Caramelized Onion Dip

I think few recipes are more useful than a dip that goes with just about anything. A good, versatile dip will go with chips, veggies, crackers or any other socially acceptable method of spooning it into your mouth.

It would probably not be wise to only use your fingers to eat this dip…well in public anyway. At midnight, alone and in front of your fridge while the dog goes outside to pee? Sure, why not! Not that I have ANY experience with that scenario. Ever. 

Caramelized Onion Dip

* Makes 2 ½ cups

(printable recipe)

What you need:

-          16oz Sour Cream or Plain Greek Yogurt

-          1 large red onion

-          1 large yellow onion

-          3 tablespoons butter*

-          1 teaspoon garlic powder

-          1.5 teaspoons onion powder

-          1 teaspoon soy sauce

-          1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

-          Black pepper

-          Salt

-          Scallions, optional as a garnish

-          Chips or veggies for serving

*more if needed

What you’ll do:

1. In a large sauté pan melt the butter over medium-low heat. Slice the onions evenly and add to the pan. Cover and simmer 25-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.  If the pan gets too dry, add more butter as needed.
2. Once the onions are completely caramelized, remove from heat. Drain off any excess butter and allow to cool completely.  
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine sour cream, garlic powder, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in onions and let sit in the refrigerator for approx 4 hours.
4. When ready to serve, stir dip and taste for flavor. Add salt and pepper if needed. 

Enjoy!

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Meatloaf: Love it or Hate it?

Recipe: Yankee Meatloaf with Mushroom and Shallot Gravy

Brent has been wanting meatloaf for a while. Well actually he has been wanting Beef Stroganoff but I told him no because THAT recipe is already on the blog. I’m a cruel a girlfriend, aren’t I? Meatloaf was his second choice and he said he wanted my stuffed meatloaf. Again, I said no, THAT recipe is already on the blog.

So finally I told him I would make this dish for him and he was very happy with the end result. In fact, he ate half of it in one sitting. I’ve made this version several times before, but for some reason he acted as if he never tried it before. Boys can be so strange.

Meatloaf is one of those dishes that vary wildly from recipe to recipe. Mine is more meatball like in texture and not “loafy”. This is how my mother made it and I prefer it that way. I also prefer to cook mine in a loaf/bread pan. I find that cooking it like that makes a moister meatloaf, and again this is how my mother always did it.

Yankee Meatloaf

*Serves 4

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

- 1.5 lbs ground beef

- 1 small red pepper, diced

- 1 small white/yellow onion, diced

- 1 cup mushrooms, diced

- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt

- 2 eggs

- 2 teaspoons minced garlic (3-4 cloves)

- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
- ¾ cup bread crumbs
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon butter or oil

How to Basics: Caramelized Onions

A new element I would like to add to my blog is a “How To” section. The basic idea of this feature will be for me to demonstrate or break down some form of cooking or baking that I think would be useful. FYI: There is a link for a printable version at the end of the post.


I wanted to start with caramelized onions for a couple of reasons: 1- I use them a bit when cooking so it would be easier for me to have a post that breaks it down rather than explaining it every time and 2- they really aren’t the easiest thing in the world to make. They seem pretty simple, but it took me quite a while to figure out the trick to them. I figure other people may have the same issue.

Three things you need to know about caramelized onions:
- You start out with a lot, but end up with about a quarter of what you started with
- They take a LOT of patience
- Butter is key

What you’ll need:
- 1 medium/large white or yellow onion (I prefer yellow)
- 3 tablespoons of butter
- 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)]
- Salt and pepper

Directions:

Step One: Melt your butter in a sauté pan over medium-low heat. Use a large pan; you want the onion to have a lot of room to move around. Slice your onion as evenly as possible. This will ensure that they cook evenly. I prefer to slice them about ¼ inch thick.
Step Two: Add the onions to the melted butter and stir to coat evenly. Season with salt and pepper. Add EVOO. Stir again and cover with a lid. I’ve found that covering them helps a lot. It will keep the moisture in the pan and will prevent the onions from browning too quickly.

Step Three: Keep an eye on them! Stir them every 5-7 minutes. If you see the pan getting a little “dry” add more butter or EVOO. Don’t be afraid to add more as needed. During this process I probably added another tablespoon of EVOO.

Step Four: Keep up Step Three until onions have developed a deep brown color and have become soft. Mine took between 50 – 55 minutes. HOWEVER – depending on the amount of onion and how thick you slice them, they make take more or less.

Here is the process in pictures:

Just added the onions to the pan

After cooking for fifteen minutes

After cooking 30 minutes

After cooking 50 minutes

I turned them off at this point. As you can see from the photos, they cook down a lot! Onion is a sneaky little ninja like that.

Click here for a printable copy.

A Retro Classic

The “Wedge” Salad is a classic American salad that was popular a couple of decades back. It sort of went by the wayside when Americans became more interested in darker greens such as romaine. You can still find it on some menus, and to me it’s a great and tasty salad because it combines two of my favorite things: bleu cheese and bacon. I find this simple salad to be a great to entertain with, or to serve along a great grilled steak for a simple supper.

Before I get started I need to point out I did not make my own bleu cheese dressing. Bleu cheese dressing is one of those perfect recipes that I’m still perfecting…like the perfect meatball recipe for example.

The “Retro” Wedge Salad

*Serves 4
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:
- 1 head of Iceberg Lettuce
- 1 large tomato, diced
- 6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
- ¼ of a large red onion, sliced
- Bleu Cheese crumbles
- Bleu Cheese Dressing

Arugulamania Dish #2

So here is the second dish or meal that we incorporated the fabulous Arugula Walnut Pesto in. I really just came up with the idea by wanting to use various items that I had on hand at the time up, but boy was it a hit. BD and I literally each took a bite and turned to each other with that complete look of utter satisfaction when you have an idea of how you want something to turn out and it ends up exceeding those expectations. In fact, I looked at him and said: This should be on a menu somewhere. Who knows – maybe it already is!

~ I know this is labeled under vegetarian as well. The reason why is because by just eliminating the steak and doubling up on the Portobello, you can have a great option that would satisfy anyone.

Steak and Portobello Ciabatta Sandwiches

*Serves 2
(Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

- 8oz flank or skirt steak, marinated in any steak marinade you choose*
- 1 large Portobello mushroom, stem removed

- ½” thick slice of red onion, not separated

- ¼ cup roasted red peppers, cut into strips
- 4 tablespoons boursin cheese
- 2 tablespoons Arugula Walnut Pesto

- 2 ciabatta rolls

- Veggie or Canola oil
- S&P

*We used A1 Steak House marinade.

Directions:

1. Allow your flank steak to marinade according to the directions of the marinade you choose. I would recommend at least an hour or two but several hours is best. Take the Portobello and onion, coat with oil and season with salt and pepper.

2. Allow your grill to get very hot. Once grill is well heated, you can grill the Portobello, red onion, and steak. Red onion will take about 6-7 minutes per side; the Portobello will take about 5 minutes per side; and the steak for about three minutes each side. (This will give you a medium-rare to medium steak. I wouldn’t recommend grilling it much past this temperature as flank steak is thin and can easily be overcooked.) I would actually recommend grilling the steak first, removing it from the heat, and allowing it to rest for several minutes while the veggies cook. This will allow the juices in the steak to redistribute – which means a juicier steak for you.

3. Once steak is rested, take a sharp knife and cut across the grain in thin slices. Also slice the Portobello into long slices and separate the onion.

4. Assemble your sandwiches: Cut each ciabatta in half. Spread 1 tablespoon on the pesto on the bottom half and 2 tablespoons of boursin on the top half of each. Then layer your steak, portabellas, roasted red peppers, and red onions. Cut in half and serve.

Thoughts: I’ve actually been dying to makes these again. And I’m still dreaming of the arugula walnut pesto. The ciabatta rolls are really one of my favorite types of bread. They held up really well in relation to this sandwich, which a less sturdy bread wouldn’t be able to. Steak with mushrooms and onions are always a winning combination in my book and this went above and beyond it. This sandwich was favorable and would make an easy summer dinner.

Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Shallots, Sage, and Pancetta

A while back a friend of mine shared the idea of mashed potatoes with caramelized shallots and sage. I loved the idea of this and thought it would be good, but maybe even better if I added some pancetta to the mix. I decided to make them for a special occasion not too long ago as a side for a Prime Rib roast BD and I did. They really don’t require a whole lot of extra work than regular mashed potatoes and really add an extra nice touch. You could use your own mashed potato recipe, but I’ve included my basic one in this here.

Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Shallots, Sage, and Pancetta

*Serves 2-4

(Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

For mashed potatoes -

- 1.5 pounds of potatoes

- 3 tablespoons of butter

- ½ - ¾ cup heavy cream

- Salt and pepper to taste

The mix-ins -

- 2 quarter inch thick slices of pancetta

- 2 medium or 3 small shallots, sliced thin

- 2 tablespoons of minced fresh sage (if using dried use half the amount)

- A heaping tablespoon of butter

Giving Roast Beef Some Love

A couple of girlfriends and I were talking food earlier today and one of them mentioned Boursin cheese. I am a HUGE fan of Boursin, its one of my favorite things and I use it quite a bit in my cooking. Like here and here. My other friend “J” mentioned that she likes to mix a little of it with Horseradish and enjoy it on roast beef sandwiches. This got my mind going and I could stop thinking about it until I made a sandwich to devour for dinner. My food cravings always dictate what I have for dinner and since BD was working late I didn’t have anyone argue with me. I used an old George Forman grill to press these but you can use a panini press or even a sauté pan like a grilled cheese. You could probably even skip the “cooking” part if you want altogether, but I didn’t.

Roast Beef, Red Onion, Arugula and Horseradish Spread Panini

*Serves 2

(printable version)

Ingredients:

- 4 slices bread – any kind, I used an Italian loaf

- 1/3 pound good quality sliced deli roast beef

- 1.5 cups loosely packed aruluga

- 3 tablespoons spreadable garlic and herb cheese – such as Boursin

- 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish (more or less if you like!)

- 3 tablespoons butter

- ¼ of a red onion, sliced

Wonton Mission

There are a few things you need to know about this dip:

• The inspiration behind it was solely the desire to make wonton chips. Seriously, I’m not joking.
• I debated between calling this zesty or spicy.
• I took many more pictures of the process to share, but my camera didn’t like me today. She’s an old lady, what can I say?
• I ate all of this dip for dinner tonight. Can we push beach season back a few more weeks?

 So last night BD had Sam the Cooking Guy on and I kept glancing at it while cooking, cleaning, and doing homework. One of his dishes was guacamole and instead of tortilla chips he used wontons to make chips. He’s all about healthy eating on the show and claimed there are very little fat and calories in them, which I could care less about. (Just ask the cellulite on my thighs.) However, the idea of using wontons as chips really intrigued me, so all day I’ve been rolling ideas around in my head for some kind of asian-esque dip to serve them with. I’m sorry but guacamole deserves tortilla chips. (You can check out my guacamole recipe here, btw.) What I came up with is kind of a deconstructed Crab Rangoon. It wasn’t my original intentions but after I started wolfing it down like a cat on tuna fish and thought about the flavors that’s how it worked out.

A knock off from down under

I call this Aussie Chicken because it’s my take on Outback’s Alice Springs Chicken. This is a dish that dish both the boys love. It’s usually a go-to meal at our house because we almost always have everything on hand for it. It’s not the prettiest plate to look at due to the mound of toppings it has, but is really is such a tasty dish and will satisfy the hungriest of men.

Aussie Smothered Chicken

*Serves 4

(print the recipe)

Ingredients:

- 4 chicken breasts, pounded ½ inch thick

- 8 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

- 1 cup sliced mushrooms (crimini or button)

- 1 medium onion, sliced

- 1 ½ cups of shredded cheddar cheese

- Butter for sautéing, few tablespoons

- Your favorite chicken grill seasoning. I used this one.

- Ranch or Honey Mustard

- S&P

Potatoes O’Brien

We are big fans of breakfast food here and we are always doing something different. Generally though, we are mercy to whatever random items are in our fridge or freezer at the time. That is when frittatas and breakfast burritos come in handy. But today’s post is about potatoes. We have been working our way through a 15 pound bag recently and I decided to make potatoes the other morning.

Potatoes O’Brien is a fairly standard breakfast item. Traditionally this dish is fully pan fried with peppers and onions. But since I’m not exactly patient when I’m hungry, I don’t always want to wait for my potatoes to fry in the am. Plus I like that these are a little softer and thus more versatile in my opinion.

Italian Sausage and Vegetable Soup

I was debating between soup and stew for this dish. It’s pretty hearty and even though there is a lot of chopping, its a snap to make thanks to the crock pot. Brent and I originally came across the idea for this recipe in a crock pot recipe booklet. You know, one of those little ones you find in the grocery line. We’ve made several adjustments to it, and it's one of our favorites. You’ll need a large crock pot for this.

Italian Sausage and Vegetable Soup

A Dish of Favorite Veggies...AND Bacon!

Green beans are one of my favorite vegetables. I came up with this recipe a few months back when BD and I were making a beer can chicken. They were a hit, and we’ve been making them every since. They do take a bit of time because of all the sautéing but are worth it in the end. Plus, I’m a sucker for anything with mushrooms, caramelized onions, and bacon on it.

Fully Loaded Green Beans

(print the recipe)

Ingredients:

- 1 pound of fresh green beans

- 1.5 cups of sliced button mushrooms

- 1 large white or yellow onion, sliced

- 8-10 slices of bacon *can be omitted for a vegetarian dish

- 4 tablespoons of butter

- 1 tablespoon garlic powder

- S&P

Procedure:

1. To start, snap your green beans, wash and slice the mushrooms, and slice the onion.

2. Start your bacon anyway you prefer to cook it. Once cooked, chop into bacon bits.

3. In a large skillet, melt two tablespoons of butter. Add mushrooms and sauté until lightly brown. Remove mushrooms, leaving the liquid in the pan. Set mushrooms aside.

Mushrooms - couple minutes in

4. Add onions and one more tablespoon of butter to pan, and over low heat sauté until caramelized. This will take about 15-20 minutes.

Onions almost done!

5. Bring a large pot of water to a hard boil and blanche green beans for five minutes. Remove from water, drain, and rinse with cold water.

6. Once onions are caramelized, add remaining butter, mushrooms, green beans, and garlic powder to the pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss everything together for a few minutes, then add bacon and toss again. Serve immediately.

Fully Loaded Green Beans

My thoughts: The green beans stay nice and crisp and get a lot of flavor from the pepper and butter. plus with the added onions, mushrooms, and bacon they really get dressed up nicely. Green beans almondine USE to be my favorite way to eat them, but this recipe trumps that every time.

Kitten ^..^

Quick Trip to Italy: Italian Flag Pasta

Usually by the time 6pm roles around on a Monday night, I am not in the mood to think about dinner - let alone actually cook dinner. I think this is why BD and I got into having Monday night as “slow cooker” night.

Yesterday I was in the mood for some food comfort and I had not made this dish in quite some time. I came up with the idea a couple of years back and it’s one of BD’s favorites that I make. I’m naming it Italian Flag Pasta because you have all the colors of the Italy’s flag and of course – it’s Italian!

Italian Flag Pasta

(print recipe)

Ingredients:

*This recipe serves maybe 4…??? Let’s just say that we had about double leftover after we were done.

- 3 Italian sausage links (use more or less if you like – I used mild)

- 3/4 red bell pepper, sliced thin

- ½ large white/yellow onion, sliced thin

- 8 basil leaves

- 8oz fresh mozzarella, cubed

- 2 cups of tomato sauce

- ½ pound rigatoni or ziti pasta

- Little bit of EVOO just for sautéing

Method:

1 -Take the sausage and remove the casing. You can do this by making a very small incision along the sausage and slowly peeling it back. I remove the casing because if left on while browning, it won’t retain the shape that I want. Then pop them into the freezer for about 15 minutes. This will allow them to harden slightly and it will be easier to slice into ¼ discs. Then in a large sauté pan, over med-high heat, add a little EVOO to coat the bottom of the pan and brown the sausage on both sides.

Once I get them all in the pan and in a single layer, I add a little salt and some pepper. When the sausage is browned on both sides, remove from the pan.

2 - While that is browning, slice your veggies, basil and cheese.

*Basil you can either tear, chop or chiffonade. I prefer the chiffonade because it’s prettier. It’s very simple to do: just layer the leaves on top of each other; roll into a little cigar; and then slice.

Cheeeeeese!

3 – Add some EVOO to a sauté pan and add your onion and peppers. Add S&P and sauté until soft. Takes about 10-15 minutes.

4- Once soft, add the sausage back into the pan and add tomato sauce. I used Hannaford’s Roasted Garlic tomato sauce. It’s probably one of the few jarred sauces that I will use because the flavor is really great. You can use any you prefer or even your own homemade. FYI: Hannaford is Sweet Bay’s private label.

5- Sauté everything together until sauce is heated through.

6- Once the sauce is hot and the pasta done, add the pasta to a large bowl, the sauce with veggies and sausage and stir together. Then add your mozzarella cheese and basil and toss.

Mmmmm

My thoughts on this dish: This dish always full of flavor and so easy to make. It's a great go-to for me, a good crowd pleaser, and feeds your soul. Wow, that was corny! My favorite part of this dish is how the cheese melts just enough to be soft and gooey. I also love the contrast of texture between the cheese and the browned sausage that retains a bit of a crust from the pan. And the fresh basil really gives it a nice burst of freshness. I'm usually not too picky with fresh or dried herbs, but with this dish its fresh basil or none at all, in my opinion.

Kitten ^..^

Triple the Cheese, Please!: Parm Tater Tots and Phake Phillies

Last Wednesday night DB ended up having the night off. Usually he is working at the restaurant on Wednesday so I get a chance to relax, catch up on the DVR, be lazy, and NOT cook. My plan of rummaging in the fridge for something to eat and watching the Real Housewives of NJ was foiled. So I ended up whipping together some Philly Cheese steaks and some Parmesan tossed tater tots. Quick, easy and cheap.

One of our food staples is frozen Philly steak meat. I'd never had it before and honestly was a little grossed out by it when BD wanted to buy some. Then a couple of years ago on X-mas Eve he made a couple for us before we went out. I was pretty shocked at how quick and yummy it was.

Philly Cheese steaks - A fast and loose recipe!

Ingredients:
- Sliced Onion
- Sliced green, red, yellow (whatever color!) bell pepper
- Sliced Mushrooms
- Philly Meat (or left over steak sliced really thin)
- Garlic - powder or minced
- Rolls
- Cheese! I used Provolone and American

Procedure:
1- Slice your veggies and saute in a little EVOO or butter till tender. Remove from pan and set aside.
2- *Some brands want the meat thawed and others don't so be sure to check for that.* Throw it in the pan, sprinkle with S&P and garlic to taste. Cook until thoroughly done.
3- Throw veggies back in the pan and toss together.
4- Place mixture on bread and top with cheese. (as much or as little as you want)
5- Throw under a broiler until cheese is melty.

Parmesan Tater Tots
*This is sooooo easy and makes tater tots even better than they already are.

Ingredients:
- Frozen Tater Tots
- Parmesan Cheese - grated
- S&P
- Garlic and Onion powder

Procedure:
1- Take tots and place on a sheet pan.
2- Lightly coat in melted butter or EVOO
3- Sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder to taste.
4- Bake according to package.
5- When done sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and toss to coat.


What I like about this meal is that even though its not fancy, hard or takes a lot of time - it still have a homemade quality to it. Plus its great comfort food.

While I was at the grocery store picking up a few things I needed for dinner that night I wandered into the bakery. BAD IDEA. I came across these Brownie Cookies. Soft cookies with walnuts and chunks of white chocolate in them. Sooooo good. And with a cold glass of milk I was in heaven.

I made DB hide the other two from me so I wouldn't eat them too!