GREAT ONION RINGS AT HOME

Posted: October 22, 2025 in Food, frying, Recipes
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If you look online, there are a  million ways to make onion rings. So, in doing my research, my first step was to decide how I wanted them. Did I want a big, thick batter? Or something extremely light? Or something somewhere in the middle?
I’m not a fan of onion rings that have more batter than onion. After looking through dozens of recipes, I finally came up with one on my own that really satisfied my craving for onion and also a craving for a great crunch.
The set-up requires four trays, and lots of messy dunking before it goes into the oil. But it’s all worth it in the end!
I have a deep fryer, but the basket in it is small, so I can’t fry as many onion rings at one time as I’d like. So using a larger pan with a shallow pool of oil was the answer: it allowed for more onion rings to be fried in a single batch.
Onions, sliced about 1/4″ wide (I like using Vidalias)
In the first pan..
2 raw eggs, scrambled
In the second pan…
1 cup self-rising flour
In the third pan…
2 more raw eggs, scrambled
In the fourth pan…
2 cups fine breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated onion
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
pinch of dried oregano (optional)
I like to fry with peanut oil, so I pour an inch or two into a large pan and heat it to 340°, using a thermometer.
I peel the onions and cut them into quarter-inch wide slices, breaking them up into rings. (If a couple of rings of onion stick together to form a thicker ring, I don’t have a problem with that!)
Once that’s done, the procedure is really simple: dunk the onion rings in the first pan with the egg, coating them well. Then dunk them into the second tray with the self-rising flour, shaking off any excess. Then dunk them into the third tray with the egg, making sure it’s completely coated. And finally, dunk them into the fourth tray with the seasoned breadcrumbs, again, shaking off any excess.
Drop the onion rings into the hot oil and be sure to flip them so they cook on both sides. Cook until they’re golden brown. Place them on a sheet pan with a metal rack to cool.

I experimented with three variations. The top brown ones follow my recipe. The ring on the bottom right is dipped in egg and the flour mix only. The ring on the bottom left is dipped in egg, then the flour mix, back to the egg, and the flour mix again. The breadcrumb procedure is still my favorite way to go. Great crunch!

BEET AND QUINOA SALAD

Posted: October 18, 2025 in beets, Food, Recipes
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Why was it that I could only find a great beet salad in a restaurant? Was there some secret to making one? Well, after some experimentation, I came up with a beet salad that I really enjoy…and it’s easy to put together ahead of time if you have guests coming over for dinner.

Sometimes I skip the arugula and just go for a bowl like this…

2 cups cooked quinoa
1/2 lb. beets, cooked and sliced
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 clove garlic, through a press
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 scallion, finely minced
2 cups baby arugula (optional)
5 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

Prepare the quinoa according to the package instructions. I like to substitute half of the water with homemade chicken stock.

While the quinoa is cooking, combine the olive oil, vinegar, sugar, garlic, salt and pepper in a separate bowl.

Once the quinoa has cooked, place it in a bowl and add half of the dressing, mixing gently with a fork to fluff up the quinoa. Place it in the fridge to cool completely.

I like to use the product LoveBeets, available in any supermarket. The beets come fully cooked and peeled, ready to slice.

Chop the beets to the size you like and place them in the bowl of quinoa. Add the scallions, arugula and cheese. Toss to combine.

When the mixture has cooled down, give it a taste and add more of the dressing if needed. This tastes great at room temperature as well.

SPICY SOY TUNA TACOS

Posted: October 15, 2025 in Food, seafood, spicy, taco, tuna
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Whenever I serve these tuna tacos to friends, I always get requests for the recipe. It requires a bit of setting up, but you can put it together right before serving to your guests…or yourself.

I use sushi grade tuna for this dish, which is easily found in small frozen “bricks” at Whole Foods or similar stores.

 

The marinade…
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon chili oil

The topping…

¼ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice

Other Ingredients…

½ lb. sushi grade raw tuna, chopped into ¼-inch cubes
Tortilla chips
Finely chopped scallions

Combine the topping ingredients in a bowl, and place it in the fridge. Mix the marinade ingredients in a separate bowl. Chop the tuna into ¼-inch cubes, and marinate it in the soy/oil mix for just 10 minutes, then drain. (It will be really salty if you let marinate any longer.) Keep it cold!

Just before serving, take a tortilla chip, place 1 tablespoon of the tuna on top, top this with ½ teaspoon of the sour cream mixture, and then garnish with the finely chopped scallions.

Serve them immediately, and eat these quickly, before the tuna makes the tortilla soggy!

 

DIY TACO SEASONING

Posted: October 12, 2025 in beets, Food, morocco, Recipes, taco
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It’s so easy to make taco seasoning at home. So why would you buy the spice factory floor sweepings they use for packaged taco seasoning sold in supermarkets? I’m not a huge fan of Mexican cuisine, but every once in a while, I crave a good taco. My tacos don’t resemble most, but that’s OK. It’s all about making it your own.

 

1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 Spanish onion, finely chopped
olive oil
2 lbs. grass-fed ground beef

Combine all the spice ingredients in a bowl.

Sauté the onions in a bit of olive oil until they’re translucent. Add the beef and sauté until it’s cooked, mixing in the spice mixture a little at a time until you’ve used it all.

My tacos are a bit unusual. Although I use a soft flour tortilla and my seasoned and cooked ground beef, I spread a little Thousand Island dressing and chop some roasted golden beets.

But this taco meat goes great with the standard beans, shredded lettuce, guac, and salsa as well.

 

Tacos with roasted golden beets, baby Romaine salad mix, and Awesomesauce

Tacos with roasted golden beets, baby Romaine salad mix, and Thousand Island dressing.

For the beets: I wash the beets and quarter them, cutting the top and bottom off but leaving the skin. I place them in a sheet of aluminum foil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and olive oil. I combine the ingredients to coat the beets, wrap the foil tightly into a package, and roast in a 400-degree oven for 1 hour. After roasting and the beets have cooled a bit, I slice them into smaller pieces for the tacos.

Slices of avocado go really well with this, too!

You can also mix the spices with 1 cup of flour and use it to season chicken before frying…or mix the seasoning with strips of chicken breast or beef for fajitas.

MAKE YOUR OWN COCKTAIL ONIONS

Posted: October 11, 2025 in brining, Cocktails, drink recipes, Drinks, Food, MARTINI, mixology, Recipes
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I love onions! Raw, sautéed, caramelized, yellow, Spanish, Bermuda, Vidalia, Texas Sweets, scallion, pearl, Crimini, Walla Walla…they can do no wrong. In fact, my family gave me the Lithuanian nickname: “Ponas Svogūnas.” (“Mr. Onion.”)

I also love vodka martinis! So if I’m going to buy a top shelf vodka like Stoli Elit or Chopin, I’m not going to ruin it with jarred cocktail onions, brined with cheap vermouth, found in the bar mixers section of my local supermarket. Who knows how long those nasty things have been sitting on the shelf?

No, I’m going to make my own cocktail onions to enjoy a proper Gibson!

The Gibson martini is simply one with onions instead of olives, and the story of its origin is somewhat unclear. According to one story, it was invented by Charles Dana Gibson, who created the popular Gibson Girl illustrations. Supposedly, he challenged Charley Connolly, the bartender of the private club, The Players, in New York City, to improve on a martini. Connolly simply substituted an onion for the olive and named it after Gibson.

Another story claims a man named Gibson dropped an onion in his water-filled martini glass to differentiate between his own drink and that of his colleagues, who were imbibing heavily.

Some stories about the Gibson don’t even mention an onion. (?)

And yet another story, now considered the more probable one, is that the Gibson martini was invented at the Bohemian Club in San Francisco in the 1890’s by Walter D. K. Gibson. There is documentation as early as 1898 to back that up.

Whatever story you want to believe, the Gibson martini was originally made with gin, not vodka, but that’s strictly a personal preference–and I don’t use any vermouth. (I think the biggest injustice you can do to high-quality vodka is ruin it with low-quality vermouth. But that rule applies to any alcohol and any mixer. It’s only as good as its worst ingredient–and that includes the ice!)

 

 

My first attempt at homemade cocktail onions was not a success. I bought pearl onions and did what the package instructions said: I dropped them in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then moved them to ice water to let them cool. Then a gentle squeeze on one end of the onion would make it pop right out of its skin. Easy, right?

Well, it didn’t work out that way. For one thing, the onions got soft…not what I wanted. I had to cut one end of the bulb with a knife. And even then, when I squeezed the onion, the part that popped out was about half the size of the original onion…there was a lot of waste.

 

 

After brining, they tasted OK, but they never had that crisp bite I wanted. They were mushy. I realized that boiling was not the way to go.

 

A lot of waste.

 

I knew there had to be a better way. Then I discovered already peeled pearl onions at Whole Foods. I have to be honest…I won’t use any other onions now. They’re big, plump, and exactly what I want. Some might say they’re too big…but I don’t have a problem with that.

 

Sure, these are much larger than the onions you find in a jar. But tell me how that’s a problem!

 

1 lb. pearl onions, peeled, ends cut off
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2  cups water
3/4 cup sugar (I like turbinado sugar)
10 peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt (per quart-sized Mason jar)
2 cloves garlic

Combine the white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, water, sugar, and peppercorns in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring it to a boil, making sure the sugar dissolves completely. Remove it from the heat.

 

 

Slice the ends off the onions.

I’ve found that if I allow the brining liquid to get inside the onions, especially these larger ones, they’ll get tastier faster…and who doesn’t want that? So I take a thin metal or bamboo barbecue skewer and push it through the center of the top of the onions, all the way through the center of the bottom of the onions. Now there’s a little “tunnel” for that brine to get in, and it can work its magic from the inside out!

Not skewering the onions simply means it’ll take longer for that brine to seep in…but that’s perfectly fine if you want a not-so-briny onion.

 

 

In a quart-sized Mason jar, add the teaspoon of salt and garlic cloves. Pour a little of the hot vinegar liquid in the Mason jar to dissolve the salt. Add the onions to the jar, as tightly as you can, then fill the jar to the top with the vinegar liquid.

Screw the top of the jar on tightly, and turn it upside-down a couple of times to mix everything together. If it looks like the level of the liquid has gone down a bit, open the jar and top it off with the vinegar liquid, then re-seal it.

Let the jar cool to room temperature, then move it to the fridge. You can use the onions as soon as the craving hits you, but they’ll taste better if you give them a few days to a week.

 

 

OK…so if after reading this, you just don’t want to go through the whole process of making your own cocktail onions, there is one product that I just recently discovered that does the trick: Aunt Nellie’s. You can find them in the jarred veggie section of just about any supermarket, next to pickled beets and things like that. It’s a milder brine, and so the onions taste quite good. No nasty cheap vermouth to ruin your good martini.

 

ASIAN-STYLE ROASTED PORK

Posted: October 8, 2025 in Uncategorized
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I love pulled pork, or pork roast…cuts that use inexpensive, fatty cuts of meat that are full of flavor as long as you roast them low and slow.

 

A very special cut of pork!

I recently received a gift of a very fancy cut of pork: Spanish Iberico, where the pigs roam freely, feasting on acorns. It’s some of the best pork you can buy.

But even with a much less expensive cut of pork, like a pork shoulder, you can achieve some delicious results as long as you give it time: time for the marinade to get absorbed into the meat, and time for the meat to cook slowly at a low temperature. Low and slow is key to melting the fat and gristle, and making the meat as tender as it can be.

The pork, before marinating.

Just like with a basic pulled pork recipe, the spices you use make all the difference. I usually make a spice rub that I generously rub all over a pork shoulder when I’m preparing pulled pork. Then it goes in the smoker for as much as 10 hours, depending on the size of the shoulder.

In this case, I’m using a marinade, which needs to be absorbed into the meat. So if I was using a larger cut, I would butterfly it, and marinate it that way. The Iberico pork that I used in this recipe was under 2 pounds, so I left it whole.

I combine all the marinade ingredients into a bowl…

3 tablespoons Chinese Five Spice powder
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon Chinese chili garlic sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar (same thing as rice wine vinegar)
1/2 an onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped (optional)

Once the piece of pork has been trimmed of any obvious hanging fat (remember, you don’t need to butcher the meat…the fat and gristle will melt while cooking and add flavor), place in a Ziplock-type freezer bag, and pour in the marinade. Squish the bag around carefully, to make the marinade makes good contact with the meat. Place the bag in a bowl (to prevent accidents) and place the bowl in the fridge overnight. Squish the bag around every few hours.

 

Pre-heat the oven to 275 degrees. Use a baking pan large enough to hold the roast.

Remove the roast from the marinade, and wrap it in aluminum foil. Place the foil on the baking pan and into the oven. The amount of time you cook the pork will depend on the size of the roast, so use a thermometer to check if the meat is ready. My roast was ready in less than 2 hours, but it was a small one.

 

Halfway through cooking, while I was checking the temperature, I opened the foil and basted the roast with some of the marinade. Then I re-wrapped it, and placed it back in the oven.

 

I save the marinade to brush on the roast halfway through the cooking process. I could also use it as a dipping sauce when serving, but if I did that, it’s important to place the marinade in a saucepan and bring it to a boil to kill all germs! Remember, that marinade was swimming around raw pork! Once it has boiled for a bit, you can set it aside to cool to room temperature.

 

Done!

 

Pork should be cooked to a temperature of 160 degrees, so I remove it from the oven at 150 degrees, knowing the temperature will still rise as the meat rests.

 

Let the meat rest for at least 30 minutes.

 

AWESOME BAKED CHICKEN

Posted: October 6, 2025 in Carnivore!, chicken, Food, Recipes, Uncategorized
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Years ago, I created an all-purpose sauce that worked with a variety of dishes. Because it has a base of mayo, mustard and ketchup, it’s awesome on burgers and fish…on lobster and crab salads and shrimp cocktail…and just about anything else you can think of. So…I called it Awesomesauce. And though I got tired of the name I gave it very quickly, I didn’t get tired of the sauce!

I made a batch of the sauce for taco night at the house, and decided to use the leftovers the next day to coat pieces of chicken before roasting. The chicken came out moist and delicious. And because I sprinkled some breadcrumbs on them, they had a nice added crunch.

I like to use gluten-free breadcrumbs, because some folks in my family live a GF lifestyle. But it’s easy to make them. I buy a frozen loaf of Udi’s bread, toast it, and then put the slices of bread in a food processor. Instant GF breadcrumbs that taste as good, by the way, as any bread with gluten. You’d never know the difference.

 

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1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon mustard (I like Gulden’s)
1 tablespoon dill pickle relish
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Pinch cayenne pepper
4 lbs. organic pastured chicken pieces
plain breadcrumbs (I use gluten-free)

In a bowl, combine the mayo, ketchup, mustard, dill pickle relish, garlic, paprika and cayenne. Mix it thoroughly and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.

Pre-heat the oven to 325°.

Rub the sauce all over the chicken pieces and lay them in a sheet pan lined with non-stick aluminum foil or parchment paper. Lightly sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top of the chicken.

Bake until the chicken is cooked all the way through, and brown and crispy.

 

 

 

 

 

COCKTAIL SAUCE WITH A KICK

Posted: October 3, 2025 in Food, Recipes, seafood, shrimp, Uncategorized
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I’m old school. When a cold seafood tray, filled with oysters, shrimp, clams and lobster arrives at the table, I always choose the cocktail sauce to go with it. Mignonettes are OK, but nothing makes me happier than a cocktail sauce with enough horseradish in it to curl my nose hairs!

We slurp down more clams and oysters here in New England than just about anywhere else in the country. Freshly shucked oysters and clams–or in this case–beautiful boiled wild-caught American shrimp, call for an equally amazing cocktail sauce…and this sauce kicks butt! And it features a key ingredient that you might not expect: vodka. The small amount of vodka in the mix keeps the cocktail sauce from freezing solid when stored in the freezer. Just scoop out what you need, let it thaw, and put the rest back in the freezer.

 

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2 cups ketchup
4 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Frank’s Red Hot, or other hot pepper sauce
5 grinds of fresh black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon good quality vodka, like Tito’s

Combine all the ingredients. Store in a tight plastic container in the freezer. Scoop and thaw whenever you need it!

STICKY MAPLE BALSAMIC RIBS

Posted: October 1, 2025 in barbecue, Carnivore!, Food, pork, Portland, Recipes, smoking
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Sometimes the best ideas come from out of nowhere.

I had 5 lbs. of beautiful St. Louis-style heritage Berkshire (also known as Kurobuta) pork ribs thawing in the fridge, and I knew I wanted to create a new sauce or glaze with them, but I was feeling less than inspired. Our food-loving friends, Don and Johanna, showed up at our door with a gift they bought in Maine, at a shop called LeRoux Kitchen. It was a bottle of maple balsamic vinegar. It smelled wonderful…and tasted even better! I knew I had what I was looking for.

I used a smoker to make these ribs, but if you don’t have one (or just don’t want to bother with one), the ribs are just as awesome when baked in the oven.

 

You can easily make your own maple balsamic vinegar by combining a 1/2 cup of balsamic (not the super-expensive kind, but the $9-a-bottle kind) with 1 tablespoon of maple syrup. Add more or less maple to taste.

 

Yup…my old smoker…she’s been used a few times!

 

I originally used an electric digital smoker made by Masterbuilt. That beauty (above) has now made way for the Ninja Outdoor Woodfire Pizza Oven, which is also a smoker. I like the fact that I can set the temperature and time, and not have to constantly watch it. It has a side chute where I can add hickory smoking pellets when I want, and the results are consistent. I suppose some grilling fanatics might say I’m cheating, but a digital smoker allows me to live a life, hang out, do some yard work, whatever. I don’t have time to babysit.

I chose to smoke my ribs for about 4 hours in the smoker, lightly seasoning them first with Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, adding hickory chips to the smoker only once to give them a “light smoke.”

To avoid drying out the ribs, after a few hours of smoking, I like to brush them with a glaze, wrap them in foil, and then put them back in the smoker…or even in the oven. The glaze flavors the meat and also adds a little steam that tenderizes it.

 

Brushing with glaze, then wrapping in foil.

5 lbs. pork ribs (I get St. Louis-style Berkshire pork)
Lawry’s Seasoned Salt

1 cup water
1/2 cup maple balsamic vinegar (OR 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar + 1 tablespoon maple syrup)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper sauce (I like Franks’ Red Hot)

Prepare the ribs by removing the inedible skin on the back of the rack. The easiest way to do this is to cut a little “tab” of skin, then pull it with your fingers. Holding the skin with a dry paper towel will help your grip. I cut the racks in half to fit my smoker.

Season the ribs lightly with Lawry’s Seasoned Salt on both sides and place them into a 250° smoker (or oven, if you don’t have a smoker) for 3 hours, smoking lightly with hickory wood. (Skip the hickory if you’re using the oven.)

In a saucepan over high heat, combine the water, maple balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, onion, garlic, and cayenne pepper sauce. Stir well, and let it come to a boil. Let it reduce by half, leaving it still watery. Set it aside.

After 3 hours, remove the ribs from the smoker (or oven), placing them on a sheet of aluminum foil. (I use Reynold’s Non-Stick Foil, since the glaze will be sticky.) Brush both sides of the ribs with half of the glaze, and place the ribs meat-side-up on the foil before sealing the it around the ribs. Place the aluminum foil packets on a baking sheet, then into a pre-heated 250° oven (or back in the smoker.)

 

 

Remove the ribs from the oven or smoker after 1 hour. Open the foil packets so that the ribs are now exposed. Brush the top of the ribs one more time, then put the foil back over the top and cook for 1 hour more.

 

SWEET POTATO CORNED BEEF HASH

Posted: September 28, 2025 in Uncategorized
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Corned beef hash is actually a very simple thing to make. The most difficult part is the corned beef, especially if you’re curing it yourself. That process takes about three weeks…a long time to wait for a plate of hash!

 

 

If you have a package of already prepared corn beef that you bought at the supermarket, thaw it, and rinse it in clean, cold water.

I post my corned beef recipe every year around St. Patty’s Day. If you want to make your own, just use the search button on my blog to find the recipe.

 

A beautiful slab of corned beef, after 3 weeks of curing. I trim large pieces of fat and gristle off before cooking.

 

At this point, many people choose to boil the corned beef, but I don’t. Instead, I place the piece of brisket in a container large enough to hold it covered with more cold, clean water. I let it sit in this cold water for about 12 hours. I dump some ice into it to keep everything cold.  I change the water a couple of times over the 12 hours. Much of the salt will be washed away by this process. I pat the meat dry with paper towels.

I preheat the oven to 325°.

 

 

I lay a couple of sheets of foil down on a baking pan, and then add chopped carrots, celery and onions to it. I place the brisket on top of the veggies.

 

 

 

I wrap the brisket tightly in the foil, and place the pan on the center rack of the oven.

 

 

 

I let it cook for about 3 1/2 hours for a 8-pound piece of meat. Cook it less if yours is smaller.

 

 

I let the meat cool to room temperature in the foil, then unwrap it, and cut it into manageable sized pieces for future use. I wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap once it has cooled, and I place the wrapped pieces in a sealed bag and into the freezer. 

 

Of course, you have to slice off a few pieces to taste your masterpiece!

 

Once the corned beef has cooked, it’s ready for sandwiches, and of course, hash! (Pastrami is another series of steps, discussed in another blog.)

 

A piece of cooked corned beef, about 1 lb., cubed
1 medium onion
2 lbs. sweet potatoes 
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350°. If the corned beef is frozen, remove it from the freezer an hour earlier, letting it come to room temperature.

 

 

Peel and cube the sweet potatoes. Make the cubes about a half-inch around. Placed them in a single layer on a large sheet pan, sprinkling them with olive oil, and seasoning them with salt and pepper. Toss the sweet potatoes to coat them with the seasonings and then place the sheet pan in the oven, baking for about 25 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are fork-tender and have tasty caramelized, slightly charred edges.

 

 

A few minutes before the sweet potatoes are done cooking, finely chop the onion and sauté it in a large pan with some olive oil.

Cut the corned beef into small cubes, about a quarter-inch in size.

 

 

Once the onions are translucent, add the cubed corned beef to the pan, and warm it through.

Now add the sweet potatoes to the pan and mix thoroughly to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

 

Your sweet potato corned beef hash is ready to serve! It also freezes well, so don’t be afraid to make extra!

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