RECIPE: Drunken Onion Rings

After hours of research and dozens of experiments in my kitchen, I have finally figured out the perfect Beer Battered Onion Ring recipe for crispy golden rings of deliciousness. The secret? TWO types of alcohol (hence the title "Drunken" Onion Rings). The Vodka helps create a crispy exterior while the beer gives the batter a light airy texture! Whoever said mixing alcohol didn't work was obviously mistaken..

INGREDIENTS

- Large Yellow Onions

- Sadaf Grapeed Oil 

- 1 cup All Purpose Flour

- 1 cup Beer (8oz)

- 1 shot of Vodka

- a pinch of Cayenne Pepper

- A tablespoon of Paprika

STEP ONE:
Peel and cut the onions into 1/2 inch thick slices. Separate the rings and place into a bowl. Sprinkle with flour.

STEP TWO

In a separate bowl add the one cup of flour, paprika, cayenne, beer and vodka and whisk until smooth.

Then pour batter straight into the bowl of onions and mix until evenly coated.

If the batter is too thick, use a little bit of water to thin it out; if the batter is too thin, whisk in a little more flour.

STEP 3
Heat the oil to 375 degrees or until the oil is glistening and has small ripples. Use tongs to grasp the onion ring, shake off any excess and place into the hot oil.
A trick is to drop in a small one just to test the waters and see if its hot enough. Flip when golden brown (about 30 seconds)
WARNING: DO NOT just plop the onion rings in there, the higher you drop it from, the bigger the splash!

Do not place in too many onion rings at the same time, this will over crowd the pan and stick some rings together, drop the temperature and create underpar rings. Thats a no-no.

STEP FOUR:

Place rings on paper towels to absorb the liquid, and then devour.  

RECIPE: Roasted Chicken Thighs with White Wine, Lemon, & Thyme

This recipe is one of my favorites! The chicken is juicy, the skin is crispy and the sauce is delicious!
Uses both stove and the oven so a pan that can go in the oven is needed for this recipe!

NEED:

- Chicken thighs-with skin

- Lemons

- Fresh Thyme
- Dry White Wine

- Onion- diced

- Garlic- minced

- Grapeseed Oil

- Fresh Cracked Pepper

STEP ONE:
We are going to be using chicken thighs with the skin. This makes the chicken juicy and crispy at the same time, and oh so delicious.
Wash, pat dry, and sprinkle fresh cracked pepper onto the chicken, not salt! Adding salt right now will draw out moisture and your skin wont be crispy!

STEP TWO:

Heat up your pan on HIGH, and add Grapeseed Oil, (high smoke point and light flavor), once sizzling hott, add the chicken thighs skin side down! Do not move it! I know it's hard, but do not touch them, let them create a beautiful crust- you might want to open a window! 

- this would be the time to sprinkle a bit of salt

STEP THREE:

Use tongs to carefully check the color on the skin, once it is brown and crispy, place entire pan in the oven at 375 for 20 minutes or until the internal temperature is at 165 (use a thermometer)!

Once ready, take the chicken out of the pan (don't forget its hot!) and place skin side up on a wire rack to remove excess fat (I dont have one so I got creative with a slitted pan on top of another pan)

 KEEP THE JUICE OF THE CHICKEN IN THE PAN!

STEP FOUR: 

Make the sauce! Put the pan back on the stove on high, doesn't take long to heat back up, just a couple seconds, add the garlic and onions until soft. Add in fresh thyme, the juice of 1/2 a lemon, 1/4 c of dry white wine (lemon zest optional) and whisk! Also add in a couple slices of lemon and allow the sauce to thicken as well as the alcohol from the wine to evaporate!

This is not fully thickened, keep reducing until desired thickness is reached!

STEP FIVE:

Once thickened, pour over chicken and serve!