Logan Wolfram

Enjoying Life for Dessert

How to… Properly Cut an Onion

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Several years back, the Hubs and I watched a whole season of The Amazing Race on TV.  One episode they were in Jamaica and the challenge they had to get through was to dice a 50lb bag of onions.  If we had been on the Amazing Race that day, we would have DOMINATED!  It was then and there i realized that the majority of the world must not know how to properly dice an onion.  So I am here today to change your life, one onion and recipe at a time.  Hold on people…we’re about to get technical, photos and all!

First of all, get a good cutting board. (I highly recommend a pricey but well worth it brand called Epicurean. They’re made of pressed paper i think and can be put in the dishwasher even.  They don’t dull your knives and are just plain awesome. You can get the best deal on them at Amazon.com. And get a big one…you’ll be glad.)

Next, don’t even think about grabbing a pitifully small knife.  Go for the big one…the one you’re too afraid to use normally.  Seriously…right now, put the paring knife down and get the 10″ chef’s knife. You’ll be fine, I’m right here!

With your giant knife, cut off the end of the onion…JUST the end where the skin comes together in a point.  Leave the end with the stringy things attached. This is CRUCIAL!

Next, cut the onion in half…straight through the stringy end. When you do this it’ll hold the onion together, and it makes it easier to peel when it’s cut in half.

Ok, peel that bad boy!  I left the skin on one to show you that it’s still attached form the stringy end. Just go ahead and pull the skin off though, this was just to show you.

Look at how much i love you. I even drew directly on the onion to show you! (Don’t worry, i threw that layer away. I don’t want to ruin my stew with ink.) So, i usually make about 7 cuts in the thing. See how my knife is angled towards the center? Each cut should angle towards the center…so the middle cut will be straight down. You following? Imagine the multi-colored sections of a beachball…it’s kinda like that.

Then, from the end AWAY from the stringy end, start cutting straight down. See how the onion is just falling into small pieces?! You’re using the layers of the onion to your advantage now!  Manipulate that thing baby!

Ok, now after you’ve cut about halfway or so and you start feeling like you might be getting close to your fingers, flip that sucker straight up so the stringy part is facing upwards.  Then start cutting straight down again. When you get close to the stringy end, flip it back flat again and finish up.

Look at you!  You culinary wizard you!  You just did it!  Now wasn’t that so much easier than the crazy chop you’ve been doing?!  And look at how nice and even your pieces are!  If you want the pieces smaller, then just make more of your beachball cuts and when you make your straight cuts, then do them closer together.  Cut shallots this way too. Or garlic!  The possibilities are endless!

And later today i’m going to share with you an amazing recipe for Brunswick Stew…which is why i was cutting this onion in the first place! But for now, the baby’s nap is over and i have some mommying to do!

Little Bit is ONE! A Very Hungry Caterpillar indeed…

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OK people, you are all going to have to bear with me as i figure out how to actually create a blog,  formatting and all.  I am not kidding when i say i have no idea how to do this! Mostly I’m pressing a button and if it works, then it works…if not, I’m pretty sure you’ll all notice too!
So my Little Bit turned ONE yesterday!  I’ll probably continue to write ONE in all caps because really i can’t believe he is ONE!  Time has flown by and i hope that there’s been a good amount of savoring this first year despite the fact that i cannot get enough of this cute little snack pictured below!
 Don’t you just love that shirt?!  Thank you M for making it, and thank you to some chick on Etsy in Australia for selling the embroidery design!
 The table spread.  Our guests ate their way through the book pretty much with the exception of a few foods (pizza, ice cream, and cherry pie were left out because i didn’t think we needed that much extra food for a bunch of toddlers… and besides, my Tid Bit is allergic to dairy.)
 I made signs for the foods…aren’t they so cute?!
 My friend B made this cake.  She says she thinks i could do it, and perhaps so if i knew how to make or work with fondant…but i don’t, so for the first time ever, i paid someone else to make a cake! I found several ideas online and combined my favorites to do this cake…but again, some chick in Australia did one very similarly.  What is it with Australia?! They must love them some Eric Carle!  I hope neither the chick in Australia or Eric Carle mind that i swiped a couple of ideas…i mean it is the finest form of flattery right?
 These little grape and cherry gems happened because I’m a dufus.  No really, I am.  I forgot that Monday was Martin Luther King day (and therefore a school holiday), so after i drove Tid Bit to school only to realize he didn’t have it, we went to the grocery store, where i then brainstormed in the produce department. So, that’s how these happened. Six inch skewers with grapes and cherries.  We made a few frozen shorties (with toothpicks) and floated them as ice cubes in the giant water container which i think i pictured somewhere below.
 the plates from Target that really inspired the whole thing
 I found a super cute caterpillar cookie cutter on Amazon.com and made these with Tid Bit on Monday as well. I’ll post the recipe for the actual sugar cookie sometime too because it was REALLY good!  It was very similar to cookies I’ve had from Cookies By Design which are super tasty. I’m suddenly realizing i should perhaps note here that any endorsements i make are purely my opinion.  And you know about opinions…they’re like belly buttons…everyone has one!
 the balloon caterpillar…Little Bit’s favorite thing about the party (well aside from eating cake!)
 This was another produce dept inspiration, but on the morning of the party.  Ran in because my kitchen island needed a little spice and when i saw these lime green spider mums and red gerbers…this idea just hit me upside the head.  So i grabbed them right up!
 Our front door opens up into the stairs and i thought we really needed a greeter
 This is me…and Little Bit blowing out the candles. The caterpillars strung from the chandelier were a craft project last week with Tid Bit when we were stuck inside with a weeks worth of snow here in SC!
Happy Birthday Little Bit!  I hope every moment of your life is as tasty as that cake!