Oven-Fried Onion Rings

In the past couple of weeks, I think I've learned a valuable lesson.  I come to realize it's best to avoid saying such phrases as "I feel like things are finally settling down" or "As soon as we get through this, I'll really be more on top of things."  Silly me, this week has been one big reminder that we are not in control.  And so the craziness continues.

That said, I felt like I couldn't delay any longer in sharing this recipe.  I ate so many of these onion rings that I had no room for any of the other items on my plate and kept eating even after I got stomach ache from being so full.  They were perfect crispy-crunchy thick-cut onion rings that my husband, a self-proclaimed onion ring-lover, declared some of the very best he'd ever had.  And, he pointed out, they don't have that distinctly fried aftertaste that a lot of onion rings have.

Oven-Fried Onion Rings
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature*
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
30 saltine crackers
4 cups kettle-cooked potato chips (I used reduced fat Ruffles brand and they worked great)
2 large yellow onions, cut into large rings
6 tablespoons vegetable oil

Adjust the oven racks to lower-middle and upper-middle positions and heat the oven to 450 degrees. 

Place 1/4 cup of the flour and corn starch in a shallow baking dish or pie plate.  Beat the egg and buttermilk in a medium bowl.  Whisk the remaining flour, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper into the buttermilk mixture.  Pulse the saltines and chips together in a food processor until finely ground (or just place in a gallon-sized freezer zipper bag and pound the heck out of them).  Place crumb mixture in a separate baking dish.

Working one at a time, dredge each onion ring in the flour-cornstarch mixture, shaking off the excess.  Dip in the buttermilk mixture, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl, then drop in the crumb coating, turning the ring over to coat evenly.  Transfer to a large place. (At this point, the onion rings can be refrigerated for up to 1 hour.  If you refrigerate them, let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking).

Pour 3 tablespoons of the oil on each of two rimmed baking sheets.  Place in the oven and heat until just smoking, about 8 minutes.  Carefully tilt the heated sheets to coat evenly with the oil, then arrange the onion rings on the sheets.  Bake, flipping the onion rings over and watching and rotating the position of the baking sheets halfway through baking, until golden brown on both sides, about 15 minutes.  Briefly drain the onion rings on paper towels.  Serve immediately. 

Note:
*If you do not have buttermilk, an easy substitute can be made.  Just mix together slightly less than 1/2 cup milk with 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice or white vinegar.  Allow mixture to sit for 5 minutes and stir before using. 
Recipe slightly adapted from: The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2011

Ratatouille, like in the movie

Ratatouille, one of my favorite movies and a dish that incorporates all kinds of vegetables that I love...and Jay hates. Well, it's summer and the components of ratatouille (zucchini, squash, tomatoes, eggplant) are in season and gorgeous. I also just stumbled on a blog post that presented the usually rustic chopped vegetable dish in a way that was just like in the Disney movie. Feeling inspired, I thought I would make my boys suffer through ratatouille for dinner and came up with my own variation. And, surprise! Jay actually really liked it (I would consider going back for thirds a success!). It's healthy, delicious and can take you on a mini-escape to the French countryside--even if all that gets to go are your taste buds...

Fancy Ratatouille (a la Remy)

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 cup canned diced tomatoes
garlic powder (about 1/2 teaspoon), divided
fresh ground pepper and salt to taste
1 teaspoon dried thyme (about 1 teaspoon), divided
1 small zucchini
1 small yellow squash
1 small eggplant (Italian variety is nice since it's similar in size to the squash)
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (optional)
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced (optional)

In a shallow baking dish (I used an oval shape about 1o inches across), spread the canned tomatoes along bottom. Sprinkle diced onion on top. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle a fine layer of half of the garlic powder (about 1/4 teaspoon) and thyme (about 1/2 teaspoon) over tomatoes. Season generously with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Set aside.

On a mandolin (or using a food processor, the slicer function on a cheese grater or if all else fails, a sharp knife), slice the zucchini, yellow squash and eggplant as thinly as possible. Slice the bell pepper into very thin strips as well.

Over top of the tomato mixture, start to layer the vegetables, alternating and arranging in layers following the outline of the dish.


Continue to arrange vegetables concentrically (Silas said "like a snail train") until you have filled the dish. You may have some leftover veggies. Once you have filled the entire dish, sprinkle again with an even layer of garlic powder (about 1/4 teaspoon again) and the thyme (about 1/2 teaspoon). Sprinkle with more salt and pepper and drizzle with remaining olive oil.

Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes or until the vegetables are tender, but still have some structure. Or, if you're pinched for time (like me, I had assembled it earlier in the day, we went to playgroup and got home right before dinnertime), you can also cover with plastic wrap (use labeled microwave-safe wrap and avoid letting the wrap touch the food directly), microwave on high for 10 minutes remove plastic wrap and replace with foil and then finish for about 10 minutes in the oven.

Garnish with shredded Parmesan and basil leaves.

We served it over whole wheat cous cous (cook according to package directions using chicken broth instead of water and adding one tablespoon of butter) and with grilled chicken. I also put some crumbled feta cheese over some of it as an afterthought, and that was pretty fantastic, too!