Cool Onion Dip

Some days ago, we awoke on Saturday morning to gorgeous blue skies, glanced at our long list of chores and errands for the weekend- then tore up the list and went kayaking instead. With Neighbor Girl and her sweet little dog, V and I spent 4 hours floating lazily down the muddy but serene and scenic Meramac river.

Here's a picture of Neighbor Girl's dog, complete with a doggy-sized life vest. This pup is an expert swimmer. Halfway through the float trip, she jumped out of Neighbor Girl's kayak, swam to mine, and spent the rest of the journey on my lap.

After we pulled the kayaks ashore, we tore open a picnic hamper and ravenously ate hummus cucumber sandwiches, local Billy Goat potato chips with French onion dip and fresh cherries for dessert. The dip came from a local gourmet food market and we enjoyed it so much that I looked up a recipe right away and made a batch the following weekend.

It is hard to go wrong with slow-cooked, deeply browned onions. There are so many layers of flavor here, this is what "makes" so many dishes, from biryanis to onion soup.

The recipe is based on this one from Well Fed. While writing this post, I realize that the picture I took of the caramelized onions is strikingly similar to the one on Well Fed- I guess we own the same type of pan and wooden spoon.

Caramelized Onion Dip

(inspired by Ina Garten's recipe, via this post on Well Fed) 

1. Halve and slice 4 medium-large yellow onions thinly and saute them on medium heat in 2 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp. butter.
2. When the onions start browning at the edges, turn down the heat, add salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste and cook on medium-low heat for 25 minutes or so, until browned nicely. 
3. Add 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp. honey mustard and cook for a minute more.
4. Turn off the heat and let the onions cool down. 
5. In a bowl, stir together 1/2 cup low-fat sour cream, 1/2 cup cream cheese and 2 tbsp. mayonnaise into a smooth mixture. 
6. Stir in the onions. Adjust salt and pepper if necessary.
7. Cover and refrigerate for several hours before serving.

The combination of onion and potato is a perennial favorite, and sure enough, a classic dipper for this savory concoction is crunchy potato chips. Old-fashioned thick kettle chips are my absolute favorites; you need something sturdy to scoop up this thick dip (but if it too thick after being refrigerated, thin it with some milk or vegetable stock).

I wish there was an alluring picture for me to share here- potato chips nestled on a platter next to a bowl of onion dip swirled just so. I don't- instead, feast your eyes on this, the dip after a number of people stabbed into it. This is one of those dishes where you feel compelled to explain apologetically that it tastes better than it looks.

Because the inspiring recipe came from another blog, this post goes to Blog Bites 6: The Potluck Edition, hosted right here. I'm looking forward to trying many of my bookmarked recipes this month- they are patiently waiting to be made in my still-disorganized new kitchen.