Vinegar and onions

So, David, you thought I had let you off the hook just because you made your first blog post. (Well, technically, your second.) Not so fast, buddy!

The thought occurred to me more than once as I was wandering around Superlake (store run by canny Mexican where you can buy goods beloved of American ex-pats) and contemplating passing on to you my favorite chicken salad recipe that I would need to distinguish between the way I cook and the way you do or may be about to, if that turns out to be different.

"Should I get David some rice wine vinegar so he has it for the Top Ramen chicken salad," I mused, "or is that overkill"? It would be a simpler question if he had any kind of vinegar, say, apple cider or white, or anything but Balsamic. Tragically, in case you hadn't heard, that stuff we've been buying at Safeway and even Trader Joe's isn't real Balsamic vinegar at all, but that's another show, as Alton Brown would say.

I personally have the following vinegars at all times in my pantry, and when I run out I go get some more: "Balsamic," red wine, rice wine, raspberry (which I use almost exclusively on cooked spinach--raw spinach doesn't have enough nutritional value to put in your eye, apparently, so you can stop feeling guilty about not liking it). No tarragon, because it doesn't come up and anyway I hope to be growing my own tarragon next year, and no apple cider because, well, because I'm not sure what I would use it for. I also have a gallon jug of white vinegar, but that's for household chores relating to cat accidents, etc.

The main reason to have vinegar, unless you are into esoteric things like Sauerbraten, is for salads. So I guess it's a matter of judgment and personal taste whether you want to subtly distinguish between an Italian and an oriental salad. Will using "Balsamic" vinegar ruin the Top Ramen chicken salad? I can't tell you, but it might bug me just because I know.

Now, on to onions. I would ideally always have at least one yellow and one purple onion kicking around the kitchen. This is another thing, besides tomatoes, that doesn't go in the fridge. Cool and dry storage, kind of like potatoes, is what you need here. Conventional wisdom is that you use the yellow onion for cooking: either "sweating" it to form part of a mirepoix or soffritto, or cooking it until it starts to carmelize and turn brown, depending on the function and flavor you want in the dish. By contrast, the red onion is associated with cold service--e.g. a salad, the garnish for a raw seafood item, etc. A gorgeous combo for any raw fish or scallop would consist of lemon or lime juice, capers (chopped if they are big), and finely chopped purple onion. Come to think of it, I would make a sauce out of these to put on a thin chicken breast or fish filet I had just pan-friend or steamed.

What my father told me: Apparently when food stands set up at places like the state or county fair, the first thing the cooks do, even if they are selling corn dogs or cotton candy, is to throw some chopped onions on the griddle. The smell of the frying onions makes everyone hungry!