Cornmeal Fried Onion Rings with Spicy Dipping Sauce

Only for my family! Last night we were having charcoal steaks with a combination salad. One of my sons was inquiring about dinner and when he found out we were having steaks immediately asked about having onion rings with them. This is a wonderful recipe for onion rings, I have tried it several times before but it does require a little more work. I told him that does really sound good, yes I'll make them. It really was a great suggestion. They went so well with the steak and it was a light meal; not like eating a baked potato with steak. We were using the right food combining rules last night. :)

Ina Garten on the Food Network is one of my favorite chefs. The first time I saw her make these onion rings, they looked so good and she made it look so easy I knew I would have to try them. Our family loves onion rings and in the past I have never had a good recipe. This recipe turned out great the first time I tried it. Like I said, we love onion rings and we really like the Bloomin Onion at Outback with the dipping sauce. I found a recipe that is very close to the dipping sauce serve at the Outback with the Bloomin Onion. We love it and I hope you will too.

Onion Rings

2 large Spanish onions or (3 yellow onions)
2 cups buttermilk
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 quart vegetable oil

Peel the onion and slice 1/2-3/4 inch thick and separate into rings. Combine buttermilk and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl and add onion rings and toss well. Allow to marinate at least 15 minutes. (The onions can set and marinate for a few hours in the buttermilk). In a separate bowl, mix flour and cornmeal, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Set aside. When you are ready to fry the onion rings preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Heat oil to 350 degrees in a large pot. When the oil is the right temperature lift some of the onions out of the buttermilk and dredge them into the flour mixture and drop one at a time into the oil. Cook about 2 minutes or until golden. Don't crowd them. Place finished onion rings on baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven. Continuing frying onions until all are fried. Serve hot. They will remain crisp in the oven up to 45 minutes.

Dipping Sauce

2 tablespoons of Mayonnaise
2 tablespoons of sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoon of ketchup
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon horseradish
1/4 teaspoon paprika
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all together cover and chill until ready to serve.