Fried Onion Dip

I came across this recipe during a lazy Sunday morning watching Food Network.  There's a new show- Heartland Table which was surprisingly enjoyable.  The host and chef, Amy Thielen, made this fried onion dip and was convincing enough that I decided I needed to make it too.  And I'm certainly glad I did.  With relatively few ingredients, this dip is full of flavor and way better than any store bought or powder onion dip you've had.  There's something magical about browned, caramelized onions and the smell is to die for.  This dip is good to serve at a party or for a game, but also great to snack on all week long if you don't eat it all at once.  Enjoy with chips, bread, or veggies.  

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, sliced in thick half-rings
• 3 cloves garlic, minced 
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 cup white wine or dry vermouth
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup cream cheese at room temp
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped chives
• dash of cayenne

Directions:

Start by clarifying the butter.  This is done so the onions can be fried at a higher temperature to get a nice color on them.  To clarify the butter, melt it in a small skillet   When the butter has melted, you will notice that there is a white foamy layer on top of clear melted butter.  Skim off the white foam, pour the clear part into a small dish, and you are left with clarified butter!  Pretty easy. 

Next, heat the clarified butter in a heavy bottomed skillet (recommend cast iron) over medium-high and add the onions, breaking them apart to be evenly distributed.  Add about 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. 

Let the onions cook, stirring and flipping occasionally, until they turn a nice dark golden brown, almost with a burnt crust.  Amy's recipe says about 10 minutes but mine took a bit longer to develop this color, I'd say closer to 15.  

Next, add the honey and garlic and cook for about 1 minute, turning the heat down to medium.  

After that minute, pour in the wine or dry vermouth (I used wine) and stir.  Let it thicken as the moisture cooks off, about 3 minutes, and remove the onions from the heat.  

Meanwhile, in a bowl combine the sour cream and cream cheese and stir to combine.  When the onions have cooled slightly, pour them along with any remaining liquid into a food processor and process for a few pulses, leaving some chunks of onion. 

Mix the onions in with the sour cream and cream cheese, adding the chives and cayenne as well.  Stir to combine and refrigerate before serving.  So good! 

Braised Beef Short Ribs with Prunes

Sean has been recently interested in picking up meat from our local Hispanic market, which I've always avoided (don't know why but it scares me).  Clearly, I've been missing out because he picked up 3 lbs of beef short ribs for less than $10 and made a super delicious meal for me this week!  It was his first time making short ribs, and I have to say they turned out awesome.  Tender, juicy, full of savory flavor that paired well with the sweeter onions and prunes in the dish.  Maybe next time I'll venture into that meat section and surprise him with a dish of my own...

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs beef short ribs
• 2 tablespoons bacon fat (or olive oil)
• 3 onions, sliced in 1/2 thick wedges
• 10 cloves garlic
•  4 dried black chiles cut into bite size chunks (these aren't spicy but you could use a different dried chile if you desire)
• 8 oz prunes
• 1 cherry wheat beer (feel free to experiment with other types)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• salt and pepper
• 2 bay leaves 

* Special equipment- you will need a very large oven proof pot or Dutch oven.  We use a caldero which is made of aluminum.

 
Directions:
Heat pot over medium-high heat and add the bacon fat.  

Sprinkle short ribs with a generous amount of salt and pepper, on both sides.   

When the pot is hot, place the short ribs in the pot and brown evenly.  Do two batches if necessary so you don't over crowd the pot.

Once they've browned, remove them from the pot and set to the side.  

Meanwhile, preheat the oven 350 degrees F.  Add the onions and garlic to the pot and let them saute until they start to soften.  

Pour in the beer and scrape up any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pot.  Next, pour in the chicken stock and add the prunes and chiles.  

Stir to combine well, and then place the short ribs into the pot.  They should be almost covered with liquid.  

Cover the pot with foil or an oven-proof lid and place into the preheated oven.  Braise for 2 hours before removing from the oven.  

Carefully pull off the foil or lid, letting some steam escape before checking the meat to ensure it is fork tender.  This beef was so tender and flavorful, and the prunes added some sweetness to balance out the dish.  I was very impressed with how the dish turned out... nice job Sean! We served this over rice and it was perfect for soaking up some of the delicious sauce.

French Onion Soup

I really have a hard time resisting "buy-one-get-one-free" deals at the grocery store.  At some stores, you can just buy one and still get it for 50% off, but at our local grocery store, you have to get two in order to get the deal.  So, when I saw the bags of onions with the sale sign on them, I grabbed two without thinking about how hard it would be to use them all.  I hate to admit, but more often than not we end up throwing food away when I buy more than we can use before it goes bad.  And that pretty much ruins the idea of getting it on sale.  So with several onions on the verge of dying, I knew that French onion soup would be a great way to use them up.  We picked up a baguette from the French bakery to use as the perfect topping, underneath the melted Gruyere cheese.   This recipe came from Tyler Florence on food network.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

5 onions, sliced (we used a mixture of yellow and red)

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 bay leaves

2 fresh thyme sprigs

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup red wine

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 quarts beef broth (or less if you want it a little thicker)

1 baguette, sliced

1/2 pound grated Gruyere

Directions:

In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, a teaspoon of salt, and some pepper and stir until combined.

Cook, stirring every few minutes, until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 30-40 minutes. 

Add the wine, reduce the heat, and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry, about 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Sprinkle in the flour, and stir. Turn the heat down to medium low so the flour doesn't burn, and cook for about 10 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. 

Now add the beef broth, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10 more minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. 

 When the soup is almost done, preheat the broiler.  Ladle the soup into oven-save bowls, top each with 2 slices of bread and top with cheese. 

We stacked the bread because the openings of the mugs were so small.  Put the bowls into the oven to toast the bread and melt the cheese.  Watch carefully so it doesn't burn!

If you don't have oven-safe bowls, you could arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet in a single layer, sprinkle the slices with the Gruyere, and broil until bubbly and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.