Domestifluff : Food, Craft, Etc. » Dips http://www.domestifluff.com Weblog of a home cook and crafter in the Boston area as she tackles baking and cooking in a teeny kitchen and embarks on various crafty and foodie adventures. Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:03:07 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Caramelized Onion Dip http://www.domestifluff.com/2009/02/caramelized-onion-dip/ http://www.domestifluff.com/2009/02/caramelized-onion-dip/#comments Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:49:00 +0000 Kristen http://www.domestifluff.com/?p=95 Caramelized Onion Dip

A few years ago I wouldn’t have made this dip, and that would’ve been a shame. Onions were another food on my “do not eat” list and had been since I was a child. I deemed them “icky” and didn’t want them near anything that went into my mouth. Having to eat a dish that included big hunks of onions in it was, to me, akin to having a root canal. Seriously, this is how much I disliked onions.

However, when I started to make my own tomato sauces and pureed soups several years ago, I decided that I would try to be adult about it and grudgingly included the onions in the recipes because I could blend them up and wouldn’t have to have big pieces of onion in my food. To my surprise, I found that the onions added great flavor. Looking back, I think that what I didn’t like was raw onions. The strong taste, the texture, and the crunch of biting into a half cooked onion still don’t appeal to me, but now I regularly include larger pieces of (fully cooked) onions in soups and such. Progress!

Given my history with the humble onion, you can understand why making caramelized onion dip from scratch was a big step for me. Yes, I know that caramelized onions are a completely different beast than raw onions. It was just the idea of it. But when I stopped eating sugar I could no longer eat my favorite, Helluva Good French Onion Dip, which includes sugar, MSG, and various other banned substances, and I really, really wanted some onion dip.

WARNING: If you make this dip, you are going to want to put it on everything: chips, crudite, chicken, burgers, and you may even find yourself digging in with a spoon. I only did the spoon thing once. Well, maybe twice. Stop judging me, I had to taste it in its pure form!

Caramelized Onion Dip

Notes: Since most mayonnaise contains sugar, I made my own from this great tutorial. Making your own mayonnaise is actually pretty easy and really fun!

Ingredients

2 large onions, sliced thinly
1 Tbsp. butter, unsalted
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt (more to taste, if needed)
1 1/2 cups sour cream
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder (optional)

Directions

1. In a large skillet, melt butter and olive oil over low heat. Add sliced onions and salt. Cook onions, stirring often, over low heat for approximately 45 minutes, or until the onions are tender and brown. The browning signifies that the sugars in the onions are caramelizing. Be careful not to cook the onions too long, as they will become too dark and will taste bitter. Remove from heat and cool.

2. Puree cooled onions in a food processor. Add sour cream, mayonnaise, and black pepper and pulse until all ingredients are blended. Taste the dip and, if more onion flavor is desired, add the onion powder. The dip can be served right away or chilled in a container with an air tight lid for up to two weeks, but it probably won’t last that long!

]]> http://www.domestifluff.com/2009/02/caramelized-onion-dip/feed/ 4