Monday, September 18, 2006
The Onion Saga: The Phantom Onion
| If you've been keeping up, you've seen that onions are really quite amazing. They're good raw, baked, battered & fried, steamed, grilled, and I have even had one smoked. Perhaps the most famous way to prepare an onion is sauteed in butter. I can hardly argue against that! However, on occasion there are times where even the Amaing Onion's super powers are not enough. Like Batman, the onion must call on his super friends for backup, support and assistance. When culinary times get tough, the onion picks up the red phone and dials up his friends The The Aromatics! With his powerful (and aromatic!) friends Celery and Carrots, they form the unstoppable trio Mirepoix! Ok, I am not 100% sure where the aromatic veggies get their name, but I can only assume it's cause they smell so yummy especially when cooked. Also among their ranks are garlic and peppers, and most folks include herbs along with them. As for Mirepoix, it's apparently named after a town in France. Mirepoix (pronounced "Mer Pwaaaah!") is perhaps my second favorite snotty French chef saying. As I stand in my kitchen dicing carrots, celery and onions, I can often be heard shouting "MEER-PWAAAH!!!" Sometimes, I even let Cerebrus the mandolin lose on the veggies. Now, mirepoix is one of the foundations for many many tasty things. If you've ever had good chicken soup, there's mirepoix in there. I have a recipe for an amazing chicken noodle soup, and you should smell my kitchen while I am cooking it up. Carrots, onions, celery, salt, pepper, olive oil, whoo whee!!! Aromatics! Chicken pot pie? Mirepoix! Occasionally one or two of the parts will be swapped out for variations. Of course, replacing the celery with peas gives you a tasty variation on peas & carrots. Cajuns have their own variation using peppers instead of carrots. In fact, in most cultures you can find some variation on mirepoix. It is so universal it is often called the Holy Trinity of cooking. Ahhh.. mirepoix, how I love thee! In all honesty, I could probably sit down with a bowl of raw mirepoix and eat it like popcorn. Crunchy sweet carrots, crisp celery with that cool soothing flavor, and my dear onion with that taste that bites you back! Now as you probably already know, Krystal doesn't have mirepoix on their menu and I seriously doubt they ever will. But think of the other amazing tasty combinations they do have. Did you know that just with the #2 combo, the "Mix and Match" combo, and choosing between only Krystals, Corn Pups, Chiks, and Chili pups, in any combination, there are 35 different combinations? Yes, that's right, 35. You Sudoku freaks get to work! Keep in mind that all of the following are the same combo: Krystal, Chik, Chik, Chik Chik, Krystal, Chik, Chik Chik, Chik, Krystal, Chik Chik, Chik, Chik, Krystal Not only are they same thing, but I feel I must say,"Mercy! Lookit all the chiks!" Now while I am on the topic, Sonic recently had an ad where they claimed to have 168,894 different possible drink combinations. That is a lie. It is mathematically impossible. 168894 = 2 x 3 x 3 x 11 x 853. What, pray tell, do they have 853 completely different distinct versions of that you can drink? Variety is a good thing, and Krystal has plenty of variety. But when you're forced to lie about the variety you offer, you should be ashamed, Sonic. Ashamed! Heck you're "foot long" Coney isn't REALLY a foot long, now is it? Hmmm? Next thing you know, Sonic will start selling Mirepoix! (They'll probably leave out the celery, too.)
|
Labels: Chiks, Chili, Onions, Pups, Recipe
