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     Have you ever eaten something that is really good,but still needs a certain "Je ne sais quoi" to push it right over the top to heavenly deliciousness?  Well, now I "sais quoi" or in other words, I know what that something is!  That something is pickled onions! 
     Don't be shocked! If you were like me, when I was young I could take or leave onions.  They were strong tasting, made my eyes water when I chopped them, and gave me bad breath.  But, as my taste buds have matured, I have learned that a burger isn't a burger without a slice of onion and if I refrigerate my onions, the eye burning isn't such a problem.  (Also, I can brush my teeth and use mouthwash to cure the breath issue.) So many casseroles and other recipes just wouldn't taste right without that onion flavor added to them. So, needless to say, I have come to love the onion.  
     While Maddy and I were at Disneyland recently, we discovered a really good restaurant there called The Red Rose Tavern. (You can read about it in this post.) They serve a Beef Poutine in that place that is so delicious.  I have been working on a copy cat recipe for it! But, before I share the entire recipe, I wanted to share with you the thing that topped it off so perfectly, and that is pickled onions! 

     I know that pickled onions have been around for awhile, but it was on the Poutine that I first noticed them.  They seemed to lift the dish to a higher level.  Since then, I have noticed them being used in so many places! They are often on sandwiches at sandwich shops .  They are terrific on salads, on burgers, or even in tacos. I haven't tried them on hot dogs yet, but I can only imagine how good they would taste! They are so easy to make that they are now becoming a staple condiment in my refrigerator.  Here is how I make them: 

Our Favorite Pickled Onions

     I hope that you give these a try! They are easy, economical and the perfect accompaniment for so many dishes!  
     Now that you have the Pickled Onion Recipe, you are ready to get the rest of the Poutine recipe! Check back for that soon! 

This post contains affiliate links.  If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you.  All opinions expressed are our own.  Thank you for your support.​​​​​

Let me explain a couple of things as I begin this Friday Fave post.

1. Barbecue is the actual spelling of the word, but in today's world, Barbeque is also accepted! I found this on 3 different sources. I tend to use the "que" spelling, but for this post I will use the traditional spelling. (Sorry if I slip).
2. This is National Barbecue Month. And, we know that if you are speaking of purely real barbecue, you are speaking of slowly cooking and smoking meat over indirect heat for many hours. It is delicious and a couple of states out there claim to have the best barbecue in all of the land. Grilling is the quicker method of using a device called a barbecue in a more quick fashion over direct heat.

     One of my sons is really good at smoking pulled pork and we all love that.  But, today we are going to actually focus on grilling for our Friday Faves and share some of our favorite things to throw on the barbie! After all, school if almost out and things are heating up.  Memorial Day is coming and after that a plethora of other reasons to cook out on the grill will present themselves.  So, let's get started! 

I love grilled chicken and corn. Last year I shared a grilling post with some of my favorite recipes that we had enjoyed at Alicia and Adrian's house. Just thinking about these recipes is making my mouth water. The Cilantro-Lime butter to slather on corn and rice is so good! This post also includes shrimp on skewers which is one of Alicia's favorites and grilled pineapple which is Lindsey's choice.

Alicia loves surf and turf and says that she loves a good steak. I have recently perfected (in my humble opinion) a great way to grill steak that comes out so tender and delicious.

1. An hour before cooking, take your steaks out and dry them off. Sprinkle on coarse sea salt liberally, some chopped garlic and some rosemary. Let them sit at room temperature for an hour.
2. Just before grilling, rinse off the seasonings! You heard me right! It will be perfectly seasoned, don't worry!
3. Place on the grill or in your grill pan, Grill for about 4 or 5 minutes on one side, depending on the heat of your grill, the thickness of the steak and how rare you like your steak to be. (My husband likes his on there for much longer than I do.) Flip and grill the other side. Put a pat of butter on the cooked side and let it melt into the steak.
4. Remove from the grill onto a platter and allow to rest for a few minutes. It will be tender and delicious!

     Maddy loves veggies of course, so the grilled corn and other grilled vegetables are right up her ally.  
     Even if you aren't firing up the barbecue, you can grill indoors on your grill pan.  I wanted a grill pan for years, then, when I finally got a new set of cookware, they came with a grill pan! I was thrilled! This one is similar to mine. This evening I did some zucchini in the grill pan. It was really good! Using the grill pan with vegetables makes them so much more tasty and different than just the normal way of sauteing them. And the grill marks make them look so pretty. 

    Grilled Zucchini is easy to do. Just slice it length wise.  Heat up your grill pan and add some olive oil when it is hot.  Lay your zucchini in the pan on the diagonal to get the nice grill marks. 

    Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and parsley.  It just takes a couple of minutes per side to get tender slices with beautiful grill marks. 

     Finally, when it comes to grilling, I think my husband would choose a hamburger every time.  How about you?  What will you choose? It's time to start thinking about it and to start celebrating National Barbecue Month! If you need a grill or a grill pan, here are a few choices to fit whatever your needs are!  Have fun! 

     And here are lots of choice on Target.com! 

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If you are thinking, "what? Pumpkin? In MAY?!?!?!" Then clearly, you don't know me. Yes, pumpkin, in May, because why not? Pumpkin is too good to be confined to one season, pumpkin should be consumed all year long.

A few weeks back a woman I go to church with let several people in our ward (congregation) know that she had several CASES of pumpkin. Yes, cases. Her neighbor has a job at the nearby air force base. He is somehow involved in the stocking of the commissariat, which results in her being the recipient of extra supplies.

Well of course, I jumped on the chance to get some free pumpkin.

Now, my husband definitely thinks I have a problem and need to go to Pumpkin Lovers Anonymous. I have no regrets. Well, armed with all of this pumpkin I needed to bake a cake for someone recently and I thought, a pumpkin bundt cake would be perfect. All I have to say is, I was not wrong. You are going to love this cake. You will love it in May like you will love it in September, October, and November. In fact, I believe you will love it in any month you choose to eat it.

There is something so elegant about Bundt cakes. I mean, they come out with a design with no real effort on your part. Just pour the batter into the Bundt pan and voila, you will have yourself a pretty looking cake!

Of course, pumpkin cake calls for cream cheese frosting. The frosting and the chopped walnuts are what put this cake over the top! Normally I am not a fan of nuts in my dessert. You could leave the walnuts  out and be totally okay. However, I used candied walnuts, and the crunch is just perfect.

​So, summertime is upon us. You know you have a BBQ to go to and you volunteered to bring dessert. Bring this cake. You will not regret it. I promise you.

Nutty Pumpkin Cake