Thursday, August 7, 2008
Many people ask me if I'll teach them how to cook. Well, like I always say, I'm not formally trained, but I can show you a few basic techniques. One of the first things to learn is how to cut an onion. I guess it's something that seasoned cooks might take for granted, but for the novice, it can be a little confusing. What's the difference between chopped, diced, or minced onions? It's all about how large or small you'd like your onions. A 'rough chop' is sort of a coarse cut where the onion is left in rather large pieces. 'Diced' onions are slightly smaller, and 'minced' onions are tiny little pieces. This video shows you how to dice your onions. Thanx to Daniel and Kristin for helping! If you'd like large slices of onion instead of chopped, say if you're making onion rings, you'd start with a very large onion. Peel it and slice off both ends as shown in the video, then continue making cuts in the same direction as when you cut off the ends. (slicing across the lines on the onion). You'll end up with nice large slices which can be separated into rings. To make caramelized onions, do the same exact thing as for onion rings, only start with a smaller onion, and make your cuts closer together, so that you're left with many thin slices, which can be separated into rings and sauteed for a long time over a low heat until the natural sugar caramelizes.
As I mentioned in the first video, my sister, Jeanie, said that putting your face in the freezer helps your eyes to stop burning if the sliced onions are making you cry. This little video is Daniel and Kristin doing just that. SO funny!
Special thanx to Aniell and to my Jeanie for making both videos possible!