Onions!

[SethG]

I love onions.

Yellow onions, Spanish onions, white onions, green onions, red onions, shallots, leeks (God, I love leeks!), you name it.

I love onions in the springtime. I love onions in the fall. I love onions in the winter, when they're sizzled. I love onions in the summer, when they're drizzled.

I love onions raw, on a burger or a bagel with lox. In addition, I love onions cooked. I love hot dogs with sauteed onions on top. I love French onion soup. I love smothered onion sauce. I recently made a Nicoise tart with red onions, olives and anchovies. Loved it. Just last night, I made Indian chicken with an onion-based sauce. Loved that too.

Onions are great in these starring roles, but they're also essential as a supporting ingredient in, hell, just about everything. I love onions' ubiquity.

I love the smell of onions raw. I love the smell of onions as they cook. Onions with garlic in a pan, isn't that heaven to you? It is to me.

I love the way onions make you cry. People always talk about tricks they use to render the chopping of onions painless, and I always wonder why. I love that feeling. There is no sweeter pain in all of cooking.

I couldn't do without onions, and I can't say that about any other ingredient.

Don't you agree?

(Baconistas, please note-- your opinion has been heard elsewhere. No need to think that every thread has to be about bacon. So let's keep any onion-bacon debates to a minimum.)

[Lady T]

No conflict. Onions go fine with bacon.

[tommy]

they're so wonderful.

i sometimes make pasta sauce with onions. and then i add more onions. it's so oniony, that we usually say, as we're eating it with pasta, that you don't even need the pasta. just onions in sauce.

mrs. tommy eats those little pickled white onions right out of the jar for a snack.

another thing about onions is, when you mix them with some vinegar, they smell like BO.

[bloviatrix]

Well, I don't have such a good attitude about the tear factor. But then again, I tear when chopping scallions.

I like onions with my tuna. And onions carmelized are wonderful. Think kasha varnishkes. Onions are requirement for a burger. And a bowl of onion soup would be perfect on a rainy day such as this.

You're right, they are a perfect food.

[=Mark]

I like to sautee diced onions in butter till they start to carmelize, then add them to mashed potatoes

Edited September 3, 2003 by =Mark (log)

[fifi]

All of the above. I will add... Paper thin onion slices marinated in lime juice, s&p. Great on sandwiches and with anything rolled in a tortilla.

Years ago, my dad came back from a business trip to the Rio Grande valley with a 50 pound sack of Crystal City Sweets. These were about golf ball size and very sweet and mild. We ate onions on everything, in everything, every day for a couple of weeks. Funny thng happened... Nobody had trouble with BO even though working in the garden at the country place could defeat the best deodorant on the market at the time.

And... let us not forget... onions provided the fuel that built the pyramids.

[FoodZealot]

Such poetry!

I love onions because they're the foundation (usually the second thing put into any pan, after olive oil or butter or bacon) and they're often the top note for garnish and crunch, too.

There's a place near me that makes a five onion pizza - red, yellow, green, shallots and leeks! Pretty damn good.

~Tad

[guajolote]

I will add... Paper thin onion slices marinated in lime juice, s&p.

If you do this with red onions they turn the nicest pink color.

[tejon]

Mmmmm....I love onions in all forms as well. I couldn't cook without them (well, I could, but I wouldn't want to).

[SethG]

And... let us not forget... onions provided the fuel that built the pyramids.

Please explain, fifi.

[fifi]

Recent acheological research on the workers' dwelling areas indicate that the primary food was onions. Indeed, workers were paid in onions.

[SethG]

There's a place near me that makes a five onion pizza - red, yellow, green, shallots and leeks!  Pretty damn good.

I'll be right over!

[jilli42]

Onions, and their family members, are among my favorite foods. I eat spring onions fresh from the garden, sprinkled with a little salt. Carmelized onions in french onion soup, fried onions on steak & cheese, raw onions on sandwiches and salads. Real onion rings, cut thick and fried in beer batter. Stuffed onions baked in the oven. Roasted leeks, chives on baked potatoes. Carmelized scallion and potato tarts. I especially love the onions that come with the Honey Roasted Duck w/ Basil & Chili we get from our favorite Thai restaurant. I always ask for extra onions there.

My kids however have to be tricked into eating onions most times.

[Lady T]

Leek and potato soup. Fall's coming.

[elmo]

How long do onions last in your pantry? I have some Vidalia that have been in a bag for a month and they still look alright.

[Mottmott]

Let's not forget sweet and sour cippollini. And pissaladiere may be my favorite tart.

[torakris]

Onions,

Food from the gods!

The only time I actually panic is when I realize I am out of onions.

I am going to try Fifi's lime juice on onion slices it sounds soooo wonderful, it seems similar to an onion "relish" I make whenever I cook Indian, sprinkling thinly sliced onions with lemon juice, salt and a mix of paprika and cayenne.

Actually I could probably make a meal just out of that!

[Stone]

Cut the ends off, peel, sit on a plate, top with a pat of butter, microwave 1 minute (ish). Eat.

[mamster]

Working with onions is the best thing about cooking. When in doubt, substitute an onion. See the table below:

If the recipe calls for / Substitute

===========================

Potato / onion

celery / green onion

peach / shallot

beef / onion

foie gras / onion

salt / onion

[torakris]

I just saw on a Japanese show that if you place small dishes of sliced onions around a room it will make children fall asleep!

They showed an experiment of it in a day care center and the entire room of 20 some kids was asleep in less then 5 minutes compared to a different day when about 10 of them never went to sleep.

Now if that isn't a miracle food then I don't know what is!

[Jim Dixon]

rigtatoni al quatro gigli

Walla Walla sweets have been in the markets here...I've been slicing in half, rubbing with oil, and grilling.

Jim

edit to note that the same mispelling of rigatoni is on my web site...d'oh!!

[Jim Dixon]

fixed it....

Jim

[fifi]

I just saw on a Japanese show that if you place small dishes of sliced onions around a room it will make children fall asleep!

They showed an experiment of it in a day care center and the entire room of 20 some kids was asleep in less then 5 minutes compared to a different day when about 10 of them never went to sleep.

Now if that isn't a miracle food then I don't know what is!

That is interesting. When the 1015s are in, a favorite lunch is an onion sandwich... thinly sliced onion, piled on good bread with mayonaise, salt and seasoning to taste. Jane's Crazy Salt is a current favorite. Drink one, or two, very cold beers. You WILL snooze, more so than with beer alone.

[Jinmyo]

Quite agree, quite agree.

Take some red onions, top and tail but leave the skin on. Douse in cheap "balsamic" vinegar. Roast at 300 for two hours.

[SethG]

I just saw on a Japanese show that if you place small dishes of sliced onions around a room it will make children fall asleep!

It's a good thing onions don't have that effect on adults, or the pyramids never would've been finished!!

Many good oniony ideas here! But I'm a little surprised at the total agreement among us. I expected some garlic or tomato partisans to enter the fray.