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Creamy Onion Dip

Source of Recipe

From "Down South" by Donald Link


Recipe Introduction

"When I was growing up, my mother taught my sister and me how to play cards — poker, blackjack, and spades, to name a few games. An essential part of the table setup was a bowl of creamy onion dip and potato chips. These days, whenever I find myself at a party with onion dip I always think about those card games and how great it was to spend time with my family — yet another example of how so many foods carry such power of place and time. This is my updated version, which relies on sweet sautéed onions and a rich sour cream-mascarpone base. It's delicious served with potato chips or Spicy Cheddar Crackers. When we prepared this dip for a party at Julia Reed's house, we discovered that a splash of Armagnac deepens the flavors in a delicious way (for that matter, a splash of Armagnac improves just about anything). In fact, Julia splashed in more every time she passed through the kitchen. Fine Armagnac is expensive — feel free to use Cognac or brandy as a replacement."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 2 tablespoons olive oil
â—¦ 2 large sweet onions, diced small
â—¦ 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
â—¦ 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
â—¦ 2 teaspoons cayenne
â—¦ 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper
â—¦ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
â—¦ 1 cup sour cream
â—¦ ¾ cup mayonnaise
â—¦ ½ cup mascarpone
â—¦ 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
â—¦ 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
â—¦ 1 tablespoon Armagnac, Cognac, or brandy, plus more to taste


Recipe

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and swirl to coat. Add the onions and sauté, stirring, until they begin to release their water, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and sauté until the onions are very soft but not brown, about 30 minutes.

Add the thyme, salt, cayenne, black pepper, and garlic powder and cook, stirring, for an additional 3 minutes to heat the spices. Remove from the heat, transfer the onion mixture to a bowl, and cool completely (you can chill the mixture in the fridge to speed up this process). Add the sour cream, mayonnaise, mascarpone, scallions, lemon juice, and Armagnac and stir until combined. Taste for seasonings and adjust the flavors as desired.

Refrigerate the mixture for at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours before serving to allow the flavors to develop.


Serves 4 to 6