Monday, August 3, 2009

Fun-ion Time!!!!!!!!!!

It's 2-fer Tuesdays. 2 recipes today & both involving onions. I thought this was one of the best sandwiches ever & I loved these homemade onion rings more than any I've ordered anywhere!!!! It may seem strange to pair this duo, what with all the onions, but I really was in the mood to make both. And it was actually fun!!!!!!

Many people have commented about frying things at home & how nervous they get but don't be! I don't fry a lot but what I do fry is totally worth it & easy!!!!!!!!! I urge you, dare you, encourage you, to try these onion rings. They're not like fast food, dripping with grease & the flour breading is very light!!!!!


HAM & CARAMELIZED ONION GRILLED CHEESE

1 large onion, very thinly sliced
1/2 tsp sugar
Pinch salt
4 tsp spicy brown mustard
3 tsp horseradish
2 tsp honey
8 slices bread like sour dough 5 grain
12 slices deli ham
4 slices low-fat Swiss cheese

Coat a medium skillet with nonstick spray & place over medium heat. Add onion, sugar & salt to skillet. Cover. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally or until lightly browned. Remove from heat. Stir together mustard, horseradish & honey. Set aside.

Spread 4 slices of bread evenly with mustard mixture, then layer 3 slices of ham over each piece. Place about 2 tblsp onions on top of ham then place 1 slice of Swiss on top of the onions. Place the remaining bread over cheese.

Spritz both sides of sandwich with nonstick cooking spray & cook in a nonstick skillet over medium heat for about 5-8 minutes or until cheese has melted, turning halfway through.

{Food for Thought}

The original recipe called for regular whole wheat bread but I bought some fresh bread at Publix, some type of sour dough 5 grain bread & I wouldn't change a thing. You want something a little bigger than whole wheat & a little more special. As for the special sauce, I recommend doubling up if you're like me & like to spread a bit on each side.


SOUTHWESTERN ONION RINGS


2 large sweet onions
2 ½ cups buttermilk
2 eggs
3 tblsp water
1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
Vegetable oil

Cut onions into ¼ in slices. Separate into rings. Place in a large bowl & cover with buttermilk & soak for 30 minutes, stirring twice.

In a shallow dish, beat eggs & water. In another shallow bowl, combine flour, salt, chili powder, cayenne, sugar, garlic & cumin. Drain onion rings, dip in egg mixture, then roll in flour mixture.

In medium to large skillet, heat 1 in of oil to 375. Fry onion rings, a few at a time for 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.


{Food for Thought}

These weren't spicy at all, just a nice little sweet kick. When you fry the rings, just let the golden color be your clock. Once the outside is golden on both sides the onion ring is perfect on the inside.



Visit Lisa at Blessed with Grace for more Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays!!!!

39 comments:

Christi @ A Southern Life said...

I love homemade onion rings and your sandwich sounds like the perfect companion! YUM!

Christi

starnes family said...

I don't fry much, either, but GOOD LORD....this all looks delightful. I love a good sandwich.

missy said...

my husband would LOVE both of these!!!!!!

Scary Mommy said...

I've died and gone to heaven. Thank you.

Kristina P. said...

I am ALL OVER these!

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness gracious sakes alive. This looks so great. I am going to make these for supper tomorrow night. Thank goodness for your inspiration or we would go hungry. Or get fast food. Either or : )

Deanna said...

If only it weren't 9:30 at night... I would be cooking up a batch of these onion rings right now!!

Lisa@BlessedwithGrace said...

YUM!!!!I agree with Deanna, those would be great right now!!

Pam said...

I am such a huge onion ring fan. These look amazing and so does the sandwich.

MadeInCanarias said...

I have to try these. They look so so yummy!
Thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

I think the rings and sandwich work together well...Thanks for the motivational speech about frying. I'm one of those that avoids it because of previous results. These rings are what I need to give it another whirl.

Anonymous said...

It all looks so delicious!!!

Rune said...

I have to try these:)
they looks so good.

W

annies home said...

yet another great way to make great grilled cheese

Stereos and Souffles said...

Drooling over here! Pass me a napkin would ya.

Lisa Anne said...

Those Onion Rings look sooo good. My BF and my son both love onion rings. I think I will suprise them with these this Sunday during the Football games.

Thanks for stopping by my blog, I hope you come back to visit again soon. I'm def gonna follow your blog, I love food recipes.

JennyMac said...

Ok, with such a ringing endorsement of these, I would be willing to make them for a cook out we are having soon. I don't like frying OR onion but my mom/brother will think they are in heaven. I tried to give them veggie burgers once and my brother warned me to never do that again. LOL.

Little Ms Blogger said...

Can't wait to try them!

I love a good onion ring...

Jen said...

now that is mine kind of grill cheese sandwhich!

Angela said...

Hey Steph!

These look awesome! I cannot wait to get back to cooking. Can't.Wait. Life has been too crazy recently, but this weekend is an all-out cooking weekend, complete with freezer meal kits and new recipes to try.

Hugs!

Woman Interrupted said...

OK, you are really tempting me.

I had an onion ring frying fiasco a few months ago. I was frying onion rings for almost an hour and I was a sweaty, greasy mess. I don't know what I did wrong, but I gave my precious all clad pot ugly "fried up grease" blemishes and by the time I got to sit down and eat the dang things were soggy.

I vowed to stick to restaurant onion rings from now on. But God knows how I love onion rings!

Maybe you could do a tutorial on the do's and don'ts of frying at home...

Mommy Mac said...

Holy moly! It's almost 1 in the morning and you have totally made me hungry. You are my husband's favorite blog for me to read!!! He always wants to know what your up to!

Did you catch the NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR finale?

Thoughts on winner Melissa? Just wondering your take.

.mac :)

p.s. I gave you a litte blog love on my latest post!!

Pumpkin Delight (Kimberly) said...

That sandwich looks pretty good too!

Coco said...

Oh Lord! This is right up my ally, nothing like a good grilled sandwich and yummy rings.

I am terrified of frying but Hubby is the best! I am going to put him to work this weekend.

Michelle said...

Did you just double dog dare us to make some onion rings? :) They do look yummy and considering how hungry I am right now I might just be drooling a little bit.

Lula! said...

Ooooh--we are big onion ring lovers in this house. And I don't love them when they're greasy and heavy-tasting. Yet another WIN of a recipe from you, I'm certain.

When are we gonna get your cookbook published? And by "we," of course I mean you. And me...as your taste-tester, publicist. HA!

FROGGITY! said...

i do believe i will take your advice and make these! i LOVE onion rings!!!

The Nice One said...

My kids love onion rings, for some bizarre reason. Those look SUPER delish, I am going to try them for my kiddo, but will supplement soy for buttermilk. Usually does well.

Stephanie Faris said...

Those onion rings look delicious. I'm going to have to try that recipe!

The Blonde Duck said...

That is a fantastic sandwich.

BeautifulDisaster311 said...

WOW, I know what I'm fixin for lunch tomorrow!

Kerstin said...

What yummy comfort food! Onion rings are my favorite, but I haven't tried making them at home before - you make it look so easy!

Claremont First Ward said...

I've never met anyone that makes their own onion rings. You really do some amazing things in the kitchen!

Woman Interrupted said...

I gave you a shout out on my blog today. I really do enjoy reading your blog!!

Nicole Feliciano said...

I think I gained five pounds reading this post! Yum. I hope you'll stop by again for Friday Feats at Momtrends. Here's this week's link:

http://momtrends.blogspot.com/2009/08/friday-feasts-poached-salmon.html

BonBon Rose Girls Kristin said...

Oh heck yeah, that sounds delicious!

Life, Love And Lola said...

Love onion rings! The crispier the better!

Sweet Pea Chef said...

We had grilled ham and cheese today, but I need to add some carmelized onions next time!

Hula Hank said...

I have been looking for a good onion ring recipe for a very long time.

I miss onion rings.

The sandwhich sounds excellent as well, but when onion rings are involved my mind blocks out everything else.