So the hunt resumes on Friday. Having procured a turkey -- small, but large enough to attract the attention of Sonny "I Deserve a to Be the Nation's Highest Paid Governor" Corleone's social distancing police -- and most of the sides last week, there remains but two things to get from the produce department. Those are fresh green beans, and these little gems, which were missing last week.
But the pearl onions! I searched and searched in two supermarkets last week, but all I could find were these tiny little onions, shown here on a bed of shallots and ginger:
I've gotten these dime-size ones in the past, also when I couldn't find the larger ones, and while they are quite good they are also a misery to peel for my wife, whose big cooking day of the year is Thanksgiving. So no.
While I was searching, a lady in the produce department asked me if I needed help, and I explained my quest. She sent me on a side quest -- no, actually, she said they would be in next week. Anyone know why this might be? Do pearl onions go off fast when released from their secret holding pen?
Technically we could use frozen pearl onions, but that would be wrong. Freezing breaks the cells of the onion, leaving them limp and with a great loss of flavor. No guy wants limp onions. If it turned out there was a Chinese Death Virus-related shortage of pearl onions and only frozen ones were available, I think my wife would say, no, I'll just make more green beans.
Speaking of which, I mentioned that I also need to buy fresh green beans. That's because when I was at two supermarkets last week, I, uh, forgot to buy them.
Wish me luck. And best to you, o hunter-gatherers. Just remember to be careful about your guests if you're in New York.
4 comments:
Creamed pearl onions are my favorite side dish. My grandmother used to serve them at Thanksgiving dinner, along with her homemade pie and cranberry relish. She also would do a fresh-killed turkey from Gristedes, which she special-ordered every year. Cooked the old-school way, covered in cheesecloth and religiously basted every half hour, packed with her stuffing that was cooked inside the turkey and contained fresh-shucked oysters. No one ever got sick or died from what today would be lambasted as cross-contaminated death-dealing cooking practices.
As a card-carrying Philistine, I do the creamed pearl onions using frozen ones. Yes, I know...but they taste pretty good. The cream sauce contains sherry and a dash or sriracha and they get great reviews.
Have a great Thanksgiving, Fred!
I, too, am a huge fan of creamed pearl onions, I have made them myself several times, usually with a hint of nutmeg in the cream sauce and a dusting of panko bread crumbs before they go in the oven. I am the master of the kitchen domain on Thanksgiving. Last year we had 26 people, relatives and friends. Coincidentally, I had a 26 pound 'free range' turkey from Maple Lawn Farms in MD. This year it looks like we'll be 4 people, maybe 5 if older son's GF joins. I'm thinking a 15 pounder should do it.
Has Mrs. Fred tried the trick where you slice off the tippy top of each one, toss them in boiling water for two minutes, then plunge into bath of ice water? You can then just pop the little onions right out of their skins with a pinch. You might need to trim a root or two if any remain. Easy-peasy.
Glad to find a couple of pearl onion fans in the comments! Even if one is a frozen onion Philistine. Well, nobody is perfect. But yes, these days the USDA and the NIH would attack your stuffing and confiscate your children!
And yes, PLW, my wife does use that method and it works very well, but those teeny little onions were so numerous (she used two bags) and so delicate that they were essentially separating internally as she pinched them out. The big ones are much easier to work with and just as tasty. Not sure if people prefer the little onions for other things.
Not a fan of them, but mom always makes creamed pearl onions. The big debate, same with the Harvard beets, is using the adjectives when asking for the dish to be passed. "Please pass the creamed pearl onions" vs. "Please pass the onions."
rbj
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