Onions: Living the Sweet Life

We’re peeling back the onion this week to see why this ancient vegetable with a 5,000-year run of popularity is still a favorite on the chopping block. Considered medicinal and life-sustaining in its early days, the onion is still magical, needing only a frying pan and a patient chef to transform its flavor from sharp and tangy to an extraordinary caramelized sweetness. Even Julia Child was moved to say “It would be hard to imagine civilization without onions.” Read on for a tear-less look at this remarkable root…

Onion worship. Thriving for thousands of years in a variety of soils and climates, onions were prized for attributes well beyond flavor. They prevented thirst, and could be dried and preserved for later consumption when food might be scarce. In Egypt, they were literally objects of worship, symbolizing eternity because of the circle-within-a-circle structure. The Greeks fortified athletes before the Olympic Games with onions – to eat, drink and rub on their bodies (can’t imagine that locker room odor today!). Pliny the Elder recorded the Romans’ beliefs that the onion was a cure all, inducing sleep, and healing mouth sores, dog bites, toothaches, dysentery and lumbago. The Pilgrims brought onions with them on the Mayflower, only to find that Native Americans already grew and used a strain of wild onions, eating them raw or cooked, as a seasoning or as a vegetable. During the Revolutionary War, General Ulysses S. Grant was quoted as saying, “I will not move my army without onions!” and proceeded to wait for three cartloads of them – good rations for the troops, yes, but the juice from the bulbs was also used as a salve for wounds. After the war, growers started adapting varieties to different American climates, with globe onions in cooler New England and Mid-Atlantic climates, and Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian-derived onions in the south, according to Food and Drink in America.  And here’s a fun fact from 1000 Places to See Before You Die to try on your foodie friends: New York was originally dubbed the Big Onion because you could remove endless layers without reaching the city’s core.

The 21^st century onion. Now the third largest fresh vegetable industry in the US, according to the National Onion Council, Americans consume an average of 20 pounds each year. Onions are in the mix more than ever, with consumption up 70% in the last two decades, in no small part due to their healthy dose of quercetin - a type of antioxidant compound with anti-inflammatory, anti-cholesterol and anticancer properties.  But the main reason for their soaring popularity is sheer versatility: from raw to caramelized, marinated to roasted, onions are an integral part of recipes at every meal time and nearly every ethnic cuisine. Restaurants buy truckloads of onions for rings, blooms, appetizers, soups, sandwiches, salads and pizza. There’s the yellow onion, with a tangy sweet flavor, good raw or caramelized; red, the fast casual favorite, good for grilling, charbroiling and roasting; and white, the classic ingredient for Mexican cooking.  Caramelized onions are one of the 2000s sweetest success stories, stirring up not just the traditional French onion soup, but dishes such as:

·        Wild Mushroom Onion Melange: caramelized onions and garlic complement the earthy flavor of Cremini, Shiitaki and wild mushrooms in this classic dish that can be served with grilled or roasted beef, pork, veal, poultry or game or as an accompaniment for pasta, polenta, grains or roasted vegetables.

·        Caramelized Onion, Gruyère, and Bacon Spread

·        Scrambled Eggs with Caramelized Onions

·        Green Beans with Caramelized Onions and Walnuts

·        Caramelized Onion Burgers

·        Kale and Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese

·        Roasted Asparagus, Mushroom, and Onion Pizza 

AVOCADO UPDATE

The market continues to stabilize . Growers have reacted to the low prices on small fruit and have started size picking in the field; this should even out the size curve as well as the prices on small fruit.

Good supplies of 40s and smaller continue to arrive from Mexico.  32/36ct remain limited as they currently make up a small percentage of the harvest.

Ripe programs are on track, and consumers are finding ripe avocados on the shelves so this should spur movement.  There are strong Mexican avocado promotions ramping up which should also strengthen the avocado demand.  

Expect stabilizing markets and good supplies through the remainder of the November and December.  We anticipate a short gap in supply in mid-January, following no-harvest Christmas holidays.  Calavo will prepare to the best of our ability for this foreseen gap. 

Breadsticks Rising: Pile Up an Endless Supply

Soft, warm, chewy, with just the right touch of butter and garlic…is there a carb delight more appreciated than the breadstick? Food for Thought stops munching long enough to dig into the legend, the lore and lusciousness that goes well beyond the breadbasket.

Well bread. The original Italian bread sticks, grissini, originated in the Piedmont region of Italy, but exactly when is open to question, according to The Nibble. One legend says a physician in 1675 invented grissini to feed the very ill nine-year-old duke of the House of Savoy, who was suffering from food poisoning from bread polluted by pathogenic intestinal germs. The good doctor asked the court’s baker to take the dough from the normal ghersa bread, cut it into narrow pieces, then stretch the dough until it was a long thin strip, and bake it until it was crispy. The grissini diet worked wonders, and not only did the young duke’s health improve, but he grew up to be a healthy adult, becoming the first Piedmont king in 1713. According to this version, that’s why grissini became the preferred bread in the Savoia household, known by all visiting royalty and aristocrats of the time. But…it may not be completely accurate. Historical records indicate that in 1634, a Florentine abbot found a novelty bread “with a bizarre shape, that is a bread loaf an arm long and thin like dead bones” in a town outside of Turin – a strange but recognizable description of a breadstick. And even further back in culinary history is a reference to a dish called pane (bread) barotellatus (stick). Whenever or whoever invented it, one of the grissini’s greatest fans was Napoleon Bonaparte, who founded a stagecoach service at the beginning of the 19^th century, mostly dedicated to delivering ‘les petits batons de Turin’ or ‘little sticks of Turin.’

There’s more than the breadbasket in store for these rising stars. Prosciutto-wrapped breadsticks are on Giada De Laurentiis’ appetizer tray for good reason…they’re easily prepared and swiftly consumed. More? Make a cheesy breadstick pizza or try Southern Living’s haystick breadsticks - sprinkle dry ranch dressing mix before baking, tie in little bundles, and enjoy with a marinara sauce dip. Go healthy with James Beard award-winning author Martha Rose Shulman’s whole wheat and rosemary, rye caraway or seeded semolina and rice flour breadsticks. Or take a cue from the breadstick king, Olive Garden (more to come on that), which last year rolled out the breadstick crostini and a breadstick sandwich to diners who couldn’t get enough of even endless portions of the ridiculously addictive bread.

All love for Olive Garden. If you want to recreate this enduring chain’s famous bottomless basket of scrumptious, warm breadsticks, we have the Top Secret recipe from ‘food hacker’ Todd Wilbur, who proudly claims he’s been creating original clone recipes of America’s favorite foods since 1987. He guesses, most accurately, that the breadsticks are proofed and sent to each restaurant, where they are baked golden brown, brushed with butter and sprinkled with garlic salt. Wilbur also reveals that he experimented with the yeast and flour before settling on what you’ll see listed below. The crucial step, according to Wilbur, is the two-stage rising process. Here’s how:

What’s inside.

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm

water (105 to 115 degrees F)

16 ounces bread flour (3 cups)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

What’s on top. 

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Instructions. Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm water in a small bowl or measuring cup and let the mixture sit for 5 minutes, or until it becomes foamy on top.  Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Use the paddle attachment on a stand mixer to mix the softened butter into the flour. When the yeast mixture is foamy, pour it into the flour mixture and use a dough hook to combine the ingredients and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes. Place the dough in a covered container and let it sit for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until it doubles in size. Measure out 2-ounce portions and roll the dough between your hands or on a countertop to form sticks that are 7 inches long. Place the dough on parchment paper-lined baking sheets, cover and set aside for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size once again. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the breadsticks for 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush each one with melted butter and sprinkle with a little garlic salt as soon as they come out of the oven…be assured they won’t last long!

From Ocean to Table: Yellowfin Tuna Swims Swiftly to the Top

Called “the Michael Phelps of the fish world” for its fast-swimming ways, the yellowfin is a star of Olympic proportions among tuna. This week, Food for Thought gets its long lines ready to reel in this much-valued catch of the day…don’t let this be the one that got away!

Making a splash in Vietnam. To meet the rising global demand for tuna, the Vietnam yellowfin tuna fishery has put more than 2,000 fishing vessels to work, racking up nearly $370 million in export value in 2014. Now the most important wild-capture export product in Vietnam and the #2 exporter to the US, the yellowfin tuna fishery is focused on achieving MSC certification.

The lean (but not mean) swimming machine. Thunnus albacares, better known as yellowfin tuna, are considered the fastest and strongest of all big game tunas, according to the Seafood Choices Alliance. The need for lots of oxygen to power its muscles is what makes the yellowfin’s flesh pinkish red – the result of a protein called myoglobin that stores the vital oxygen and serves as a pigment, reports The Salt. This colorful fish has a dark metallic blue body, silver belly, and of course, the distinctive yellow on its dorsal fins, finlets and a strip on its side. The maximum weight reported for a yellowfin tuna is 880 pounds, but you won’t find many of those big boys…most weigh in at a more manageable but still sizeable 388 pounds. For all their heft, they are an excellent source of healthy, extra lean protein, low in saturated fat and sodium, and rich in niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, phosphorus, selenium, magnesium and the all-important omega-3 fatty acids.

A rare treat. Mild tasting, with a firm texture, yellowfin is more flavorful than albacore. Grilling or searing brings out its best qualities…but be careful not to overcook, or your prized fish will become tough, tasteless and cardboard-like. There’s virtually no prep you can’t use with the adaptable yellowfin – broil, deep fry, poach, saute, smoke, steam or blacken. Try baking tuna steaks with a squeeze of lemon over the top, a light application of olive oil and a sprinkle of herbs and spices for a taste of simple deliciousness.

Looking for more ways to hook diners on this popular powerhouse? Everyone from Emeril to Bobby Flay has taken the bait, see below for some of the tastiest takes:
• Grilled yellowfin tuna with sun-dried tomatoes and corn, or mango salsa
• Grilled citrus fresh tuna steaks with orange, lime and grapefruit juices, dry sherry and cayenne pepper
• Grilled yellowfin tuna teriyaki (soy sauce, ginger and honey)
• Yellowfin tuna steaks glazed with balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and soy sauce
• Seared sesame-crusted yellowfin tuna with a side of wasabi mashed potatoes
• Pain bagnat, a specialty of the Provence region of France, featuring whole wheat bread encircling a classic Salad Nicoise (raw tuna, raw vegetables, hard boiled eggs, anchovies and olive oil)
• Soy marinated tuna rice bowl, with traditional slices of nori and omelette
• Smoked yellowfin tuna dip
• Spicy yellowfin tuna tacos
• Yellowfin tuna and macaroni salad
• Satay yellowfin tuna (onions, garlic, capsicum, peanut sauce and coconut milk)

For more information please click here.

To order click here

Wine & Chocolate Stroll 2015 • Thursday, May 7th • 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Enjoy a fun-filled evening of wine tasting, decadent chocolates and shopping during Danville's Spring Wine & Chocolate Stroll. Select businesses will stay open late to host some of our area’s finest wines, which will accompanied by gourmet chocolate samples. 

Stroll throughout downtown Danville and enjoy the sounds of jazz music throughout the evening. Be sure to stop in at your favorite stores to see their latest spring offerings.

Tickets are $35 per person and can be redeemed for wine glasses at the corner of Hartz & Prospect Avenues from 5:30-7:00pm the night of the event. Any remaining wine glasses will be available for sale starting at 6:30 pm. 

For more details and to buy tickets click here!

Happy National Nougat Day!

Every March 26th it's the same thing, yes, it's National Nougat Day. While that may not sound all that important nougat history is important and it's very international.  Here you thought nougat was just the filling on your 3 Musketeer or Milky Way bars. Why not take a gander over here at the Honey Traveler blog for more history on nougats through time, and in different geography.

Candy bar with nougat from The
How Stuff Works Website.
http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/nougat2.htm

True Grits

If you need proof that Southern food is rising again, take a look at the region’s most iconic dish, grits. Not only has its menu penetration doubled in the last decade, grits have busted out of their cozy breakfast nook right on through to dinner hour, growing a phenomenal 84% since just 2011. To channel waitress Flo from the ‘70s hit TV show Alice, it may well be time to not just “kiss my grits” but give them the full Southern-fried treatment…grits sticks?  You betcha!

           

Before you take grits from breakfast bowl to appetizer plate, start with the basics and learn how to cook grits like a Southerner. We’re taking a leaf from the pages of the Heritage cookbook by legendary Southern chef Sean Brock, who advises soaking the grits for at least six hours, preferably overnight, skimming off any chaff and hulls, and then cooking in a big pot (grits expand) as quickly as possible for maximum corn flavor. Use the soaking water, not milk to cook, and stir like crazy to keep the grits moving until the water comes to a boil. Take off the heat for 10 minutes after boiling, put a lid on top to hold in the steam, and the flavor, and then cook for an hour over low heat. “Stir, stir, stir… the rule in my kitchen is if you walk past grits cooking, give them a stir,” says Brock, who also cautions chefs to make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot and keep the sides of the pot clean so the uncooked grits that will stick there don’t find their way into the finished product. When the grits are soft and tender, they’re done and ready to be eaten as is with a little salt, hot sauce, lemon juice and butter…or use as the base for a variety of dishes from classic shrimp and grits to post-modern grits and bits pancakes.  Grits sticks, dubbed “Georgia French fries” by author Diane Pfeifer in her Gone with the Grits gourmet cookbook, were simple but trendsetting, made by putting firm slices of cooked grits in the deep fryer.

As Southern Living recognized back in 2012, “this favorite Southern food isn't just for breakfast.” Their popular recipe for Pepper Jack Poppers proves the point, using cooked grits, freshly shredded pepper Jack cheese and Parmesan cheese, chopped fresh cilantro, a garlic clove and sweet mini bell peppers broiled to a golden crisp to create a distinctly different appetizer for the happy hour crowd. Deep South also noted grits’ higher profile among the region’s innovative chefs, with stone-ground the new go-to grit at upscale restaurants all along the “Grit Belt.” From Charleston, SC to Birmingham, Ala to Savannah, GA, the new face of grits is evident, with dishes like skillet-seared yellow grits with gravy, smothered crawfish on fried grits, grits and fried chicken combos, fried salmon, leek and grits appetizers, stuffed and rolled grits and spinach canapés. The movement of grits from quirky Southern breakfast to gourmet delight couldn’t have happened without Bill Neal’s 1982 game-changing recipe for shrimp and grits at Crook’s Corner restaurant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. His grits fused with cheddar and parmesan and topped off with jumbo shrimp, mushrooms and bacon so pleased NY Times food critic Craig Claiborne that he published the recipe in 1985, elevating the humble dish to fine dining status.

           

Nowhere, however, are more grits eaten than in the small town of St. George, SC, home to the Worlds Grits Festival since 1986. Along with fried fish and grits dinners, grits-filled balloon tosses and the choosing of the Grits Queen, the Grits Cook-Off yields a never-ending array of innovation each year. We leave you with a winning recipe from the Food Network at the 2007 Festival:

Hush Puppy Grits

1-beaten egg

½-cup buttermilk

1-cup grits

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2-teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Shortening or cooking oil for frying

Freshly ground black pepper

In a bowl stir together the egg and buttermilk. In another bowl combine the grits, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt. Add the egg mixture to the grits mixture. Stir just until moist. Heat the shortening to 375 degrees F. Drop the batter by tablespoon into the deep hot fat. Fry about 3 minutes or until golden brown, turning once. Drain the hush puppies on paper towels and season with pepper to taste.

A Little Bite of History. Chef’s Line Grit Stix -- Pimento Cheese and Grits; two Southern favorites.