Red Onion Tomato Relish with Cilantro

This is like caramelized onions on crack.
Cilantro and alcohol infused tomato crack.

Red Onion Tomato Relish with Cilantro
- 1 large red onion, sliced thin
- salt
- 1/3 c rice vinegar
- 1/3 c brandy
- 1/3 c water
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1/3 c sun dried tomatoes, julienne cut
- 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, minced

In a cast iron skillet, heat olive oil and when hot, add your onions. Sprinkle with salt and stir. Next, pour in the vinegar and brandy, sprinkle with garlic powder, stir and let simmer covered until onions have become soft. Add the tomatoes and the water, stir and let simmer covered until onions are very soft, almost mushy, and liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, stir in the minced cilantro, and enjoy over grilled fish or chicken.
I served this on grilled Mahi Mahi with Oven-Fried Green Tomatoes

Caked, Baked and... Devoured

Obviously, since I got home from Guatemala a few days ago, I've been on a bit of a cooking bender. While it's fun to be inside in the kitchen, it's high summer, and it's hot!

Yesterday I found myself with some leftover Creole Rice and the Cucumber Salad I'd made, and I needed something filling, but relatively light to round it all off.

CRAB CAKES!
The idea came sudden and seemed immediately perfect. But with the heat, the last thing i felt like was standing over a blazing pot of frying oil or eating something overly greasy.

But thanks to RecipeGirl, I found a recipe for Baked Crab Cakes, which let me cool off outside with a cocktail while they cooked inside. Genius, delicious.

With a few tweaks like extra veggies and a few shakes of Old Bay, these cakes came out light and fluffy, and hit the spot. I topped them with a roasted red-pepper relish aioli and garnished them with a sprinkling of minced cornichons and capers.

These were perfect with the Creole Rice and Cucumber Salad, and there was even one leftover. I'm thinking crabcake sandwhich for lunch!

Baked Crab Cakes with Red-Pepper Relish Aioli

- 12 saltines, crushed

- fresh parsley, minced

- 1 to 2 tbsp Old Bay

- 2 tbsp greek yogurt

- 1 tbsp water

- 1 1/2 cans processed crab

- 1/2 c shredded carrot

- 1/2 yellow bell pepper, minced

- 1/2 jalapeno, minced

- 2 scallions, minced

- 2 egg whites

Roasted Red-Pepper Relish Aioli

- 1 whole roasted red pepper (from jar), minced

- 2 tbsp low-fat sour cream

- 1 tbsp horseradish sauce

- 1 tbsp sweet relish

* garnish: cornichons, capers (minced)

In a bowl, crush crackers and then mix them with the parsley, old bay, yogurt and water. Knead in the crab and the veggies and mix well. Lightly beat the egg whites before adding, and then mix them with the crab until everything is well combined. Form cakes and ptthem into the fridge to cool for 20 minutes before baking.

Preheat oven to 425, and let the baking sheet get hot in the oven before using. Spray hot baking sheet with cooking spray and put crabcakes on. Bake crabcakes about 10 minutes before flipping and baking for another 5 to 1o minutes. Cakes should be golden brown on each side and cooked through.

Sauced

Somewhere in Maine there is a one-eyed fat man who would kill me for posting this. He made me a batch of this one summer and it blew my mind (and taste buds) and after persistent begging on my part, he gave up his secret recipe, in confidence that I would guard it well. But being both a BBQ lover and Humanist, there is no possible way that I can keep this secret from the deprived masses!
This BBQ sauce is A W E S O M E!!!!!!!!! and easy to make, to boot.

It's essentially a doctored BBQ sauce, boiled down to thicken it up, but don't be fooled by the ordinariness of the ingredients, this stuff is a smack in the face of flavor... a warm, heart-felt, BBQed smack in the face...

Disclaimer: After making this, no other BBQ sauce will ever suffice

You may begin BBQ saucing strange foods like eggs, pizza or rice

You may find yourself the prey of an angry One-Eyed Fat Man

ONE-EYED FAT MAN BBQ SAUCE(for grilling or dipping)
- 1 bottle BBQ sauce

- 1 c ketchup
- 1/2 c yellow mustard

- 1/2 c white vinegar

- 1 can beer

- 1/2 small bottle hot sauce
* 1 stick butter + 1/2 c brown sugar (optional)

Pour all the ingredients into a pot, whisk together, and bring to a boil. Stir constantly on rapid boil for 30 seconds, then reduce to simmer. Simmer until thick. That is all...

Told you it was easy!

Use this stuff for grilling, dipping, making bbq pizzas, as a facial mask or intravenously straight from the bottle!

variations: another cool thing about this recipe is that you can change up to flavor based on the BBQ sauce you use. Try a hickory-smoked version or a brown sugar-maple and sweeten with a splash of maple syrup...

* i've noticed no significant difference by not adding the butter or brown sugar, up to you

Homemade Onion Chutney

If you're anything like me, the Onion Chutney at Indian restaurants often ends up being more of a side-dish than a condiment... I LOVE Onion Chutney, but when I get takeout it's hard to brave the annoyed looks of the cashiers as I keep asking for extra... And so, I decided to take matters into my own hands, and make my own. With an unlimited supply, the possibilities are endless. This stuff is great on everything from Indian Food to scrambeled eggs. And to top it all off, it takes about 5 minutes to make.

What are you waiting for?



Onion Chutney
- 1 medium onion, minced
- 2 cloves pressed garlic
- 1/3 c apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 c Chili Sauce
- 1 tsp each: Onion Powder, Curry, Cumin, Corriander, Chili Powder

Mix Chili Sauce with spices. In a small saucepan, heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil and then add onions. Stir constantly to prevent onions from cooking too much and add onion powder and a dash of salt and then the vinegar. The vinegar should evaporate fast, and you don't want to cook your onions much - they should still be crunchy. Turn heat off and stir in your Chili Sauce mixture, transfer to a jar and let cool before capping and refridgerating. This should keep for weeks.