Secret Recipe Club: Vidalia Onion Pie

It's Secret Recipe Club time again, and Meredith and were really excited about May's assignment: Ellie from The Bitchin' Kitchin'. Ellie is from Hoboken New Jersey, birthplace of Baseball and Frank Sinatra.

It was difficult to decide which of Ellie's recipes to make. Not because her blog was difficult to navigate, or because she didn't have a wonderfully easy-to-follow list of recipes, but because there were so many excellent recipes to choose from. From her Buffalo Chicken Dip, to Crockpot Barbecue Beer Chicken, to Chicken Tinga to any of awestastic cupcake recipes that would make Max from 2 Broke Girls blush.

In the end, we decided to go with the Vidalia Onion Pie. Not that I won't be trying those other recipes some time soon, but because I love onions. I can eat them raw (to Meredith's chagrin). I ran into a little stumbling block where I clearly had too much pie filling for my 9-inch crust and made a big mess on the counter. It could be because I used 1 kilo of onions instead of 2 pounds (2.2 kilos/pound). In the end, I used two nine-inch pies. However, a good, deep 10-inch crust should do the trick.

The Pies turned out amazing, of course, and we served it with a salad with sesame dressing. I ate half of one pie myself in a single sitting. The leftovers disappeared quickly the next day and the extra pie was devoured by our neighbours.

[Note to SRC members: everything is on auto-pilot for a couple of days. We promise to visit as many reveals as possible by the end of the week.]

Vidalia Onion Pie

1 10" frozen pie crust, thawed
1/4 egg yolk (for egg wash)
1 tsp water (for egg wash)
1/2 cup butter
1 kilo Vidalia onions, thinly sliced
3 large eggs (you can use the rest of the egg from the egg wash)
1 cup sour cream
3 tbsp flour
½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp habanero sauce
2 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 450-degrees.
2. Brush egg wash on the inside of the pie crust.
3. Place crust in the refrigerator until filling is ready.
4. In a deep pan over medium heat, melt butter. Add onions and saute until translucent.
5. Set onions aside in a separate bowl and let cool for at least 10 minutes.
6. While onions are cooling, whisk together eggs, sour cream, flour, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and habanero sauce.
7. Fold in onion mixture and pour combined mixture into pie crust.
8. Top with parmesan cheese and bake for 20 minutes.
9. Reduce oven temperature to 325-degrees for another 20 minutes, or until center is set.

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Potato Pizza

Having recently discovered that our local grocery store carries prepared pizza dough (although it's practically hidden in a corner), Meredith decided it was time for us to slow down on our occasional frozen pizzas.

Well, if we weren't going to have frozen pizzas, I didn't want us to stick to a standard pizza. My mother's friend used to make us a great tasting potato pizza, and I wanted us to try something along those lines. This particular project ended up being a joint-effort for Meredith and I, where I prepared the topping and Meredith made sure the pizza actually looked and tasted like a pizza (toppings placed correctly, baked without getting burnt, etc.).

What made this recipe taste so great was the carmelized onions combined with the rosemary.

We used the entire package of dough for a single pizza when, in hindsight, we could've spread it out into two thinner pizzas (requiring you to double the recipe for the toppings).

Mostly from Canadian Living.

Potato and Onion Pizza

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, sliced (the original recipe used red onion)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried rosemary, crumbled
3 tbsp grated  Parmesan cheese

2 potatoes, peeled, boiled and thinly sliced into rounds

1 pizza crust recipe
1 pinch salt
1 pinch pepper

1. Preheat oven to 500-degrees.
2. In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium heat and add onion, garlic and rosemary. Stir occasionally for around 15 minutes, until onions carmelize. If onions start to brown, burn, turn heat down a little.
3. Roll out the pizza dough on a pizza pan or baking sheet and sprinkle the 1 tbsp Parmesan over the dough.
4. Arrange the potato slices on the dough, with the pieces slightly overlapping. 
5. Spoon on the onion mixture and sprinkle on the salt, pepper, and remaining Parmesan.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until crust is crisp.

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Rotini with Chorizo and Peppers

• 1 box (375g) whole wheat rotini
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ½ kilo chorizo, casings removed
• 3 bell peppers (different colours), thinly sliced
• 1 oninon, thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds, ground with a mortar and pestle
• 2 pinches chili pepper flakes
• 1 can (800 ml) crushed tomatoes
• salt and pepper
• parmesean cheese

1. Cook the pasta until al dente according to instructions.
2. While the pasta is boiling, heat a dutch oven with olive oil over medium heat and add sausage. Cook until browned.
3. Add peppers, onions, garlic, fennel, chili flakes and saute until vegetables start to soften.
4. Add crushed tomatoes and bring to a simmer for 5-6 minutes.
5. Drain the pasta and add ½ cup of the water to the sauce and stir.
6. Add pasta to the sauce, toss and serve.
7. Garnish with parmesean cheese.

Recipe mostly from Girlichef.

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Eggplant Lasagna with Tortilla

In August, my mother-in-law brought me a huge eggplant from the market, leaving me wondering what to do with it. Meredith is still off garlic, so a giant tub of baba ghannouj wasn't going to happen.

I also had a container of ricotta cheese I had bought on sale without any particular plans, so I started looking for eggplant lasagna recipes. The one that caught my eye used tortilla as well (to capture some of the moisture, I assume) and it looked like an appetizing base. In the original recipe, it was presented far nicer than anything I could do: baked in individual mini-lasagna pans with dainty layers of flavour presented quite nicely.

That's not my style (I'm lazy), so I opted for the casserole dish instead. It also helped use as much of that giant eggplant as I could. The pile of sliced eggplant was huge.

Eggplant Lasagna with Tortilla


1 container (400g) ricotta
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tbsp dried parsley
3 tbsp fresh basil, minced
1/4 tsp nutmeg
salt, pinch or to taste
1 medium eggplant, thinly sliced (optional: peel first)
3 tortillas sliced into 3” strips
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups tomato sauce
additional Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
2. In a, bowl mix the ricotta and Parmesan and fold in the egg, parsley, basil, nutmeg, and salt. Cover and refrigerate.
3. Assemble the lasagna as follows:
1. tortilla
2. cheese mixture
3. shredded cheese
4. sauce
5. eggplant (gently press down on the eggplant)
6. cheese mixture
7. shredded cheese
8. sauce
4. Complete the cycle two more times for a total of 24 layers, ending with sauce.
5. Sprinkle Parmesan on the final layer.
6. Bake for 50 minutes and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

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Bow-tie Pasta with Sausages and Roasted Vegetables

• 3 roasted red peppers
• 1 eggplant, sliced and roasted
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 sausages (450g), grilled or baked and sliced
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup pitted olives
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 1 box whole wheat bow-tie pasta
• Parmesan cheese

1. Slice eggplant and roast peppers and eggplant, removing skin from peppers when done.
2. Slice peppers and eggplant and set aside.
3. Partially roast sausages, slice and set aside.
4. Heat pan with 2 tbsp. olive oil and fry onions and garlic until soft.
5. Add back sausages and continue frying until browned.
6. Add crushed tomatoes, wine, olives, basil and parsley. Bring to a boil and simmer on medium-low for 15-20 minute, stirring frequently.
7. Boil the pasta, strain and set aside.
8. Add peppers and eggplant to the tomato sauce mix and simmer on low for another 5-10 minutes.
9. Add pasta to the tomato sauce.
10. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen