Tasty summer dishes sizzle with sweet Vidalia onions

(ARA) - Maybe it was helping your grandma with her favorite summer recipe or shopping with your mom at the market when the first shipment of the season arrived. No matter the memory, Vidalia onions are as versatile and delicious today as they were back then.

Vidalia onions are the original sweet onion. They are only grown in a small region in southeast Georgia and are only available in the spring and summer. Forget about the strong flavor of red and white onions that often leave odors in the kitchen for days. The sweet, mild taste of Vidalia onions makes them a great addition to any summer recipe.

"Vidalias have always been one of my favorite additions to warm-weather recipes," says "Top Chef" season five contestant Spike Mendelsohn. "Then, when my sister married a Vidalia native, I got to go down for their engagement party and see first-hand how much care the farmers put into their crop."

"When my family and I were thinking of what type of restaurant to open, we kept coming back to our favorite meals. Burgers, shakes, fries and Vidalia onion rings! What's better?" says Mendelsohn, who is executive chef and owner of Good Stuff Eatery in Washington, D.C. He shares a favorite family Vidalia recipe from his brother-in-law:

Cliff's Homegrown Vidalia Onion Petals

Ingredients for the onion petals:
4 Vidalia onions, cut into quarters
4 cups batter (recipe follows)
Canola oil for deep-frying
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Ingredients for the onion petal batter:
(This can be made one day in advance.)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch black pepper
Pinch ground cayenne
1 cup beer
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg, beaten

Directions:
To prepare the onion petal batter, sift 2 cups flour, salt, paprika, brown sugar, Old Bay seasoning, cumin, black pepper and cayenne into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the beer, buttermilk and egg. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients, and whisk to prevent lumps. Refrigerate until needed. Line a metal tray with paper towels.

Heat about 3 inches oil in a large skillet until it reaches 350 F on a candy thermometer. To prepare the onion petals, toss the onions in a bowl with 1 cup flour, coating them well, and shake off the excess. Pour the batter into another bowl, and dip in the petals to coat well. Slowly add the petals one by one into the oil, making sure not to overcrowd the skillet. Cook until golden brown and crispy. Using a slotted spoon, remove the petals, and drain them on the paper towels. Season the petals with salt and pepper while still hot. Serve immediately.

"I suggest serving these with a homemade basic mayonnaise or a horseradish mayonnaise for a bit of zip," says Mendelsohn. "These onions are also great in soups, salads, sandwiches, salsas, sauces -- the list goes on and on. Just be sure not to miss them as the growing season is short."

Share your own pleasant memory of cooking with Vidalia onions and your favorite family recipe with the famous sweet treat and you could win some cash. Enter the Vidalia Onion Committee's "Sweet Times with Vidalias Recipe Contest" from May 1 to Aug. 14. To enter, visit www.VidaliaOnion.org or join the fan page on www.facebook.com. Entries must be submitted online along with a memory or short story about cooking with Vidalia onions.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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Chef's Tip: Sweet Onions Add Flavor And Nutrition While Saving You Bread

(NAPSI)-Stretching your food dollars doesn't have to mean abandoning flavor. That means you can still enjoy cool-weather favorites such as luscious stews, roasted chickens, succulent pot roasts and more, while cutting costs.

The key? Stock up on affordable, hearty root vegetables that add flavor, nutrition and value to the dishes you serve-ingredients that I call "superfoods."

For instance, take the sweet onion. It's even better for you than a normal onion, and, as any chef will tell you, a sweet onion is the ultimate in savory flavor. Plus, adding one jumbo OSO sweet onion-a type of onion grown in the mineral-rich mountains of Chile-can add two vegetable portions to a tuna casserole or your favorite Crock-Pot dish.

Maybe just as important, though, these mildly flavored sweet onions won't make you cry when you cut them and have a longer shelf life than their traditional counterparts. That means putting an end to tossing unused onions that have sprouted green shoots.

Also, anyone with a sensitive stomach will be happy to know that because of their low acid content, sweet onions will not upset your stomach like regular onions.

Cooking With Onions

Add a slice of sweet onion to a sandwich, grilled cheese or hamburger and you'll be instantly eating better. You can also sauté them and add the onions to the mac and cheese you feed your kids to boost flavor and nutritional content, or even toss them in with some canned veggies to help fight off cancer and heart disease.

The possibilities are endless because the onion is used in more cuisines than any other vegetable in the world. Try this delicious dish made with savory sweet onions:

Maple-Balsamic Chicken Thighs

1 OSO Sweet Onion

Vegetable oil spray

6 chicken thighs

Salt and pepper

¼ cup olive oil

½ cup maple syrup

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons Italian seasoning

Remove skin from onion and cut into 6 slices. Arrange flat in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan and spray with vegetable oil spray. Place each thigh on top of an onion slice. Generously sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix remaining ingredients and generously brush each thigh/onion combo, covering as much of the chicken and onion as possible. Roast at 400º F in middle of oven for 15 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 350º F and roast 30 minutes, basting with pan juices 2 or 3 times.

For more recipes and information, visit the Web site www.sweetonionsource.com.

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