When I think about the movie “Julie & Julia” – which I love! – the image that first come to mind is Meryl Streep standing beside a mountain of diced onions. Fifty pounds of them piled on her counter. Julia Child had successfully learned to use her French knife to dice an onion. I can do that. And when I do it the onions are lovely small even pieces…with more than a few scattered on the floor and flung to the far reaches of my counter. Alas.
So I have a way that works better for me.
(David says he thinks Grandpa Frank does it this way too, and he is the one who pointed out that this method keeps the tears away because the onion fumes are confined.)
You can use your french knife, or a paring knife or whatever blade you are most comfortable with. Peel the onion and cut it in half. Place the cut side down on the counter, and hold it firmly in place. Now cut it into thin slices.
Turn the onion, still holding it firmly against the counter, and cut across the slices you have just made.
Voilá! You have a little pile of perfectly diced onions and nothing to cry about. And your floor is clean.
Now about those smelly hands…
I bought a magic stainless steel “soap bar” in a kitchen store a few years ago and it really works. Just rub your hands with this stainless steel oval under running water and the onion smell is gone – really like magic!
Or, as I have recently found out, you don’t even need the magic stainless steel soap. You can rub a stainless steel spoon on your hands under running water and it does the same thing.
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Welcome! My name is Andrena Paladini and this is a blog about family and love and faith and fun. I call it Paladini Potpie because a potpie is like an adventure in a crust. You never know what might come up, but it’s always going to be good!
Think of the best potpie you’ve ever eaten…hot flaky crust holding a rich savory sauce and all kinds of pieces of meat and vegetables…and who knows what?
As a family, we’ve chosen to live within the parameters of God’s love and protection. This is the crust of our Paladini Potpie. The crust never changes. Within this crust, the savory sauce of family love binds it all together. That is also fairly constant. But beyond the crust and the sauce we can add just about anything!
Good ideas come our way and we’ve adopted and adapted them to add to what John calls our treasure box of memories. These stories and ideas from John’s treasure box of memories are the ingredients I’m putting into our Paladini Potpie.
(Okay, so this ridiculous mixing of metaphors about treasure boxes and potpies is exactly what I’m talking about. Silly and ungrammatically correct. But both illustrations work… so we’ll mix them together and it’ll be just fine!)
John and I have been married for 30 years. Our children have wonderfully doubled in number since David married Amanda, Monica married Dan, and Matthew married Sarah.
And the newest little treats that have been added to our potpie are six adorable grandchildren - Ethan, Angelina, Nathan, Audrey, Maleia and Caleb!
I hope you’ll subscribe to my Paladini Potpie blog, and keep up with all the fun new ingredients I add. Hopefully you’ll enjoy our stories and ideas, and find something you’ll want to put into your own potpie! Bon appétit!
When I think about the movie “Julie & Julia” – which I love! – the image that first come to mind is Meryl Streep standing beside a mountain of diced onions. Fifty pounds of them piled on her counter. Julia Child had successfully learned to use her French knife to dice an onion. I can do that. And when I do it the onions are lovely small even pieces…with more than a few scattered on the floor and flung to the far reaches of my counter. Alas.
Voilá! You have a little pile of perfectly diced onions and nothing to cry about. And your floor is clean.
I bought a magic stainless steel “soap bar” in a kitchen store a few years ago and it really works. Just rub your hands with this stainless steel oval under running water and the onion smell is gone – really like magic!
Or, as I have recently found out, you don’t even need the magic stainless steel soap. You can rub a stainless steel spoon on your hands under running water and it does the same thing.
Paladini Potpie 
May 12, 2012 at 1:27 pm
Very interesting to know. Thanks.
May 13, 2012 at 6:10 am
Thanks for the great information!!!
May 13, 2012 at 7:31 am
Tracy! How nice to see you here. You’re welcome!
November 19, 2012 at 12:16 pm
Just in time for the “big” cook on Thursday! Thanks!
November 19, 2012 at 12:59 pm
Thanks for the tips. Your article was very interesting and I will have to try it.
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