Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Controversy

I try not to touch on too many controversial subjects on my blog. I have friends who have very differing opinions on a lot of things, yet we manage to remain friends. I've decided I can no longer keep quiet on this front. I may make some enemies here, but I'm prepared to defend my position...to the death*. Here goes nothing...

If you don't cook with onions, you're a wimp.

There I said it. No onions? Wuss. "I don't like onions!" Weenie. "Onions smell so bad!" Get over it!

Onions are the one thing in my pantry (actually, I keep them in my fridge veggie crisper) that I'm never without. If an onion  can possibly be used in a dish, I'ma be there with it. They can bring a tang to a dish like no other. They can even bring a little heat with the right onion. Yet, when you cook them down, they have the most mellow, sweet, and savory taste. They are very versatile and bring flavor out in almost every meat, especially meat of the beef and pork persuasion.

I bring this up, because whenever I'm chopping an onion (which let's face it, is practically every day), I always have this nagging voice in my head. I shall not name names. But an old friend of mine (we are no longer friends...I won't say it's because of onions, but it didn't help the friendship any) claimed she was the best cook in the eastern hemisphere (See?! That should tell you right there how smart SHE was). She was very prideful of this fact. Yet, she was also prideful of the fact the she didn't use onions because "they're gross!!" Did I ever throw in her face that you CAN'T BE A GOOD COOK without using onions? Nope. Never. I'm too good a person for that. Did I start bringing my onion-laden dishes to our get-togethers and relish in the praise they received? You betcha. Because onions are hella good, I'm telling you!

So be down with the onion. If you're afraid of them, I'll let it slide if you give them another try. Be adventurous. You've never heard Wolfgang Puck say "onions are icky!" That's because they're a cook's best friend. And I need a friend, because I ditched that other chick.

*of a small vegetable


3 comments:

  1. ROFL omg Kate, hilarious! I was like uh oh, what is this gonna be about lol.
    ok ok - is onion powder ok? 'Cause I use that sometimes but onions hate ME so I don't use them much. One only wants to spend so much time in the bathroom, after all. :P

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  2. I totally enjoyed this! Great writing! And I love how the title had me expecting something else. I was kinda hoping for some digiscrap juicy gossip.

    I don't think I'm quite as in love with onions as you are ... but I do use them in cooking. My brother and sister do not, and I asked my brother how he can make chicken pot pie without onions and have any flavor in it. He said he uses onion powder instead.

    However, I could not always eat onions. When I was little any onion in my mouth would literally make me gag. It was completely involuntary and not fun. And gagging is simply mutually exclusive of a good eating experience. I can eat raw onions in salads or potato salad now, but when I cook with them, I chop them up way fine. I still will not eat a large piece of onion in a stir fry. So, while I agree with your position, I do have sympathy with people who won't eat them.

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  3. I am so behind on my Google Reader! lol

    I was an anti-onion chick growing up, but I've learned to like them in a lot of things. The chicken Sicilian Stew I posted on my blog a long time ago has onions. It's delicious. Tator and onion soup wouldn't be tator and onion soup without the onion! But I'm a weirdo and put a can of tomato sauce in it. It's delicious. :) I like a good blooming onion from time to time, and Rick and Charlie's House salad wouldn't be the same without them. But I absolutely will NOT eat a Big Mac with onions, no way no how! lol. Or any other burger really... except this one burger from a restaurant that closed down here in town. It was a spicy southwest burger and it had fried onions and fried jalapenos on it. I'm SO HUNGRY NOW!!!

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