"VIDALIA ONION DAYS", AGAIN
Few good things have come out of Georgia. Peaches? Edgefield County, South Caro
lina produces more peaches than the entire state of Georgia. "The Peach State" my eye! How about those "el foldo" Atlanta Braves; or the"Close but No Cigars" Falcons; or the "Are Not, Never Were, and Never Will Be" Hawks? President Jimmy Carter? I'm talking about good things here. CNN was a good thing at one time. The University of Georgia has produced one good thing, its mascot UGA.
(Sidebar: Reminds me of a story: Two Georgia football fans were attending a game. They meandered down to the playing field during halftime and went over to see UGA. At that particular time UGA was licking himself, as dogs often tend to do. Fan # 1: "Hey, I sure wish I could do that." Fan # 2: "That dog would bite Yoooou"...Thanks to the late Lewis Grizzard ...One good thing out of Moreland, GA.)
But, to give credit where credit is due, Georgia has given us Coca-Cola and the sweet, delicious Vidalia Onion. Coca-Cola did stump its toe when it intro
duced the new Coke Classic a couple of years ago, but overall it has been a good product, an icon of modern western civilization, like it or not. Hate to admit it, but I prefer it to my own state's product, Pepsi-Cola, while many say they can't tell any difference between the two. I now prefer Caffeine Free Diet Coke, but feel foolish that I am really purchasing dark colored, sweetened carbonated water. I don't feel quite so foolish now that I see folks paying more for plain old bottled water, and even more for plain old flavored bottled water. (I would love to go to one of those bottled water plants and see what faucet that water really does come from)
But,
I digress. It's "Vidalia Onion Days" again. It only lasts a short time in the spring of the year. Our high school band booster's club sells them every spring. Their product is good and freshly delivered from the special area of Georgia, so I have been a regular customer for a few years. I usually order ten pounds for ten dollars. Although these sweet delicacies don't keep as well as your ordinary generic onions, and I may have to throw out the last two or three, it is money well spent. For the next couple of weeks I will be preparing and eating my year's quota of onions.
(Sidebar: Storage...put the Vidalia onions in a nylon stocking, with a knot between each onion. Hang in a cool place. When onion needed, cut off the bottom onion.)
Some folks peel them and eat them like apples, I don't go that far.
Sliced: On juicy hamburgers, or Bologna & Cheese or Bar-B-Q Sandwiches.
Chopped: On Hot Dogs. In Soups and Stews. In Spaghetti Sauce. In Salads.
Rings: (1)Soaked in Milk for 30 Minutes, Lightly Dredged in Flour/Salt/Pepper to produce Thin Coating and Deep Fried in Vegetable Oil, not overcooked. (2) Four Vidalia Onions Marinated with 1/2 cupVegetable Oil, 3 oz. Crumpled Blue Cheese, 2 Tbs. Lemon Juice, 1 tsp Salt, 1/2 tsp Sugar, Dashes of Seasoned Salt, Pepper, & Paprika...Refrigerated for at least four hours, to produce "Scotland High School 'Wilt Your Kilt' Cheese Marinated Onions"...They really get great after a few days of marinating...(Don't go out in public after enjoying these)
(Side
bar: Scotland High School is in Scotland County, which has a large population of persons of Scottish descent. There are more Mc's and Mac's in the phone book than the Smiths and Joneses combined. The athletic teams are "The Fighting Scots"...and no one has come forward to protest that the nickname is ethnically or culturally insensitive. The award winning high school band wears authentic Kilts, imported from Scotland as its uniform. Hence, "Wilt Your Kilt".)
Quartered, Using the Microwave: Topped with Butter or Butter & Bar-B-Q Sauce or a Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup and microwaved until the onions are soft...not too long.
Gotta go. Need to make some more "Wilt Your Kilt" onions. I'm not planning to go out anywhere today or tomorrow and am not expecting company.
posted by the doc at 7:17 AM
5 Comments:
This is ptwannabe, or wannabept, I forgot my password and don't know how to log in correctly, but I do know I want to eat some onions, now. I miss your BBQ onions....wish we had good ones up here. They are usually in bad shape...almost rotten. Yum...I still have one more Cheerwine that I am saving for a special occasion...as if it is a nice, aged wine. We love the Cheerwine and onions....and country ham.
After reading all the entries...I am left homesick and hungry. They have a place up here called "Old Country Buffet". When Kara and i are craving southern food, we sometimes drive out to the suburbs and go nuts at this place. It is great...because we do not know anyone..and we can eat the grossest foods, and lots of it. Although it is not truly southern, you can sometimes find casseroles and things that remind of us home....and again...the buffet bars are fun. I know they are probably germ ridden, Hepatitus lurking about, and the fact that there are some people in there eating with their teeth on their tray....we find it thrilling. I do not know if it is all of the hot, cold, dessert bars....the myriad condiments (A1, Heinz 57...the ones I never have at home, but can finish an entire bottle off in one sitting), the nostalgic reminders of the eating at the hospital when young (see other posts) or at steak houses after basketball games, BUT I LOVE THESE PLACES. The point of writing this is because sometimes they have the broccoli casserole from church...the nanna puddin'....and you can almost create your own sweet tea if you use about 10 of the sugar packets (conveniently located on your table..or booth...I prefer the booths) in one glass of tea. Yes, it all settles at the bottom, but that last suck on the straw IS sweet tea. Don't get me wrong, I love fine dining....but, I am not ashamed to admit that sometimes we drive far away to buffet restaurants in the suburbs where NO ONE will recognize us as we PIG OUT. It reminds me of the Will and Grace when Karen disguises herself in order to eat at a greasy spoon. Don't knock it til you've tried it.
I actually worked at a Western Sizzlin buffet in the Outer Banks one summer. Don't ask me why or how...but a friend of mine knew the owner...so a bunch of us worked there. We basically were the "drink girls". We asked diners what they wanted....and they could choose...tea, sweet tea, coke, diet coke, or sprite. That's it...oh, and orange fanta....which I love. So, the job was obvilusly demanding...and we drank a lot of coke. Sometimes we would get to clean up the salad and seafood bars...which I took great pride in...and I enjoyed eating the hot peppers in the walk in freezer in between refilling all of the salad components...little corns....peas, shaved carrots. Those are hard to keep clean, as people just drop peas and lettuce everywhere...and the crushed oreos that top sundaes...they were always a mess. So, respect and honor the bar (be it hot, cold, dessert, etc).
Oh, and a side comment...I am not sure if it was the summer following that Western Sizzlin summer....but, apparently a larger woman had a heart attack while eating off of the bar...and her family grabbed a plate, went back up to it, and got her food to go. Funny, sad, and a little gross.
So, is James Earl Carter your whipping boy? ;-) Horrible president, but fantastic retired president.
I dated a girl (!) from Hickory, NC one summer in college. She's the only person who I've ever heard of wanting Pepsi "The Pride of the Carolinas" over Co-Cola. Then again the places I come from call sodas, "pop" (Oklahoma City) or "coke" (Dallas/Austin) even for Madarian Orange Frescas.
Old Jimmy Boy did fine as long as he stuck to raising peanuts and Habitat houses. He never was much of a foreign policy wonk, as proved by some of his ill-timed and phrased international comments. Don't think we have lost any more embassies and had personnel held hostage since his presidency, with either Democrat or Republican at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Did you know that the ABC late night news program with Ted Koppel, "America Held Hostage" morphed into "Dateline"?
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