Barefoot Thursday Herb Roasted Onions

Barefoot Thursday! Barefoot Thursday is the day when barefoot bloggers across the blogosphere whip up a recipe created by Ina Garten the Barefoot Contessa. Why don’t you find out more about it by visiting the Barefoot Bloggers…maybe you would even like to join in (I’ll bet you would like it).

This week's recipe was selected by Kelly from Baking with The Boys. The recipe was a simple, elegant roasted onion recipe. I only made a few minor alterations to the original recipe-I replaced the mustard with red pepper sauce (Tabasco) and added some fresh rosemary and dried thyme (I forgot to buy fresh Thyme). I served the onions with grilled sliced skirt steak and drizzled Worcestershire sauce over the steak and the onions just before serving. It was delicious!

Now a critical reader might say: "...eh, it looks like you burned the onions"

And to that I might quickly respond: "...yeah, well, I meant to do that-a crispy onion is a tasty onion thank you very much."

After finishing, I found myself wishing I had tossed the warm onions in a mixed field greens salad with a bit of goat cheese and some walnuts...I guess I'll have to make them again! The original recipe is here.

Lightly Spiced Herb Roasted Onions (adapted from Ina Garten's recipe)

2 red onions

1 yellow onion

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon red pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)

1/2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

pinch dried thyme

1 teaspoon minced garlic

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup good olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Remove the stem end of each onion and carefully slice off the brown part of the root end, leaving the root in tact. Peel the onions and slice into wedges. Place the wedges in a large ovenproof skillet.

Whisk together the lemon juice, Tabasco, rosemary, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Gradually add the oil, whisking to combine. Pour the dressing over the onions in the skillet and gently toss to coat. Place the onions in the oven and roast for 30-40 minutes. Stir the onions once during roasting.

Sausage & Pepper Hero Salads

Day three of salad week.

On Monday I decided to have a salad week to get my eating back on track after over indulging on a recent amusement park trip. But I suppose I'm teetering on the edge of eating carnival food with the salad I've made for today: Grilled Sausage and Pepper Hero Salads with French Bread Croutons.

My local supermarket had a selection of chicken sausages in the store brand natural food section. There are a lot of different brands of chicken or even turkey sausage out there so you should not have a problem finding them in your supermarket. And the good news is that when you're using sausage a little goes a long way as far as flavor so I'm not really being too bad. If you are feeling extremely calorically generous with yourself today I'm sure shredded provolone would be a tasty addition. I am still being a caloric Scrooge, so no cheese for me.

Grilled Sausage and Pepper Hero Salads with French Bread Croutons

Croutons:
1 cup 1-inch French bread cubes
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Dressing:
2 grape or cherry tomatoes
3 basil leaves
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2-3 drops hot pepper sauce (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Salad:
1 large onion, sliced into 1/2 inch thick planks
2 red peppers, sliced into rings, seeds removed
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 Italian-seasoned chicken sausages
8 cups shredded Romaine lettuce

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Preheat a gas grill to medium heat.

In a small bowl, combine the bread cubes, oil, salt and pepper. Spread bread cubes in a single layer onto a baking sheet; bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Let the croutons cool while preparing the dressing. (Croutons can be prepared in the grill on a piece of foil, cook, turning occasionally to avoid burning).

In a blender container, combine the tomatoes, basil leaves, olive oil, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and salt; blend until well combined and smooth.

Place the onion planks and pepper rings on a large sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle the onions and peppers with oil. Place directly on the grill rack and cook 4 minutes. Carefully turn peppers and onions using tongs and taking care to not drop rings through the grate. Cook an additional 4 minutes or until rings are just tender and have nice grill marks. Transfer onions and peppers back to the foil while cooking the sausage.

Place the sausage on the grill rack and cook for 8 minutes, turn and cook for an additional 8 minutes.

To assemble salads, divide the Romaine lettuce between 4 serving plates. Top the lettuce on each plate with the peppers and onions. Carve sausage into slices. Scatter the sausage and croutons over each and drizzle lightly with the dressing.

Steaks with Hot Chili Lime Butter

Hot sauce has not always been something I would casually toss into my supermarket cart as I often do today. There was a time when I looked upon hot sauce as just that red spicy saucy stuff reserved for beer guzzling lovers of hot wings on Super Bowl Sundays. I know better now.

Hot sauce, while still fabulous slathered onto hot wings, is a spicy addition to soups, sandwiches, dressings and even eggs. (I personally cannot stomach the idea of hot sauce on eggs-or even ketchup on eggs, but that's just me).

It warmed up a bit here in the Northeast so I fired up the grill and threw on a few bone-in shell steaks. I used a unique method of preparation for the steaks that I found on Steamy Kitchen where you coat (I mean coat) the steaks with salt 15-60 minutes before grilling them, then rinse, pat dry and grill. Wow! We're talking steakhouse good! It's worth reading the whole post on Steamy Kitchen because it describes the whole process and why it makes them so tasty, but I'm telling you it was lick your lips, melt in your mouth good. I topped the steaks with a butter that I made with hot sauce and limes and served it with a quick spinach salad.

Salt-licked Steaks with Hot Chili-lime butter

2 bone in shell steaks (about 1 1/4 inch thick, 1.75 lbs total)

about 4 teaspoons kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon lime zest

1/2 teaspoon lime juice

1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (such as Franks)

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped cilantro

Arrange the steaks on a baking sheet and coat each side of the steaks with 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt; let rest for 15-60 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the butter. In a small bowl combine the butter, lime zest, lime juice, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce and cilantro. Spoon the butter onto a sheet of plastic wrap and roll to form a log, press down gently with your finger on one side to make the log a uniform size. Chill the wrapped butter until ready to use.

Preheat grill to medium high heat. Rinse the salt from the steaks and pat dry. Season to taste with the black pepper. Place on the grill rack, close the lid and cook for 8 minutes. Turn steaks using a spatula and cook for an additional 5 minutes for medium-rare or cook until desired doneness.

Place 1 tablespoon of the butter on each of the hot steaks and serve immediately.

Note: some tasty additions to the butter might be minced shallots, scallions or garlic. For extra spiciness add 1/4 teaspoon ancho chili powder and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper and have a glass of ice water ready.