Pickled Red Onions: Summer's Prize & Winter's Bounty

As I glanced at the pantry shelves in our basement over the weekend, I realized that we canned up a small storm this summer.  And I'm pretty pleased.  We've got a nice selection of items stowed up down there - and every single one of them is going to be a pleasure to crack open in the middle of our Wisconsin winter.

The corn relish we made reminds me of something I'd imagine they made back in the 1950's -- when every summer picnic included deviled eggs, cold-cuts, homemade lemonade, and a small vat of sweet & sour relish.

The pickles, on the other hand, hearken back to my childhood days. Back then, it was my mother who spent her spring and summer making jams and jellies and filling jars with tomatoes and peaches.  She also made these amazing dill pickles. They were spicy and garlicky, and they made your tongue tingle, your eyes water, and your breath smell... well, garlicky.   My pickles this year are pretty close, I think. And I'm pretty excited.

We also managed to put up a boatload of jalapenos.  Nearly 20 pounds this year. From that, we ended up with 14 half-pints of candied jalapenos, and almost double that of pickled slices and spears... which means we'll be all set for making nachos, pulled pork sandwiches, and jalapeno-studded corn bread for the next 8 months!

Interestingly enough, one of the real pleasure of the summer turned out to be pickled red onions.  We found this recipe over at one of my favorite cooking blogs, Voodoo & Sauce.  And, in fact, her description of these pretty much guaranteed we were going to try them out.  Just read this:

The hot brine takes the edge off the onions, and though the natural sweetness of the onions is enhanced, these pickles do not cloy. I boorishly ate half a jar of these with country pâté on a bagel, I admit it. My new favorite lunch is a cheese and sweet onion pickle sandwich on rye, but these are also wonderful on a hot dog or a steak taco. They pair well with salmon and rosé, and not just aesthetically. They are pretty in pink, and a perfect way to kick off any canning season.

Yeah. Really, how can you resist?

We followed Heather's recipe almost exactly on our first try. But, now that we've gotten our hands dirty, we'll be ripe for experimenting with the flavors next time.  And there definitely will be a next time -- probably before the end of the harvest season.
 
Sweet Onion Pickles c/o Voodoo & Sauce

And just in case you're wondering what to do with a jar of pickled onions, let me give you a short (but delicious) list:

• Give your tail-gating hot dog a grown-up twist.
• Add a few to your next grilled cheese sandwich.
• Make your favorite breakfast sandwich even better - egg, prosciutto, and avocado with pickled onions on rye, maybe?
•  Pair with smoked salmon for a delicious winter appetizer.
• Serve alongside pork, or other roasted meats.
• Eat out of hand - yes, I've done this, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

©BURP! Where Food Happens

Never the Same Dish Twice: Caramelized Onion & Poblano Enchiladas

There's just something about a cheese enchilada.

It's not complicated. Or fancy. If you're honest, you'll probably even admit that it's really not even all that interesting.  But, there's something about a deliciously soft tortilla that's filled with cheese and covered in sauce that seems to capture the imagination. 

Of course, if you're like me, you're always trying to play with perfection... tweaking a little bit here, adjusting there. Making things better (hopefully)... or at least different.  Keeping the spirit of the experimentation alive.

This dish has been a perennial favorite in the Burp! kitchen. In fact, the recipe goes way back -- to the beginnings of the blog.

It was one of our very first blog posts -- published toward the end of June in 2007.  At the point it was written, we weren't cognizant that we had an audience.  In fact, we were pretty sure that we didn't. You'll notice there's no pretty photo of our meal. No story about where we got the idea for the recipe. In fact, there's not much of anything interesting about the post at all, except maybe the recipe itself (and that's probably somewhat debatable).

The fact of the matter is, the idea stemmed from a recipe for cheese and caramelized onion enchiladas that we found in Jack Bishop's A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen.   We loved the concept of using sweet caramelized onions in an enchilada, but I wasn't completely satisfied with the recipe on its own.  So, we started tweaking.

Rather than using pickled jalapeno peppers, I decided to sub in slices of roasted poblano chiles. To add a bit of delightful creaminess, we added a few ounces of cream cheese to the filling. We neglected to use Bishop's sauce.  And suddenly, we had a brand new dish.

Years later, I'd venture a guess that we've made this dish at least 10-15 times. And it's likely to have been different every go-round. We've used various sauces (a mole, a red chile sauce, and a roasted tomatillo sauce). We've substituted roasted red peppers and fresh jalapenos for the poblanos. We've added goat cheese to the mix, rather than cream cheese.  And every time, it's been a completely new kind of fabulous.

But, that's exactly what I love about cooking. And blogging.  It's never the same twice. Ingredients change. Trends come and go. We approach the same dishes with different perspectives. And recipes have this miraculous way of morphing into new experiences right before our very eyes.

Every single time we step into the kitchen, we learn something new. And we find something unexpected.

So, go ahead -- tweak that recipe. See what it becomes for you.
Caramelized Onion & Poblano Enchiladas


And don't forget -- in celebration of our Burp-Day, we'll be giving away at least THREE (3) Burp! t-shirts during the month of June. Visit Burp! Blog on Facebook to find out how to win!


©BURP! Where Food Happens