Pearl Onions

• Check out this map of the world's drunkest countries. — Gawker
• Girl Scout cookies: are they killing orangutans? — Grist
• The easiest way to peel pearl onions. — Serious Eats
• Best recipes from James Beard Awards semifinalists. — Saveur
• Zero-proof cocktails are so hot right now. — New York Times
• Gulf oysters appear to be staging a comeback at New Orleans restaurants. — Eatocracy
• Chef Santi Santamaria's sudden death sends shock waves through Spain. — Eater
• The craft beer industry actually grew amidst the recession. — Grub Street PHI

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For those friends that are into mixology or just obsessed with Mad Men, don't worry about which new cocktail tool they might need. Instead make them homemade cocktail onions! The mostly hands-off process is pretty easy but does take a little more than a day for the onions to short brine (this ensures a crisp texture).

Once you've tasted these crisp, salty, and sweet cocktail onions it will be hard to go back to the store bought ones. To create more color in the jars, I used a combination of white, yellow, and purple pearl onions. For the perfect edible gift, add a fun label and directions for a delicious Gibson, a classic gin or vodka martini served with cocktail onions rather than olives, to the jar. Ready to pickle your pearl onions? Keep reading.

Sometimes it seems like my vegetable drawer is an onion graveyard. I'm always buying onions and only using a half or fourth of it. Since I hate wasting food and often am cooking for just myself, I started purchasing these little bags of pearl onions. They have the same flavor as regular onions, but are much smaller. Once minced, each pearl onion is about 2 tablespoons of onion. Although they can be tough to peel, if you're using one or two for a small amount of onion it doesn't really matter. Do you cook with pearl onions?

I'm not much of a Winter farmers market girl, so I knew Spring was finally here when, for the first time this year, I stopped by the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market last weekend. There, I was enraptured by everything from raw olives to baby carrots. I couldn't help but buy a cornucopia of colorful Spring produce.

With my bounty, I made quick and simple vegetables marinated in Champagne vinegar and olive oil. I enjoyed them on their own and later discovered the slightly pickled vegetables are a great garnish in many other meals — the pattypan squash in a watercress and watermelon radish salad, and the carrots in a homemade burrito. Make this with whatever seasonal vegetables you've got on hand. For the recipe, read more.