11:17 PM 9/21/98

The Bloomin' Onion orginated with the Outback Restaurants....




1 Sweet onion
1 Eggs
1 tb Milk
2 tb Flour
1 c Cracker crumbs, crushed

Select a well-rounded onion. Peel outer skin but leave root intact, cutting off any hanging roots. With ordinary paring knife, core out top third of center. Angle knife for best results. Divide onion into four sections, by making 2 cuts crosswise, beginning at the top and cutting toward the root, stopping about 1/2-inch away. Cut each section twice again. Place onion in bowl of enough boiling water to cover it and leave for 5 minutes. The sections, or "petals," will begin to open.

Remove onion from hot water and immerse in ice water, which will further the opening. Drain well by turning upside down on a paper towel.

Put flour into paper bag (season with any seasonings you'd like--Cajun, cayenne, plain ol' s&p, etc), add onion and shake gently to coat with flour. Beat egg and milk; roll floured onion in egg. Put cracker crumbs in paper bag, add onion, and shake gently to coat. Refrigerate 1 hour before deep frying to set the coating.

Heat oil to 375-380 degrees. If oil isn't hot enough, it will be greasy and the batter may not stick. If oil is too hot, outside will burn before inside is cooked. Place onion petal-side DOWN in HOT oil or use a wire basket. Cook until golden brown, 3-5 minutes.

Cooked onion can be kept for a time in a warm oven. Serve with sauce made of Russian dressing and horseradish.

From "Outback Cafe" Posted on GEnie by L.MAGEE [LINDA] MM by Sylvia Steiger, GEnie THE.STEIGERS, CI$ 71511,2253, GT Cookbook echo moderator at net/node 004/005

Dipping Sauce


8 oz Sour cream
8 oz Picante sauce (Pace medium or hot)
8 oz Cream cheese (room temperature so it is soft)
Garlic (to taste)
Lawry's Seasoned Salt (to taste)

Mix and put in refrigerator to thicken for a day.

From The Cookie Lady's Files
Posted on GEnie by COOKIE.LADY [Cookie] on 04/26/93.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

 Ultimate Onion

Recipe By     : www.cdkitchen.com
Serving Size  : 4    Preparation Time :0:00
Categories    : Appetizer:Dips                   

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
   3      Cups          Cornstarch
   1 1/2  Cups          Flour
   2      Teaspoons     Garlic Salt
   2      Teaspoons     Paprika
   1      Teaspoon      Salt
   1      Teaspoon      Pepper
  24      Oz            Beer
   6                    Onions -- 4" Diameter Ea
                        Seasoned Flour -- See Directions
   1      Qt            Creamy Chili Sauce -- See Directions

1.Mix cornstarch, flour and seasonings until well-blended.  Add
  beer: mix well.  Cut about 3/4 inch off top of onion, peel onion. 

2.Cut onion into 12 to 16 vertical wedges, but do not cut through
  bottom (root end). Remove about 1 inch of "petals " from center of
  onion. 

3.Dip cut onion in seasoned flour and remove excess by shaking; dip 
  in batter and remove excess by gently shaking.  Separate
  "petals" to coat thoroughly with batter.  Mix batter after standing
  to blend ingredients. Gently place in fryer basket and deep-fry at
  375 to 400 degrees 1 1/2 minutes. Turn over and fry 1 to 1 1/2
  minutes longer or until golden brown. 

4.Drain on paper towels.  Place onion upright in shallow bowl and 
  remove center core with a circular cutter or apple corer.  Serve hot with Creamy
  Chili Sauce. 

SEASONED FLOUR  Combine 2 c. flour, 4 tsp. paprika and 2 tsp garlic
  powder, 1/2 tsp pepper and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper; mix well.

CREAMY CHILI SAUCE  Combine 1 pint each mayonnaise and dairy sour
  cream, 1/2 c. chili sauce and 1/2 rsp cayenne pepper;mix well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fried Onion Mums (Bloomin' Onion)

3 C cornstarch
1-1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. garlic salt
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp. pepper
24 ounces beer
Oil for deep-frying
6 onions, at least 4 inches in diameter
Seasoned Flour (recipe follows)
Creamy Chili Sauce (recipe follows)

Make a batter by mixing the cornstarch, flour, garlic salt,
paprika, salt and pepper until well blended.  Stir in the beer.
Mix well and set aside.

Heat oil in a deep-fryer to 375 to 400 degrees.  Meanwhile, cut
about three-fourths of an inch off the top of each onion and
remove skin.  Slicing vertically through the top of each onion to
about 1/2 inch from the base, divide each onion into quarter
sections.  Do not cut through base.  Slice each quarter section
vertically four more times.  Gently spread the slices apart to
form petals.  Remove some petals at the center of the flower to
make room for dipping sauce.

Dip the cut onion into Seasoned Flour, shaking afterward to remove
any excess.  Mix the reserved beer batter again to blend the
ingredients.  Separate the floured petals and dip onion into the
beer batter to coat petals.

When oil in deep fryer is at 375 to 400 degrees, gently lower the
batter-coated onion into the fryer basket.  Deep-fry for 1-1/2
minutes or until golden brown.  Turn onion and continue frying to
brown the other side.  Remove to drain on paper towels.  Place the
fried onion upright in a shallow bowl.  Serve hot with Creamy
Chili Sauce in the center of the onion.  Repeat procedure with
remaining onions.  Yields 6 servings of 1 onion each.

Seasoned Flour

2 cups flour
4 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

In a 1-quart bowl, stir together flour, paprika, garlic powder,
cayenne pepper and black pepper.  Use to coat onions or other
foods prior to adding batter coating for deep-frying.  Makes
enough for six onions.

Creamy Chili Sauce

1 pint mayonnaise
1 pint sour cream
1/2 cup bottled chili sauce
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

In blender or large jar, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, chili
sauce and cayenne pepper.  Blend to mix thoroughly.  Serve with
Fried Onion Mums.  Yields 4 cups. 
