Season’s best

Sweet return

How to keep and cook first-of-the-season Vidalia onions

By Virginia Willis

Southern Kitchen

You might be a Southerner if you associate panty hose with onions. And, no, it’s not weird or kinky. Pretty much any Southerner worth their salt knows that the best way to store a springtime crop of Vidalia onions is to tie them up in a long, knotted train of sheer tights and hang them in a cool, dry place as long as they’ll last. The Vidalia onion harvest is typically from late April through mid-June. In this age of season-less grocery stores where both strawberries and winter squash are always available, there’s something perfectly wonderful about that tradition of grabbing the onions at their peak. Seasonality aside — why are these onions so special? Unlike a typical yellow or white onion, they don’t have that pungent bite and they’re shaped more squatty than round. To be considered a true Vidalia, an onion has to be grown from a specific Yellow Granex hybrid in a 20-county area in southeast Georgia surrounding the town of Vidalia, where there is a naturally low level of sulfur in the soil. Sulfur is what gives alliums like onion and garlic their distinctive bite — so it makes sense that if there’s not much sulfur in the soil, there won’t be much sulfur in the onion. In addition, the sandy soil and temperate weather of the coastal plain create

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the perfect environment for Georgia’s sweet onion. Grown elsewhere, that same hybrid simply won’t have the same taste. The Vidalia Onion Act of 1986 created regulations governing the growth and marketing of these trademarked onions, which included permitting the agricultural commissioner the authority to set the first date the onions could be shipped. This particular rule is not always popular with the farmers, but it is, in effect, a form of quality control. What if the onions are shipped too early, aren’t ripe, and someone purchases a Vidalia that’s not sweet? It damages the brand. These onion regulations are the closest thing we have in the state of Georgia to appellation d’origine contrôlée, the French government-mandated certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters and other agricultural products. And, we’re talking about serious money here — about $150 million of Vidalia onions are produced in Georgia every year. Nearly every article about Vidalia onions says they are sweet enough to eat out of hand like an apple. Well, they may be, but I am not sure why one would. There are plenty of other ways to enjoy them, and pure and simple treatment seems to be best. Vidalia onions are crisp, juicy and delicious served raw and thinly sliced on a sandwich, in a salad or in slaw. A snappy white slab of Vidalia on a cheeseburger hot off the grill is one of life’s purest pleasures. Another favorite old-fashioned Southern side dish consists of translucent paper-thin rings of Vidalia onion and garden-fresh cucumber drizzled with a dash of sharp vinegar, seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and perhaps garnished with a snip or two of fresh chives or parsley. Later in the summer when the produce really begins to come in, the marriage of sweet sliced Vidalias and meaty, pungent tomatoes doused in green golden olive oil, kissed with a smattering of sea salt and swimming in their own winey juices is a dual exercise in glorious excess and restraint.

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Though undeniably incredible raw, these special onions become almost candy-like when cooked. A common first rite of spring is the tremendously popular recipe of scored whole onions topped with a pat of creamy butter and cooked in the microwave or baked in the oven until meltingly soft. The tender layers separate and bloom into a pale ivory flower tinged with a mere hint of green. They soar grilled — their blackened, deliciously bitter edges contrasting against the sweetness of the tender rings. One of the most famous Vidalia onion recipes is baked onion dip. On the internet, there are pages upon pages of this ridiculously simple dip of raw Vidalia onions, mayonnaise and copious amounts of cheese. Oh, and possibly hot sauce. Almost every recipe gets five stars! My grievance with most baked Vidalia onion dips is not with the fat or calories, it’s that the cheese hides the bright, clean flavor of the sweet onions. I don’t want these Georgia gems to be dull and lost; I want to celebrate them! The classic bistro dish French onion soup, crowned with a golden brown crouton that’s topped with gooey, molten Swiss, is a superior example of achieving balance in a dish. It showcases the magical taste of tender, slow-cooked onions with just enough nutty cheese. With this soup, and a nod to my culinary training as inspiration, I developed a recipe for baked, caramelized dish that can be served as a dip or as a vegetable side — a perfectly simple celebration of those panty hose-clad Vidalias I’ve now got in storage.

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Baked Caramelized Vidalia Onions

Makes about 3 cups

• 1 1/2 cups grated Swiss cheese (about 4 ounces) • 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs • 1/2 teaspoon paprika • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil • 3 Vidalia onions, chopped • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour • 2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped • 1 cup low-fat milk, at room temperature • 1/2 teaspoon freshly picked thyme leaves, plus more for garnish • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus more to taste

Heat the oven to broil.

In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup of the cheese with the panko and paprika. In a medium ovenproof skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add the vinegar and cook until the skillet is dry, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and garlic until thoroughly combined. (The mixture will be slightly dry and pasty.) Stir in the milk and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 1 cup of cheese with the thyme and cayenne. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Use a wooden spoon to level out the onions and top with the reserved panko mixture. Broil until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown, about 5 minutes, depending on the strength of your broiler. Serve immediately.

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The best portable beverages

By Mike Jordan Southern Kitchen

Apicnic is not quite a picnic if you don’t have drinks to sip while relaxing in the sun. Depending on the occasion and what you’re doing — grilling or chilling — it’s important to know what will work and what won’t.

WITHOUT ALCOHOL

Country Thyme Lemonade

Serves: 8

• 8 cups water • 2 cups sugar • 1 ounce thyme sprigs, stripped, plus more for garnish • 1 3/4 cups fresh lemon juice • Ice cubes • Lemon slices, for garnish In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup water with the sugar and thyme and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and continue to simmer for 10 minutes. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a separate container and let cool to room temperature. Once syrup has cooled, stir in the lemon juice and remaining water. Serve over ice, garnished with a lemon slice and thyme sprig.

Classic Sweet Tea with Lemon

Serves: 4 to 6 For the Lemon Simple Syrup:

• 1 cup sugar • 1 cup water • 1 large, juicy lemon

For the Sweet Tea:

• 1 family-sized black iced tea bag, such as Luzianne • 4 cups water • Ice cubes, for serving To make the lemon simple syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and the water. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the peel from the lemon. Add the peel to the sugar mixture and reserve the lemon for serving. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and bring

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to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. As soon as the mixture comes to a boil, remove the saucepan from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Once cool, remove the lemon peels.

To make the sweet tea: Place the tea bag in a medium teapot or heat-proof pitcher. Bring 2 cups of the water to a boil; pour the boiling water over the tea. Let steep for 5 minutes, then remove the tea bag. Stir in the remaining 2 cups water and let the mixture cool to room temperature. Once cool, stir in lemon syrup to taste. Slice the reserved lemon into wedges or rounds. Serve the tea in tall glasses filled with ice cubes and garnished with the lemon wedges.

Beergaritas

Serves: 8

• 1 (12-ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate • 6 to 12 ounces tequila • 3 (12-ounce) Mexican-style beers, such as Corona • Ice • Lime slices for garnish In a pitcher, stir together the limeade and tequila until well-combined. Add the beers. Pour into individual glasses over ice; garnish with lime slices.

Classic Arnold Palmer

You’ve got the lemonade down, and you’ve mastered the tea; there’s only one thing left to do. Mix them! You just have to strike the right balance.

WITH ALCOHOL

Red Sangria

Serves: 20

• 2 (750-milliliter) bottles shiraz or other red wine • 3/4 cup Gran Torres liqueur • 3/4 cup simple syrup • 1/2 cup triple sec • 1/2 cup fresh orange juice • Lemon, lime and orange slices for garnish In a large pitcher, combine the wine, Gran Torres, simple syrup, triple sec and orange juice. Cover and refrigerate for 3 to 24 hours. Before serving, stir well to combine, then pour over ice. Garnish with citrus slices and serve.

Bourbon Prosecco Spritzer

Makes 1 cocktail For the Sage Simple Syrup:

• 1/2 cup water • 1/2 cup sugar • 5 sprigs fresh sage

For the cocktail:

• 3 ounces fresh orange juice • 1 1/2 ounces high-quality bourbon, such as Woodford Reserve • 1/2 ounce Sage Simple Syrup • Ice cubes • 3 ounces prosecco, such as Luna Nuda • Sage leaves and edible flowers, for garnish To make the sage simple syrup: In a small saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. When the sugar has

Holiday classics

Traditional Easter favorites

By Kate Williams

Southern Kitchen

For your main dish, take inspiration from the 1911 cookbook “Good Things to Eat” by Rufus Estes. Estes’ fried chicken is deeply flavorful and juicy with a thin, golden crust. A browned butter and vinegar marinade gives the chicken the same kind of richness and tang you’d get from a fulI-fat buttermilk brine, without having to make an extra trip to the store. For a final, old-fashioned touch, garnish with fried parsley. You can even serve it at room temperature if you need to make it ahead of time.

Rufus Estes’ Fried Chicken

Serves: 4 to 6 • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter • 2 carrots, chopped • 1 small turnip, chopped • 1 bunch scallions, chopped • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dredging • 6 1/2 cups water • Kosher salt • 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns • 1 pound ice cubes • 1 (4- to 5-pound) chicken, cut into 10 pieces • Vegetable oil, for frying • 8 to 10 sprigs fresh parsley

In large pot, melt butter over medium heat. When butter is foamy, add carrots, turnip, scallions and parsley. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons flour and continue to cook until just beginning to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in water, ½ cup salt, vinegar and peppercorns and remove from heat. Continue to stir until salt has dissolved. Add ice cubes and stir until ice is melted and brine has cooled to room temperature. Add chicken pieces. If necessary, weigh down chicken with a plate to ensure it is submerged. Refrigerate for 3 hours.

Remove chicken from brine and pat dry. Pour a couple of cups of flour into shallow bowl and season lightly with salt. Dredge chicken pieces in flour to coat well and place on wire rack in a baking sheet. Let rest for at least 15 minutes.

As chicken is resting, fill large cast iron skillet one third of the way up the sides with vegetable oil. Place skillet over medium to medium-high heat and bring oil to 325 degrees. Line second baking sheet with triple layer of paper towels.

When oil is hot, add legs and thighs of chicken first, placing around sides of skillet. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes before adding breasts and the wings. Fry, flipping occasionally, until internal temperature of chicken reaches 165 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes.

As chicken finishes cooking, transfer to paper towel-lined baking sheet and season lightly with salt. Once chicken is fried, add parsley sprigs to hot oil and fry until crisp, about 1 minute. Transfer to baking sheet with chicken. Let chicken rest for 5 minutes, then serve hot.

Casseroles

This onion-loaded rice casserole makes for an easy and satisfying side dish. Vidalia onions, a Southern speciality, are recommended, and they cook down slowly in a heap of butter until they begin to melt and caramelize. A little more than a cup of Swiss cheese is added for a hint of seasoning and just a bit of binding power — this is not a cheesy rice casserole by any means — and a modest cup of cream does the work of softening parboiled white rice. You’ll end up with a crisp crust and tender center, and the whole thing will go perfectly with just about any other mains and sides you can dream up.

Rice and Vidalia Onion Casserole

Serves: 8 to 10 • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing • 3 1/3 cups coarsely chopped Vidalia onions • Salt and freshly ground black pepper • 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons long-grain white rice • 1 cup heavy cream • 1 cup grated Swiss cheese • 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley • Sweet paprika

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Generously butter a 9- by 13-inch baking dish.

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter is foamy, add the onions and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, deeply golden brown and caramelized, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add the rice and boil for 5 minutes. Drain well.

When the onions are caramelized, remove from the heat and stir in the cream and cheese until the cheese is melted. Stir in the rice and parsley, and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with paprika.

Bake until the casserole is browned and the top is crisp, about 1 hour. Serve hot.