Hello my Foodie Friends!
This week, the must have gadget for your kitchen are onion goggles. Let’s start by telling you about my first job in a restaurant when I was 16 years old. The manager brought me to the back of the restaurant and said to me “son, we are going to make you a ‘boss,’ being the boss of onions!” I was so happy and I couldn’t wait to tell my mom. The manager told me that they needed me to peel, cut and chop onions for my entire shift. Yes, life was going my way as a 16 year old might perceive. I had received my driver’s license the week before and started a new job. On one particular day after my shift ended, I was going on my first date with Anna, a cheerleader at my school. My plan was to take her in my used 1966 Ford Mustang that had a 289 engine, factory air, and an eight-track tape player with a reverberator! On the day of the date at work, the manager handed me a knife that seemed to me to be two feet long in length. He said “now have at it.” I was nervous, however; I wanted to be the superstar “Boss of Onions.” So I started working on peeling, cutting, and chopping the mountains of onions in front of me. I believe that they last sharpened this knife in 1922, so I figured it was safe. Peeling was no problem for boss man because I peeled a mountain of them. Now it was time to cut the onions in half. I steadied my “Crocodile Dundee” knife and pressed down on the onion. Did you ever try that with a dull knife? As I attempted to cut the onion, the juice proceeded to squirt everywhere, and you guessed it, landed right into my eyes. Down goes boss man as I put my hands on my stinging eyes. As I continued to persevere into my task, I simply stated to myself that this was no problem and I could just rub my eyes and I would be fine. Unfortunately, it wasn’t working the way that I had hoped. Soon I was looking like “Rocky Balboa.” I knew I had a job to do so I carried on but by now the tears were like waterfalls while I was wondering if I would be victorious over the onions. By the end of my shift the mountain was sliced and chopped. Yep, I did it and the manager told me I was great but suggested I take a long shower before my big date. When I got home my mother screamed and called my Dad in to see his oldest son. I had onion hair gel and my clothes were covered with juice and pieces of onions. My eyes were very puffy and I had about seven Band-Aids on my fingers. Ah yes, my hands I noticed were now permanently yellow and it was one hour to my date. At his point I exclaimed; “Mom, you have to help me. I am a walking onion.” I could not come within 20 feet of anyone without someone saying whew you reek. I took my shower but it didn’t help. Mom and my two sisters went into full date prep mode. My sister Patty grabbed the lemon juice, my older sister Carol Ann stole Dad’s Hai Karate cologne and mom grabbed a nail brush and went to work with the lemon juice to rid me of yellow hands. She also had Patty hold ice cubes on my eyes, which worked. She wasn’t going to let her son mess up his first date. The yellow and smell did not go away but the date was a success. Anna was very nice and said it made her think of salad and she like the Hai Karate cologne smell.
Why do onions make us cry?
When onions are cut, an enzyme called sulfoxide lyase and sulfuric compounds are released from the broken cells. When exposed to air, they react with one another to form a vapor called thiopropanal sulfoxide. As this vapor evaporates, it irritates our eyes and causes us to cry. Kitchen folklore remedies such as burning candles or matches, slicing onions under water and freezing the onions before cutting are comical at best. The two methods proven most effective in preventing onion-cutting tears include; wearing goggles or contact lenses. Onion goggles are a unisex design and fit most adults. Stop by Compliments to the Chef, your Neighborhood Kitchen and Cutlery store to help you with those culinary items that make life a bit easier for you. Remember my Foodie Friends “Life Happens in the Kitchen!”
Take care,
John and Paula.
Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 small white or yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 cups milk (recommend 2% or whole milk)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, divided
• 4 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes, sliced into 1/8-inch rounds
• 2 cups freshly-grated sharp cheddar cheese*, divided (feel free to add more cheese if you’d like)
• 1/2 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Prep oven and baking dish: Heat oven to 400°F. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray, and set it aside.
Sauté the onion and garlic. Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onion, and sauté for 4-5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add garlic and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Stir in the flour until it is evenly combined, and cook for 1 more minute.
2. Simmer the sauce. Gradually pour in the stock, and whisk until combined. Add in the milk, salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon thyme, and whisk until combined. Continue cooking for an additional 1-2 minutes until the sauce just barely begins to simmer around the edges of the pan and thickens. (Avoid letting it reach a boil.) Then remove from heat and set aside.
3. Layer the potatoes. Spread half of the sliced potatoes in an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Top evenly with half of the cream sauce. Then sprinkle evenly with 1 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese, and all of the Parmesan cheese. Top evenly with the remaining sliced potatoes, the other half of the cream sauce, and the remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese.
4. Bake: Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. The sauce should be nice and bubbly around the edges. Then remove the foil and bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through.
5. Cool. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack, and sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon of thyme and extra Parmesan.
6. Serve. Serve warm.
