How to Chop an Onion

I love to watch cooking shows on television—Master Chef, Chopped, and the wonderful chefs on PBS. I'm pretty confident about my cooking skills, but am always in awe of how quickly a professional chef whips through dicing/mincing an onion.

Do we need to chop onions like a pro?

If you are going to be a professional chef and create amazing dishes for an innumerable list of guests, you need to know how to whack through those onions in a hurry! But that doesn't describe me, and probably isn't you either (I'm guessing). We just want to prepare a lovely meal for ourselves, our spouse, our family, our friends, or neighbors.

So what's the hurry?

This is all you really need to get started:

• good-quality cutting board
• sharp knife
• firm onion

The Cutting Board - You can "fake" some kitchen tools (for example you can use a mesh sieve in place of a flour sifter, or use a drinking glass as a cookie-cutter), but you must have a real, honest-to-goodness cutting board to save your countertops, your knives, and your fingers and thumbs.

Cutting boards come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and prices. Before making that purchase, consider that wooden boards need to be seasoned with oil. They don't hold up well after being washed in the dishwasher and can become a breeding ground for bacteria. I avoid them.

My favorite cutting board is the plastic variety. They are easy to keep clean (sterile), don't splinter or chip, and typically have grippers on the bottom so that they will not slide away from you.

The Knife - There are only a few features of a knife that determine its quality. The most important part of any knife is the blade. Although ceramic blades are now the "in thing" and have an amazing sharpness, they are also fragile and can break easily. I prefer forged stainless steel.

The next consideration is the shape, material, and structure of the handle.

• The shape of the handle should be comfortable in your hand. Pick up the knife, hold it, and imagine using it in your kitchen. Is it comfortable? I'm petite (5 feet tall) and so large tools feel very unwieldy for me.
• The material of the handle is also very important. Plastic handles will splinter and shatter easily. Look for a polycarbonate--dishwasher safe and sturdy.
• Another common feature of the best quality knives is the tail of the blade called the tang. It should be solidly riveted into the handle. The steel should be visible from the tip of the blade to the butt of the handle. If the handle solidly encases the blade, walk away.

But (you might ask), what is wrong with using a cheap knife? Less expensive knives are made from a much lighter gauge of steel which means that they will not keep a sharp edge for very long. The blades of cheaper knives are also often very thin, making them brittle and more likely to break or for the edge to chip. Handles made from wood or plastic perish very quickly and are usually not dishwasher-safe. Also, the blades are not always set into the handle very securely. All of this makes cheap knives more likely to be blunt which forces you to use more force. That in turn makes them more likely to break or for the blade to come loose from the handle.

It's important to keep your knives sharp. Dull knives are a safety hazard and can be very dangerous.

The more blunt a knife's edge, the more pressure it takes to cut something. The more pressure your hand and the knife apply to a piece of food, the more likely you are to slip and cut your finger instead. Sharpened knives also reduce the time it takes to prepare your meals since your cuts will be faster and more accurate.

The onion - This might seem a little obvious but...you need to have a firm onion. Any signs of mildew (the black stuff), large soft areas, or serious sprouting means that you should probably send your onion to that great compost bin in the sky.

A squishy onion is not a good onion to chop/mince/dice or slice.

So, are you ready to get started?

• Begin by placing the onion on the cutting board and slicing off the top and bottom ends. Your onion now has two flat sides and isn't so likely so roll around and slip away. Flip the onion over so that it is resting on one of the flat ends.
• Now place the blade of your knife across the center of the upward-facing flat end. The edge of your blade should aim for the center of the onion. Slice straight down.
• You now have an onion approximately cut in half. Set one half aside (for now).
• Peel off the skin from one half and then place it on the cutting board, flat side down, the curved side facing up. The top and bottom ends should be pointing left and right.
• Next, you are going to slice through the onion from right to left (if you are right-handed) and left-to-right if you are a lefty. You will end up with semi-circular sections. (No fingertips, please!
• (For the sake of brevity and my sanity, let's assume from now on that you are right-handed. Only 10 percent of the population (like me!!) is gifted with being left-handed).
• Now take a moment to read and understand this next step before you proceed.

Depending on how thin or thick you made your slices, you are now looking at one-half of an onion that has been turned into maybe 8, 10, or 12 slices. Take 3 of those slices and lay them down on the cutting board. Turn the stack of slices so that the flat side is near you (south) and the round side is to the north.

Working from right to left, cut through the semi-circles and turn those long curves strips into little chunks. Be careful when you get to the end because there's not much room for your fingers.

I know that this isn't the chef-taught method of dicing an onion, but it works for me. 

How to Build Your Perfect Pasta Salad, and How to Plan a Picnic

It's been far too long since I've shared any recipes with you. But rather than reinventing the wheel, why not help you leap over to my other blog, where my alter-ego reigns supreme with summer salad recipes and tips, and menus for the perfect picnic?

This first link will guide you in building your own pasta salad. Pick your pasta shape, and then I'll give you ideas for the fruits or veggies, protein, special add-ins, and even several dressing options.

Next, how to plan a picnic, menu ideas, recipes, and even some packing tips. 

How to Make Herb-Infused Oil

"Sometimes less is more." —Robert Browning

Browning penned that phrase in his 1855 poem "The Faultless Painter", a melancholy verse of love and loss. It was repeated again by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in describing post World War II architectural style.

And it also could describe our relationship with fresh herbs.

• Some recipes cry out for huge handfuls of parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. But other times, we need something a bit less assertive. Something more subtle and nuanced.
• Then again, sometimes we find ourselves with a dearth of fresh herbs to use up (before they perish), and what to do?

Both of these dilemmas cry out for the same resolution--the creation of herb-infused oil.

I love rosemary-infused oil—a drizzle on hot cooked pasta is absolutely heavenly. Tarragon oil is wonderful as a finishing touch on a chicken salad, and basil oil on a slice of artisanal bread is almost like being in Tuscany.

Making your own herb-infused oil is easy—just be sure to always use sterilized jars and bottles and make sure that your fresh herbs are clean, dry, and free of any chemicals.

Herb-Infused Oil

Equipment you will need

• Slow cooker (crockpot)
• Small mixing bowl
• Fine-mesh strainer
• Funnel
• Clean bottles or jars with air-tight lids

Ingredients (for each infusion)

• 1 cup mild olive oil
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup packed chopped fresh herbs (reduce to 1/4 cup if infusing rosemary)

Instructions

Place the oil and herbs in the crockpot. Leave uncovered and cook at 'High' for one hour.

• Turn off the heat and allow the oil and herbs to cool for about 1/2 hour.
• Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl.
• Allow to cool completely and then decant into bottles using the funnel to avoid drips and spills.
• Store in the refrigerator for up to one week. (Note that olive oil becomes cloudy under refrigeration but will be clear again once at room temperature).

How to Use Herb-Oils

Basil, originally native to India, has been cultivated there for more than 5,000 years. Depending on the species and cultivar, the leaves of basil may taste somewhat like anise, with a strong, pungent, often sweet smell.

Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) is often featured in Italian cuisine. Thai basil (O. basilicum var. thysiflora) plays a major role in the cuisine of Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Taiwan.

Basil oil is wonderful as:

• A dip for crusty French or Italian bread
• Drizzled over fresh tomatoes
• The oil in which to sauté bread cubed for croutons
• The oil in which to prepare an omelet

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is an aromatic evergreen shrub with pine-like needles and white, pink blue, or purple flowers. It is native to the Mediterranean area, but hardy in most cool climates.

Rosemary oil can be used to:

• Drizzle over cooked pasta
• Sauté shrimp
• Add to mashed potatoes

Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) has narrow, pointed gray-green leaves with distinctive anise or licorice flavor and is one of the 4 fines herbes of French cooking.

Tarragon oil can be:

• Drizzled over cooked, roasted asparagus or cooked carrots
• Used to garnish fresh pea soup
• Stirred into chicken salad
• Used to sauté fish fillets

Chives (allium schoenoprasum) are a member of the onion family—a perennial plant native to Europe, Asia, and North America. Unlike other "onions," you do not harvest by pulling the bulb from the ground. Simply snip off the green tops and leave the bulb in the ground. They will regrow year after year. In fact, they will multiply. The pink blossoms are also edible. My favorite way to use them is as a pretty garnish on a salad.

You can use chive oil to:

• Make an omelet
• Sauté bread cubes for croutons
• Garnish soups
• Brush on any grilled meat or fish