Homemade Onion Dip

I love trying new recipes almost as much as I love eating at new restaurants.  Sometimes, though, I get stuck on a particular combination of ingredients and find myself cooking it again and again.  That’s exactly what happened when I found Ina Garten’s recipe for onion dip, which she enhances with plenty of golden, caramelized slices of onion.  Whenever I have weekend guests, I follow Ina’s lead by keeping a container of the dip and a big bag of Cape Cod chips on hand.

I usually use yellow onions in the dip, though sweet varieties work well, too.  Halved and thinly sliced with a serrated knife, they’re ready for long, slow cooking in a frying pan.

The slices look overwhelming  in number when they hit the pan, but they quickly condense as they cook in oil and butter.  Ina recommends browning them over high heat, then lowering the temperature to finish them gently.  Speckled with salt, pepper, and a pinch of cayenne, the onions smell homey and comforting.

When the onions were a rich, translucent gold, I let them cool to room temperature.  I whisked sour cream, softened cream cheese, and mayonnaise together in the meantime, creating a creamy base for the dip.  Combined with the onions and the pan oils, the dip took on an amber hue.

Served at room temperature, Ina’s onion dip is dangerously addictive.  Imagine the best store bought type you’ve ever had, then give it more subtle sweetness and a taste that’s lighter despite being rich with butter.  Sounds good, right?

I most recently made the dip when Bryce’s brother, Daniel, and his wife, Aubrey, came to visit, and it barely survived a day!  We pulled it out of the fridge between meals and even carted it to the beach in a cooler.  The dip is so good, in fact, that I’ve had to make a kitchen rule:  because it so completely saps my restraint, this stuff only gets made when we have visitors.  It’s a tough rule to follow, but its also entirely necessary.