Oil Toil

Hello all...A culinary question was left at my last posting, and what a cracker of a question it was... Anon (A.K.A Erin) asks. Should I heat up olive oil before I cook with it? Or should I just whack the food and the oil in at the same time? Excellent question. However, one with many different answers. On one hand if I wanted to cook something like squid ( deep fried) I want soft and juicy on the inside but golden crunch on the outside. For this I would have very hot oil. Heating the oil first ensures fast cooking time, plus a searing effect that seals in the jucies and flavor. On the other hand, for onions in a pasta sauce like a boglenaise, I find the best results are acheved when I start with a hot pan. Squirt in a small amount of good quality olive oil. Then quickly add the onions. Stir to coat with oil, then turn down the heat to a low setting. Gently fry at this setting untill the onions take on a semi transparent appearence. The result will be soft in texture but sweet in flavor, a perfect base for tomato sauce.... Of course the answers I have given here are quite broad in scope. Feel free to ask me about individual dishes, the more details the better..
In a move away from tradition, I am not adding a photo with this post. Only because I sold my best shot of onions frying in olive oil to a popular celebrity gossip mag...