Harvest a few sweet Vidalia onions from the supermarket and try out Paula Deen's super-easy Saturday Night Vidalia Onions.

Deen, host of the Food Network's wildly popular "Paula's Home Cooking," cookbook author and chef and owner of the Lady & Sons Restaurant in Savannah, Ga., says Vidalia onions bring back memories of family, friends and food fit for a king.

In the early 1970s, as a young mother on a budget, she occasionally splurged on steaks for Saturday night cookouts. "When the steaks and Vidalia onions were piled on our plates and we took our first bites, I think for a short while we all forgot that we were as poor as church mice because we were eating like kings," she says.

Deen's latest cookbook, "Paula Deen's Kitchen Classics" (Random House $29.95), is a collection of the best-selling "Lady & Sons, Savannah Country Cookbook" and "The Lady & Sons, Too! A Whole New Batch of Recipes from Savannah."

The sweet disposition of Vidalia onions is traced to Georgia's mild climate, low-sulfur soil and hands-on care. Seedlings are hand planted in the fall and winter. The sandy, loamy soil, moderate temperatures and gentle rains results in sweet onions that are hand-harvested and are twice as sweet as tear-producing storage onions and have half the pyruvic acid that can cause indigestion.

Harvest begins in April and continues through mid-June with onions usually available through Labor Day. The first Vidalia was grown in 1931. Today only about 115 producers grow and ship the onion.

This easy recipe can be prepared in the oven, or for a smokier flavor, roast them on the grill.

Saturday Night Vidalia Onions

1 large Vidalia onion per person

1 tablespoon butter per onion

1 beef bouillon cue per onion

Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Trim a slice from the top of each onion and peel the onion without cutting off the root end. With a potato peeler, cut a small cone-shaped section from the center of each onion. Cut the onion into quarters from the top down, stopping within a half-inch of the root end. Place a bouillon cube in the center, slip slivers of butter in between the sections and sprinkle with pepper. Wrap each onion in a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake for 45 minutes or until onion is tender. Serve in individual bowls because the onions produce a lot of broth that tastes like French onion soup.

To grill. Prepare a fire and place wrapped onions directly onto hot coals. Cook for 45 minutes, turning every 10 to 15 minutes.

Sweeten the experience

1. Be choosy. Make sure onions have no sprouts, decay or blemishes. They can be susceptible to bruising because of water and sugar content.

2. Give 'em a squeeze. Vidalia onions should be firm and dry to the touch. The aroma should be mild and fresh.

3. Stuff your stockings. Vidalia onions love stockings. Slip onion into the knotted toe, tie another knot, slip in another onion and tie a knot. Continue. The knot keeps onions from touching each other. Hang in cool (45-55) degrees, dry place. Snip above the knot and the next onion falls out, ready for use. They will last about 2 months stored this way.

4. Wrap or roll. Vidalias can last up to six months in the refrigerator. Simply wrap or roll each onion in paper towels, newspapers or aluminum foil and stow away in the crisper.

5. Make room in the freezer. To freeze, chop and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in freezer. When frozen, remove, pre-measure and place in freezer bags. Frozen onions are best used in cooking.

For more recipes, visit www.vidaliaonion.org.