MMmmm...

Given that I’m fond of onions, it’s only natural that I crave onion rings every now and then. I’ve never fried them myself, but I have been making this oven-fried version that I got from Cooking For Engineers. I like to think that because I’m not deep frying these, I’m eating something healthful. Onions are vegetables, right? That means it’s healthful, right? Don’t tell me the truth. Let me pretend.

These guys were quite good. They aren’t as good as some of the fried ones I have had in restaurants or bars, but they are a very good substitute. Quite a bit of flavor is in these courtesy of an uncommon ingredient in fried foods: kettle chips. Adding potato chips seemed unusual at first, but it’s actually a great way to get a bit of that fried crispness in there without actually frying them.

Anyway, I was in the process of moving and my camera was still packed away, so these pictures were taken with my phone. The colors are a little washed out, so let’s just pretend that these looked even better in real life and that they tasted even better than you imagine.

If you have never battered anything, be prepared to use several bowls and get an assembly line going. Let’s get to the recipe and I’ll explain as I go.

Tastes pretty cool

Ingredients
Serves 4. Again, this is from Cooking For Engineers.
2 Onions, cut into rings
about 1/4 cup AP flour, for dredging
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup AP flour
30 saltine crackers
4 cups (about 4 large handfulls) kettle chips
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Whisk the buttermilk, egg, salt, pepper, and flour in a bowl. Grind/pound/mash the chips and crackers in another bowl–it helps to have a food processor, I don’t, so I just used the bottom of a beer bottle to crush the chips.
3. Set the stage: The bowl of onions goes first. Next to it, place a bowl of the 1/4 cup of flour for dredging. After that comes the bowl of batter. Then finally the chips–I put these in a pie plate because it has a big enough lip to keep everything together, but small enough to stay out of the way. Then a plate, or something to set the battered rings on temporarily. I told you used use a lot of bowls.
Now it’s just a matter of following the order. Take the onion ring into the flour and dredge it to coat it in flour. Dip it into the batter, make sure it’s coated. Then press as much of the crumbs into the onion ring as you can. Don’t worry if there are bald spots, it happens. Then just set them onto a plate as you continue the process with the rest of the rings.
4. Once all the rings are dredged, add the oil to to a baking sheet and put it into the oven to heat it up (he says 8 minutes, but I have found that 5 may be enough in some ovens). Once the oil is hot, pull the pan out and arrange the onion rings as best you can into one layer. Bake for about 8 minutes, flip the onion rings over and bake for 8 more. Do try to allow then to cool enough so you don’t burn yourself.

Clockwise from top left, Jalapenos, Apples, Blueberries, and Hiili under a pear tree

Long story short, by the time I left, I had in my possession a large supply of jalapenos. Stuffing them with cheese and making jalapeno poppers seemed like a natural thing to do with over a dozen fresh peppers.

Jalapeno Poppers!

Jalapeno poppers are a gift of spiciness, crunch, and cheese from the bar gods to the lowly patron clamoring for something to eat with a drink. The combination presented by this classic bar snack is amazing. The crunchy exterior giving way to the soft, oozing interior is only the beginning. The texture combo is bested by the contrasting spicy jalapeno and cooling cream cheese.

Baked Jalapeno Poppers
I like my poppers really hot, so I add cayenne pepper to the mixture. If you happen to get peppers that are abnormally hot, or if you don’t want the extra heat, leave out the cayenne.

Ingredients
6 large jalapenos
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
2 cloves of garlic, smashed/minced (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
2 ounces Cheddar Jack cheese, shredded (Cheddar, or anything else will do)
4 ounces cream cheese
2 rashers of bacon
(optional) 1 1/2 tablespoons caramelized onions
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup AP flour
1 cup breadcrumbs (I use panko)

Directions

1. Optional: Place the whole jalapeno peppers on a cooling rack set into a sheet pan and bake in a 400F oven for 20 minutes, or until they just start to brown.
2. Place the two rashers of bacon on a paper towel lined plate and cover with another paper towel. Microwave on high for one minute, and check. Continue microwaving for 30-60 seconds until the bacon is cooked. Mine finished in two minutes, but this can vary depending on the microwave and on the age and thickness of the bacon.(If pre-baking the peppers, do not start this step until you have removed them from the oven.)
3. As the bacon cooks (and the peppers cool) combine the cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, cumin, and cayenne (and the optional onions) in a medium bowl.
4. Dice the cooked, cooled bacon into small pieces and add to the cheese mixture.
5. (If the jalapeno peppers were precooked, rub the skin with your fingers to remove as much as possible, leaving the stem intact.) Cut a slit lengthwise into each of the peppers and remove the seeds. Stuff each pepper with the cheese mixture.
6. Lay out three bowls or sauces and place the flour in the first, the beaten egg in the second, and the breadcrumbs in the last. Dredge each pepper in the flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs. You can press the breadcrumbs into the pepper to help them stick. (This is much easier if you have pre-baked the peppers and removed the skins).
7. (Optional: If you have an olive oil sprayer, spray the coated peppers with oil to help them brown in the oven.)
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 400F until the bread starts to brown.
9. Remove from the oven, allow to cool 3 minutes and serve. These are pretty good at room temperature too.