Call them rings when they’re fat and straws when they’re skinny, but when sweet and tender Vidalia onions are available in the summer Carla feels the call to do some deep frying.

• 1-3 Vidalia onions
• Quart buttermilk
• Flour
• Lawry’s salt
• Vegetable oil*

Thinly slice onions – a mandoline works best for this but they are lethal to fingers and knuckles. In a big bowl, cover the onion rings in buttermilk and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (overnight works even better).

In a deep skillet, heat oil to 365 degrees. In a pie plate, put about 1 cup of flour and 1 teaspoon Lawry’s salt for each onion you have sliced. Dredge onion rings in flour; fry in oil. Serve immediately.

*We almost always use olive oil for everything in our kitchen, but it’s the wrong choice for deep frying. It smokes at higher temperatures, and unless you want to set off the smoke alarms and scare the dog, you’re better off with generic vegetable, peanut, or canola oil.