Awesome Onion Hot Dog Relish

The other day I was craving hot dogs, and since I like to eat caramelized onions on hot dogs (and pretty much anything else I eat), I decided to make some. But, I didn't stop there -- I wanted to spice things up a little, so I searched online and found this great recipe for a "New York Style" hot dog onion relish*. And, because I love you, I'm sharing it here with you today.

*- Notice the quotation marks. I know this probably isn't anywhere close to the real thing you can get from New York...but I don't live in New York, and probably never will, so bite me.

Anyway, here's the recipe:

Ingredients

2 tablespoons canola oil
2 medium onions, sliced thin
1/4 cup ketchup
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon chili powder
1 dash garlic powder
1 dash hot pepper sauce
1 dash salt
1/2 cup water

Directions

In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion slices, and saute for about 7-10 minutes until golden & limp. Mix in the ketchup. Add the cinnamon, chili powder, garlic powder, hot pepper sauce & salt. Pour in water, and stir. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered about 10 minutes.

Notes:

-You can use any kind of oil (or none at all) to saute the onions. I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and it turned out just fine.

- If you want to add heat, you can add more hot pepper sauce, or even throw in a pinch or two of cayenne pepper. It's really up to you.

- This relish is freaking awesome on hot dogs. I don't know if it's good on anything else, but it's awesome on hot dogs.

That's all there is to it. It's really simple to make, and it only takes about 25 minutes of your time, depending on how fast you can chop two onions. I really hope you try this. You'll be glad you did, because you'll never enjoy a hot dog the same way again after you eat one (or more) with this relish. I know I won't.

Baked Tilapia with Saffron Rice and Spring Mix Salad

 The Wife has always been one of those types who doesn't like fish. She will eat shrimp (like pretty much everyone who isn't allergic to it*), she will eat crab, and she'll eat lobster, but she's never been one to eat fish.

* - Is it just me, or does it seem that shrimp is the true chicken of the sea? I mean, everyone eats shrimp, right?

I don't know and will never know why she isn't crazy about fish, because in my humble opinion fish is one of the most delicious meats you can enjoy. She's tried to explain her dislike of fish to me several times, and from what I've been able to interpret she had a bad experience with fish sticks when she was a kid. Either that, or she ate so many of them that she developed the "I don't care if I ever see another piece of fish again" attitude*.

* - I can totally understand and respect that.

Anyway, since we've been married, my pet project has been to break down the barrier between my wife and fish because I love to eat fish, and frankly I'm tired of having to order fish from restaurants all the time since it's always been the only way I could enjoy a piece of fish since I couldn't cook it at home because only one of us enjoyed eating it.

Whew. That was quite a sentence.

Anyway, I finally broke through the wall when I convinced her to try a piece of tilapia a few months ago, and surprise surprise...she liked it! We haven't tried other kinds of fish yet, as I don't want to overload her with different stuff when I just got her to like tilapia, but I have put her on notice that she will be trying other kinds of fish in the near future. But for now, we'll stick with tilapia.

As far as the tilapia we had for dinner last night, all I did was lightly drizzle olive oil on both sides, and put salt, pepper, dried thyme, and orange zest on top, set it on an oven sheet, and bake it at 350 for about 20 minutes (or until the fish is flaky). When it was done, I placed it on a bed of saffron infused rice (the store bought stuff) and finished it off with the juice of half the orange I zested. The other half of the orange's juice went in the spring mix salad that I served on the side with the fish and rice.

The spring mix salad was pretty much the same salad that I made a few weeks ago, but instead of using the red apple balsamic vinegar straight from the bottle, I added some dijon mustard and olive oil and made a vinaigrette to dress the salad. (It was worth the extra time to make the vinaigrette, by the way.)

This was a very light and refreshing meal, and a great way to enjoy a Sunday evening with The Wife. If you're looking for a way to enjoy tilapia, I suggest you give this one a whirl...you'll be glad you did.