Cooking with Onion's question......

[CumminsPuller]

My wife and I always have this debate and now I am trying to settle it. Whenever she is cooking with onions, she always sautee's them first saying you get more flavor out of them. Like now, she started some spaghetti and and put the onions in fist to sautee. To me you shouldn't sautee them first as you loose alot of their flavor through the steam and cooking them 'down' and so forth. Am I thinking correctly? Or did I lose another battle... . ???? I just tell her she should throw them in the tomato sauce and let them just cook that way... ...



Jason

 

[GIT-R-DONE]

Best thing is just to agree with her..... IMO... ... if you cook them down first, then throw them in with the sauce, you lose the flavor. If you throw them in with the sauce to cook then the juice, flavor, goes into the sauce that you can then taste. Also depends on the kind of onion too as some of them are stronger than others. Good luck ! Don

 

[nickleinonen]

i don't much like onions myself at all. i will eat them sometimes [if they are mild] or if they have been cooked well to make them sweet [like onion rings]

 

[Greenleaf]

My sentiments,,,,exactly.



Greenleaf

 

[Steve M]

If they're strong onions, sautee them down until they're soft and sweet. If they're good ol' Georgia Vidalia onions, chop them in 1/2" sized chunks and throw them in 10 minutes before the sauce is ready. And leave out the bell peppers. Just my spaghetti opinion.

I do the cookin' 'round here so I get to do it my way!

 

[bighammer]

If you saute them long enough (medium) to turn them a nice brown color, you carmelize the sugars and loose the harsh onion taste. Awesome in ANYTHING or just by themselves. Oo.



I like to put them in my sauce to add a little sweet to the hot. (I usually start with hot italian sausages and a dose of pepper )

 

[jmeehan]

Dang it guys, now I'm hungry

I've never cooked an onion, but I ned to learn.

I like sauted onions and mushrooms on a bacon burger with swiss cheese.

 

[Peter Campbell]

What bighammer said- cofirmed by watching some british guy say the same thing on the food channel.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

it really just depends on what flavor you're looking for...



so you're both right!



Forrest

 

[Doc Tinker]

Like Forrest said, both are right. A sauteed onion is caramelized in it's own juice and butter, to create a unique flavor. The trick is to caramelize the onions to the right point.



Doc

 

[lschultz]

onions

I don't cook em the wife does and I just eat,eat,eat,and eat them. And I sure like the aroma that comes out when I fart and fart and fart. I could make a meal of onions and beans.

 

[jponder]

Moat people dont carmelize onions for spagetti, I do but most people sautee them. It is different in fact if you read some cook books they tell you to sautee the onion till clear, this is different than carmelizing. If you didnt sautee or carmelize the onions before you put them in the sauce you would need to cook them long enough where they wouldnt be raw/crunchy.



Once you learn to carmelize onions you probably wont do them any other way. If you have ever made a brown gravy with carmeilized onions and cooked a roast in it stuffed with Garlic then you just dont know the power of the onion

 

[fkovalski]

Side note:

I have heard that if you put an onion in the freezer for about 30 minutes before peeling that the effects of the odor and less eye tearing will occur.

 

[Doc Tinker]

To get the onion odor out of your skin, after pealing and chopping: rub your hands with a piece of stainless dinnerware under running water.



Doc

 

[jponder]

Originally posted by Doc Tinker

To get the onion odor out of your skin, after pealing and chopping: rub your hands with a piece of stainless dinnerware under running water.



Doc

People in louisiana use lemons rubbed on their hand to remove smell

 

[lschultz]

Originally posted by Doc Tinker

To get the onion odor out of your skin, after pealing and chopping: rub your hands with a piece of stainless dinnerware under running water.



Doc

Huh

 

[Hammer]

Actually CumminsPuller. .

You did loose and never admit defeat . .



Onions are a tasty treat when prepared for most any dish. If you would ever ask my wife she will tell you way to many get used here and I put them in everything,LOL.



One of my favorites for spaghetti sauce is use a Vidalia onion,oven roasted green,red and yellow bell peppers(use your desired amounts,I myself use all three peppers), a couple oven roasted garlic cloves,1/2 lbs of ground burger(lean as possible) and a 1/4lb of sweet sausage & 1/4 lb of hot sausage.



-Chop the onion into liberal sized squares and set aside.

-Prepare the amount of peppers you wish and set aside also.

-Chop garlic cloves into small pieces and put on 1/2 of them into a frying pan with a very liberal amount of the best virgin olive oil you have.

-Add sausage to olive oil and begin to cook it off slowly.

-When the sausage is halfway done add ground beef,peppers and finishing cooking off. You may want to add more oil while doing this. Still cook over a medium heat as not to scorch the meats and ruin the vegetable flavors.

-When meats are done drain excess fats if any,I myself do not I simply add to my sauce mixture.

-If your preparing for a small group use a quart of your homemade sauce or your favorite. If its a small army use 2 qts of sauce.

-Put the sauce into a non-stick warming pot and cut the acidity from the tomato's with sugar. (I am one for having the tomato flavor jump out of tomato sauces and use alot,my advice is sweeten to your liking by adding small amounts at a time).

-Turn the sauce onto a low simmer and allow the vegetables and meat to simmer flavors into it. You may also add the extra garlic cloves you roated now if desired.



When this is done it will make you want alot of pasta and end up with a empty pot and alot of dishes to clean says my wife... LOL..... Andy

 

[barbwire]

onions

I would just be happy that you have a wife cooking, and you don't have to do it yourself YES HONEY< I LOVE THE WAY YOU DO THIS

 

[bnelson]

onion smell removal??

This is too simple. All it takes to have your hands not smell like onions is to cut up a bit of celery AFTER you're finished with the onions. BTW, my spaghetti sauce goes like this: (note that I NEVER measure anything when cooking. )



I start with ground beef, about a pound and a half, I brown it, and leave the grease in the pan with the meat. The most of the seasonings go in while the ground beef is cooking. It would be seasoning salt, Italian seasoning, chili powder, and a touch of garlic. Then I add cut up bell peppers, onions, celery, tomatoes, either fresh or canned (diced or stewed), mushrooms, black olives, a small handful of white sugar, and tomato sauce as needed to control the consistency (thickness). A little Tabasco sauce spices it up nicely too. It must be good stuff, because when the kids come home to visit and I give them their choice of grilled steak or my spaghetti sauce, they almost always vote for the sauce!

 

[RT66DOC]

OK, my $. 02



If you breathe through your mouth while you're cutting onions your eyes won't tear up nearly as much, if at all. How about everybody try this and maybe we'll do a poll on it later?



I use lemon juice to get the smell off the hands. Fortunately we have a big old Meier (Meyer?) lemon tree out back. I suppose Go-Jo might also work.



Another marinara (sauce) recipe: Sautee (don't "carmelize" these, carmelized onions are for liver, as in liver & onions) onions and garlic in oil, add tomato sauce, basil and oregano (also got those plants out back), salt, pepper, whatever - I don't know all of this, my wife does it and I watch and sniff - then BROASTED red peppers, pepperoni cut in chunks (Margaritha is good) and ANCHOVIES. If y'all like a little anchovy now and then this sauce will blow your doors off. Anybody who might want the REAL recipe details like amounts , etc. , say the word and I'll ask the lady of the house. She's not covetous of her recipes like some women.



My wife is a better cook than yours. Betcha :-laf