
1/2 cup corn
1 can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup finely shredded Mexican cheese blend (2 oz)
 Sour cream, salsa or sliced ripe olives, if desired

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 8 medium muffin cups with cooking spray.
In 1-quart saucepan, heat taco sauce with chicken over medium heat,
stirring occasionally, until thoroughly heated.
2. Unroll dough and separate into 4 rectangles;
press each into 8x4-inch rectangle, firmly pressing perforations to seal.
Cut each in half crosswise, making 8 squares.
Sprinkle both sides of each square with cornmeal.
Press each in bottom and up side of muffin cup;
turn edges of dough under, pressing to extend 1/4 inch above edge of cup.
3. Spoon about 2 tablespoons chicken mixture into each cup.
Sprinkle cheese over each.
4. Bake 12 to 17 minutes or until edges are deep golden brown.
Cool in pan on wire rack 5 minutes; remove from muffin cups. Serve warm.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Coconut-Fudge Bars

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, divided
14   HONEY MAID Honey Grahams, finely crushed (about 2-1/2 cups)
1 cup sugar
1 can  (5 oz.) evaporated milk
1 pkg. (10-1/2 oz.) JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmallows (6 cups)
1-1/2 pkg.  (12 squares) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup chopped PLANTERS Walnuts
1 cup  BAKER'S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut, toasted


LINE 13x9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Spray with cooking spray. Melt 3/4 cup butter; mix with crumbs. Press onto bottom of pan.
BRING remaining butter, sugar, milk and marshmallows to boil in large saucepan on medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 5 min., stirring constantly. Add chocolate; cook until melted, stirring frequently. Pour over crust.
TOP with nuts and coconut. Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

April Fools?

Ok, so I'm a little late on this one, but I just stumbled across it today, so better late than never, right?

Birthday Cake Meatloaf



Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium onions, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 celery stalks (about 1/2 cup), finely chopped
5 pounds ground beef
2 small carrots, peeled and finely grated (about 1/2 cup), peels reserved for decorating
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tablespoons ground mustard
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup cooked green peas
Vegetable oil cooking spray


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans with cooking spray; set aside. Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and celery; cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl; let cool.
Add beef, carrot, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, eggs, oats, ground mustard, salt, and pepper to bowl with vegetable mixture; mix thoroughly with your hands.
Gently press into prepared pans. Bake until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes; carefully remove with a spatula, and transfer to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Tent with foil.
Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a small pan. Add reserved carrot peels; cook until tender, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain.
Place 1 meat loaf on platter; spread 1 cup warm mashed potatoes over top. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons peas. Top with remaining meat loaf. Frost top and sides with 3 cups mashed potatoes. Fill piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch star tip (such as Ateco No. 825) with remaining mashed potatoes. Pipe borders around cake. Using tip of a 1/4-inch plain round tip (such as Ateco No. 10), punch out circles from carrot peels. Decorate cake with carrot circles and remaining peas. Serve immediately.