Baked Onion Rings

I will never eat fried onion rings again. I cannot even believe how much I enjoyed these! So easy! I subbed garlic salt instead of cayenne pepper since I ran out of it while making pecan crusted chicken (look for that post on Friday)... I really don't have much else to say besides how surprised I was that I made onion rings... and they rocked... and you should try this recipe!


Baked Onion Rings
Adapted from Martha Stewart

1 1/2 cups cornflakes
1/2 cup whole wheat dried breadcrumbs
1 large egg
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk (I used fat-free buttermilk)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt (original recipe: cayenne pepper)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 medium sweet onion, such as Vidalia, quartered crosswise and broken into rings (discard small center rings)
2 tablespoons olive oil


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a food processor, pulse cornflakes and breadcrumbs until fine crumbs form, then transfer to a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, flour, and garlic salt and season with salt & pepper (salt omitted since used garlic salt).

2. Dip onion rings in egg mixture (letting excess drip off) and dredge in cornflake mixture; place on a large plate. Pour oil onto a rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven and heat 2 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and tilt to coat evenly with oil. Arrange onion rings on sheet. Bake, turning once, until onion rings are golden brown, about 16 minutes. Season with salt.

Quinoa & Passover

I've cooked with quinoa (pronouced keen-wah) once before and I didn't have great success. Firstly, you have to rinse it (unless it is pre-rinsed) and that was an epic fail for me... more ended up in drain than anywhere else and it wasn't substantial enough for the dish. I had been hearing the buzz that quinoa was a great find during Passover and was really excited to try a new dish for our seder (or non-seder, as we just gathered together the night before- no actual seder took place but there was matzoh ball soup!).

A friend pointed out a recipe for quinoa salad-- and I can't turn down anything with asparagus! This recipe turned out pretty well. I think most of my family enjoyed it and it was a nice, light dish with great flavor. I used a bit more asparagus than the recipe called for. I wasn't a huge fan of the oranges, probably because I'm really picky about oranges... what other fruit do you think you could substitute for oranges? I'd love to hear what you think.


Quinoa Salad with Asparagus, Dates & Oranges
Cooking Light

Salad:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups water chicken broth (low-sodium)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (if you use chicken broth, you may want to skip this)
1 cup fresh orange sections (about 1 large orange)
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted (or more if you want!)
2 tablespoons minced red onion
5 dates, pitted and chopped
1/2 pound (2-inch) slices asparagus, steamed and chilled (I used a few extra stalks)
1/2 jalapeño pepper, diced

Dressing:
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
Mint sprigs (optional)

Preparation
1. To prepare salad, heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add white onion to pan; sauté 2 minutes. Add quinoa to pan; sauté 5 minutes. Add 2 cups chicken broth and 1/2 teaspoon salt to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Transfer quinoa mixture to a large bowl. Add orange and next 5 ingredients (through jalapeño); toss gently to combine.

2. To prepare dressing, combine juice and next 4 ingredients (through garlic) in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Pour dressing over salad; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle with chopped mint. Garnish with mint sprigs, if desired. Serve at room temperature.

A Roasted Dinner

The dinner that accompanied the focaccia bread was filled with the word "roasted"... Parmesan Roasted Broccoli, Mustard Roasted Potatoes and Everyday Garlic Chicken (which was roasted...). I think I've mentioned the Parmesan Roasted Broccoli before (around Thanksgiving) but I don't think I've ever blogged the recipe... this time I didn't even take pictures of it (picture that is posted was from Thanksgiving). This is my to-go broccoli recipe- has yet to fail me. The potato recipe is very good as well... Danimal and I tend to just roast potatoes with garlic & olive oil so this is a nice change for us.

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
Ina Garten

Ingredients
4 to 5 pounds broccoli
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves (about 12 leaves)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets, discarding the rest of the stalks. Cut the larger pieces through the base of the head with a small knife, pulling the florets apart. You should have about 8 cups of florets. Place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with 5 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.

Remove the broccoli from the oven and immediately toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, pine nuts, Parmesan, and basil. Serve hot. Serves 6.





Mustard Roasted Potatoes
Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa at Home

Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds small red potatoes
2 yellow onions
3 tablespoons good olive oil
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line cookie sheet with tin foil.

Wash potatoes, cut them in halves or quarters, depending on their size. Place them on the cookie sheet. Peel onions, cut them in half and slice into rounds (about 1/4 inch thick). Toss onions and potatoes together on the sheet. Add olive oil, mustard, salt & pepper and toss to cover evenly.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour until the potatoes are lightly browned. Toss the potatoes every 15 minutes so they brown evenly.

Serve with chopped parsley and a little extra salt.



Stay tuned next week for Everday Garlic Chicken!