Today's recipes feature one of the most versatile items in the produce department (and the CSA bin): onions. Savory, sweet, crunchy or soft, we love them.
Today, you can taste Mandy's Smothered Chicken - with an onion-spiked salsa - on The Veranda alongside samples from La Chatelaine. As always, we'll be selling wine and beer. Stop by between 6.30 and 8.30 to feast!
Tonight's Wines:
Monterey Vineyard Chardonnay 2007, Arroyo Seco (California)
$2.00/sample, $3.00/glass
Subtle notes of toasty vanilla spice, from aging in French oak barrels, linger on the palate. This wine’s ripe fruit expression and elegant balance complement rich or creamy entrees, such as shrimp sautéed with chives and lemon, smoked salmon with angel hair pasta, tarragon crusted sea bass, wild mushroom soup, and grilled chicken, fish and pork.
Home Grown Family Harvest Red 2007, California
$2.00/sample, $3.00/glass
This juicy red wine is a field blend (all grape varieties are grown and vinified together) of Syrah, Barbera and Petite Sirah. An unpretentious but delicious wine!
Mandy's Smothered Chicken
5 carmen peppers
25-30 tomatillos
1 white onion
3-4 heirloom tomatoes
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 teas. salt
6 chicken breasts
1 teas. cumin
1 teas. chili powder
1 cup Monterey Jack, shredded (optional)
salt and pepper
Turn on broiler and preheat grill. Peel paper shell off of tomatilos and rinse off sticky film. Halve the tomatillos and place cut-side down on ungreased cookie sheet. Place under broiler for 5-7 minutes. When cooled, peel off the skin.
Grill carmen peppers until soft, about 5 minutes. Finely chop all ingredients (including tomatillos) and mix together in a bowl.
Toss chicken in olive oil, cumin, chili powder and salt and pepper. Grill until nearly cooked through, marking each side. Place the salsa and cheese on top of the chicken and bake in the center of the oven until the cheese is melted. Serve immediately.
Sweet Onion Compote
from In Season: Cooking with Vegetables and Fruits by Sarah Raven
1/2 cup mixed dried fruit, such as raisins, apricots and prunes
1 cup orange juice
1 pound white onions
1 TB. olive oil or 1 TB. butter
1 TB. brown sugar
1/2 lb. apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
4 TB. balsamic vinegar
salt and black pepper
Chop the mixed fruit and marinate it in the orange juice for an hour or so. Slice the onions and sweat in the olive oil or butter with the sugar over low heat until they become translucent and golden brown. Add the apples, mixed fruit and vinegar, and cook for about 25 minutes, until most of the liquid has gone. Season, put into warmed sterilized jars and cover while still hot. The keeps well in the fridge for up to a month.
Baked Onions with Parmesan and Cream
from The Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater
4 medium onions
1 1/4 cups whipping or heavy cream
handful grated Parmesan
Set the oven to 350 degrees. Peel the onions and bring them to a boil in a deep pot of water. Leave them at a bright simmer for about twenty-five minutes, until tender. Lift them out with a draining spoon.
Slice the onions in half from root to tip and put them cut-side down in an oven-safe dish. Tip the cream over the onions. Season with salt, pepper and the grated cheese and bake for twenty-five to thirty minutes, until golden and bubbling.
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