Sunday, May 15, 2011.
Vidalia Onions Don't Fry As Well As Yellow Onions.
Mary Ann decreed that we would not go out to eat today, but stay home and cook. When Mary Leigh jumped out of bed raring to go at noon (she is a college student on vacation, so this is allowable), she amended the decree to posit the menu as hamburgers and onion rings. Off they went to the store, while I continued to fine-tune the rankings on my 300 Essential Restaurants list.
Mary Ann saw Vidalia onions at the store and thought they might be good for frying. Seems to me we tried this before, but I couldn't remember the outcome.
Out came the Kitchen Magician, a 1970s Ronco product that Mary Ann cherishes for its utility in slicing thin French fries and thinner onion rings. She inherited it from her mother. I hope the plastic crank handle--the device's Achilles' heel--never breaks in the her lifetime, or it will require a memorial service attended by her whole family.
The rings were very good. But they looked different from usual. A shade darker. That's enough to raise the suspicions of The Marys, and they didn't like them as well. Is there survival value for the species in the way females look askance at food with unfamiliar aspects?
They told me to shut up. Then they sliced a regular yellow onion, dipped the rings in the beer batter and fried them. Ah! Much better, they said. I'd say so too, but only by a little bit. On the other hand, I agree that Vidalia onions are probably better used raw. In a salad, or on a hamburger. In fact, I put some of the irregular pieces of the Vidalia on my hamburger. I don't often put raw onions on hamburgers, but I may begin doing so.
