blooming onion

Chives are the smallest species of onions and they grow in clusters instead of individual plants.

I never got around to dividing the chives last year and now that they are in flower it'll have to wait until the fall. They multiply so quickly that by the end of the season the clumps will have doubled in size and become so compacted that I'll have to cut them apart with a knife.

I really didn't need any more chives for the garden but I couldn't resist this yellow-flowered Allium Molly. The flower heads are looser and slightly larger than the common purple variety (Allium schoenoprasum) but they have the same sulphuric bite. 

 

The "Blooming Onion" was once ubiquitous fare at family restaurant chains. It was introduced by Outback Steakhouse in the late 80's and involved a giant Vidalia onion, scored into petals, dipped in batter and deep fried. I went with my family once and someone ordered it as an appetizer. I remember being astonished by the size of it and even though it was passed around the table a few times, we couldn't finish it.

A quick look at their website shows that they are still serving it and are quite proud of the 16 ounce, 4 1/2" wide onions that are specially grown for them. Wiki reports that this "appetizer" contains about 2,200 calories and 134g of fat. I have to ask—why so big?

Here I thought that the days of confusing portion size with value were behind us. Has anyone ever finished an entire one, followed by an entree, and lived to tell about it?

chive blossom tempura [the real blooming onion]