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Ssshhh. It’s a closeted secret that I’m willing to share. It’s sweet; it’s sublime, and it’s a little scary sounding. Still, it’s worth repeating. In fact, it’s worth repeating every year in order to supply your winter dishes with an infusion of summer savor.

Is this a pantry or a wacky Victoria’s Secret?

Okay, so it’s actually a fairly well known, so-called secret, that Vidalia onions can be “socked” away in panty hose and preserved for months on end. This is an idea that makes me giddy from the tips of my toes to my control top. Despising the very idea of pantyhose otherwise, I’m thrilled to provide these relic nylons with purpose beyond snarling and gnarling up with one another in wait of walking somewhere important. It’s sheer delight to put “sheer vitality” to work providing a vital task.

Nothing Beats a Great Pair of L’eggs
That is, unless you can find even cheaper stockings for this purpose. No need to start with brand new stockings, and there’s no problem with a run in one leg or another, but all agree on one thing for sure: Let’s start with clean stockings.

Simply drop an onion down each leg into the toes, tie a knot behind the first onion in each foot and repeat with a knot after each onion until the stockings are full. Then hang in a dry storage space. I, for instance, prefer storing in the pantry over my own closet, as I’m generally in favor of separating food and fashion, unless it’s at cocktail party. (Even though this exercise did begin with unraveling a tangle of “Bare Necessities” in my closet.) Besides, if you happen to have a beagle that sleeps in your closet during storms, you would likely find it unable to rest peacefully while incessantly sniffing this onion ornament.

Here’s a recently invented hors’ d oeuvre recipe featuring hot onion dip topped with cold apples. The rich flavors and textures will surprise and delight your palate. This dip needs to be served immediately, while the onions are hot and the apples are chilled, so plan your timing accordingly. Try this while the Vidalia’s are in abundance, or save it for September when the Granny Smith’s are in season. You’ll still have your onions socked away.

Vidalia Onion and Granny Smith Apple Dip
3 tbsp. butter
2 medium Vidalia onions – cut into ¼-inch squares/ cubes
Juice of two limes
½  teaspoon sea salt
½  teaspoon fresh thyme
½ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
3 ounces plain Brie (no rind)
¼ cup half-and-half
4 ounces soft goat cheese
1/2 cup toasted pecans
1-2 cored (and cold) Granny Smith apples (to create one cup chopped into small cubes)
Water crackers (Carr’s, or similar-you don’t want competing flavors)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium skillet, sauté onion in 2 tablespoons of butter (reserve the other tablespoon), along with the lime, sea salt, thyme, white pepper and nutmeg until the onions are translucent, but not soft. Set aside to cool. Mix Brie with half-and-half in a medium-sized microwavable bowl and microwave for 20 seconds. Remove and add goat cheese and mash together with the Brie. Add the onion mixture to the cheese combo and mix well. Using the same skillet the onions were cooked in, add half the remaining butter and the pecans then cook on low, stirring frequently until the pecans are toasted. Set aside to cool. While the pecans are cooling, lightly butter a casserole dish and transfer the onion and cheese mix. Chop the cooled pecans into pieces and sprinkle evenly on top of the dip. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. While the dip is baking, clean and chop the Granny Smith apples. Remove dip from the oven and top evenly with the cold apples. Serve immediately with crackers.

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4 Responses to “Let’s Dew Sock Some Vidalia Onions Away”

1. Janet Ward says:

   June 6, 2009 at 10:01 pm

   Back in the day when I had a pantry and a different husband, I would store my Vidalias in my panty hose. One night, H1, as he has been called, went into the pantry in the dark because that’s where the Diet Coke was.

   He freaked out, thinking someone was hanging in our pantry (hey, we lived in Ormewood Park; the thought wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.)

   Now, I don’t have a pantry, so, alas, there’s nowhere to hang my pantyhose. I just use the onions as I get them, and, when the season is over, I am mortally depressed for a little while.

   Reply
2. Terri Evans says:

   June 7, 2009 at 9:52 am

   I suspect H2 could have “taken” the hanging hose! Of course, I’m reminded by your post that I should have included another (less colorful) storage method: tightly wrap each onion individually in aluminum foil and store in refrigerator crisper. They’ll last several months this way, but will take up some room. Still, compared to mortal depression…

   Reply
3. Billy Howard says:

   June 7, 2009 at 11:32 am

   Since I love Vidalia onions and my wife loves to cook, you have just provided another path toward enlightenment and bliss in our household. My wife will also appreciate any use for pantyhose that does not require her to wear them.

   Reply
4. Mary Lee (aka Bootsie Lucas) says:

   June 7, 2009 at 3:43 pm

   yay! thanks for the tip and the recipe. and i thought the only thing i could do with those old pantyhose was use them to tie my tomato plants to their stakes.
   mary

   Reply

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