Saturday, June 25, 2011

Onion Rings

For very special occasions when I was growing up (e.g. the Fourth of July), my mom would make what I still consider the most delicious onion rings in the whole world.  They showed up on our table no more than a half-dozen times, but they're the stuff of family legend.  For my dad's birthday dinner, he requested a repeat appearance of these mythical fried onions, so I did my best to recreate my mom's recipe.

Basically, this is a fritter dough rather than the traditional onion-ring coating.  It keeps the onions from drying out and has a little more heft.

In any case, I know that Dani Cooks has been heavy on the baking recently, so here's a recipe that uses a whole different skill set (deep frying) for an all-American classic.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Coconut Cake

June means it's birthday time in my family!  Last week was my dad's natal day, so I made him a dinner of his choosing as part of my gift.

For dessert, he picked an oh-so-delicious but slightly tricky coconut cake.  "Beware!" my friends said.  "The boiled icing will be your downfall."

But I'm here to tell you that if you watch your icing carefully and follow the directions semi-carefully, you'll be A-OK.  And you'll have a light cake that's not too overwhelming for summer (or anytime) celebrations.