Chomp, Chomp...., Recipe Chomp, Chomp....

Posted the 14/10/2008 02:18:00 By Aggie's Kitchen (Visit website)

What a Saturday night we had. Not only were Larry and I able to sneak out of the house while the kids played with the babysitter, but we were able to watch an exciting and victorious UF Gator game in a houseful of fellow Gator fans and friends. We spent the evening at our niece and nephew's new house with friends, lots of great food and Pumpkin Ale.

(Gooooo Gators! PS...that is not me and my husband in matching shirts!!)

I was planning on only making a spinach dip that I just know many of you are very familiar with...Knorr's Creamy Spinach Dip. This dip is always a hit, especially when served in a bread bowl. Try it with Hawaiian bread too.

My husband requested I make "that onion dip"...what he is referring to is Barefoot Contessa's Pan Fried Onion Dip. I am pretty sure that this is the first recipe that I made from her original cookbook. You can just tell that I've made this dip many times due to all the stains on the page. This dip is reminiscent of the classic onion dip you make from a dry soup mix, but oh so much better. And not very hard either. Most of the time spent in preparation is caramelizing the onions and letting them cool. Once that is done, you just combine everything with a mixer or in your Kitchen Aid and you've got yourself one yummy dip. I always serve it with thick cut potato chips, but veggies and crackers would be great too.

Barefoot Contessa's Pan Fried Onion Dip

recipe found in The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

2 large yellow onions

4 TB unsalted butter (I don't use the butter, just olive oil)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper

1 tsp of kosher salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature (I use reduced fat)

1/2 cup sour cream (I use light)

1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use light)

Cut the onions in half and then slice them into 1/8 inch half-rounds. (You will have about 3 cups of onions.) Heat the butter and oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions, cayenne, salt and pepper and saute for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 more minutes until the onions are browned and caramelized. Allow the onions to cool.

Place the cream cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachement and beat until smooth. Add the onions and mix mell. Taste for seasonings. Serve at room temperature.

(Oh, these wings were good!)

The stars of the evening were most definitely the meat. My nephew threw some of the best wings I've ever had together and our good friends Krista and Mike brought over this cooking gadget that I had never seen before...a rotisserie oven that produced the most tender and delicious roast beef ever! They kept referring to it as the "Set it and Forget it"... I had no idea. Basically, a seasoned rib roast spun around in this cute little box for almost 2 hours. Santa may be delivering this little guy to our house this Christmas.

In addition to the dips, I put together a Cajun Pasta Salad at the last minute. I was craving something spicy and since we were playing LSU, why not?

I'll be posting the recipe for the pasta salad later this week so keep a look out for it. And in the meantime I will be trying to nail down the wing recipe from Josh (which originally came from his mom)...it's one that needs to be shared.

(And here are the gracious hosts, the Newleyweds, Josh and Sarah - aren't they cute?)

(Me and Larry, oh so happy are we...)

Have a great week!!

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