How to Cut an Onion & More Kissing. Again, not at the same time.

 It's How-To Tuesday once again at Stie's place. I should do a blog post sometime featuring all the ideas I've swiped from her blog. Starting with the magnificent chore charts, here. I made them. I love them. 

Today, though, I am going to show how to cut an onion. Except I'm using a shallot, because that's what my recipe tonight called for. 

First, peel off the papery stuff from the outside of the onion. Then cut the onion in half down the middle, leaving the root end intact. 

(Don't cut any farther toward the root than this.)

 

Cut down the middle again, but this time not all the way through. I accidentally deleted the photo of me in the process of making this cut--which made me so mad that I filled up my swear jar--because it was important for you to see how to hold the onion while cutting it. So basically I'm leaving out the most important visual. Am I fired from How-To Tuesday? 

But see here--you've got to hold the onion with the heel of your hand, with your fingers up. 


You must follow my safety advice. I once grated my thumb knuckle off. Do as I say, not as I do.

 Next, slice it like this. Do not go all the way to the end of the onion, so it is still held together at the root of the onion. (shallot!)

 Turn it, then slice crossways. There! Diced onion! (shallot) 

Please, no comments about the man-hands in the above picture. 

I have a butcher knife & I'm not afraid to use it. 

Or, I will just grate your thumb knuckle off.  

 Hopefully this picture better shows how far to slice. With every cut you make, go almost--but not quite--to the root. 

 

And wa-la! Diced onion. (shallot)

Every time I write that, I remember that old 1980's commercial 

with the 2 arguing tubs of butter & margarine. 

 Butter. (Margarine!) Butter. (Margarine!)  

Now on to better things. Last week I showed "How To Kiss." This week I decided to do a second installment for those of you who wish for a more advanced lesson. When I asked Mike if he'd like to help me demonstrate, this is what he said:

So again I will feature Lucy & George from "Room With a View." Which is for the best. 

 

Ready? Hold on to your onion (shallot). 

 

 

Step one. 

Step two.

 

 !!! 

Oh, it's like butter.

 

And for those of you who wonder why I keep relating food with kissing, I have no idea how to respond to that. 

Except do as I say, not as I do. 

(butter!)