Onion and Shallot Dip

Last weekend I attended a book club hosted by one of my neighbors. The book being discussed was Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married by Gary Chapman, which I managed borrow and speed read the previous week. I'm usually not a fan of self-help or therapy-related books, but I found this one to be really interesting - if you ignore the Christian undertone. Many of the ideas can be applied to any relationship since the book focused on communication and learning to speak your partners' "language." The section on learning to apologize was especially helpful since I've necer thought about how to apologize or if I was communicating my apology effectively. 

I've always wanted to be in a book club and really enjoyed spending the evening with an intriguing group of women. I don't think anyone in the group was from the same state and that's what I love about Atlanta - you meet people from all over the country. Our diverse backgrounds and cultures brought about thought-provoking topics and fascinating points of view.
 

You can't discuss a book on an empty stomach, so we were asked to contribute an appetizer. I brought an Onion and Shallot Dip served with potato chips. It tasted a million times better than the standard onion dip packet mixed with sour cream, but it looked a lot like tuna salad. In fact, Paul asked, "Why the hell did you make so much tuna?" Even the host gave me a confused look when I set it down on the table. 

 

This recipe has a large yield - we went through 2 bags of chips and still had some left over. Next time, I'll wait for a huge party or half the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds large yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 2 large shallots, thinly sliced
• 4 springs of thyme
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar - red wine vinegar can substitute
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1/4 cup minced chives - Omitted
• 1/4 cup whole-milk Greek yogurt
• 2 teaspoons onion powder

Preheat oven to 425°.  Thinly slice the onions and shallots using a knife, mandolin, or your 

food processor with a slicer attachment.

                                    

Mix onions, shallots, thyme and olive oil in a large roasting pan. Season with salt and pepper. 

 

 Roast onion mixture, stirring and scraping down the sides of the pan every 10 minutes, until the mixture breaks down and become golden, about 45-55 minutes. If the onions start to burn, turn down the oven temperature and add a few tablespoons of oil.

Discard thyme sprigs, most of the leaves will have fallen off but you don't want to eat the woody stems. Add wine and vinegar, roast for another 15 minutes until it is a deep golden brown and caramelized. Remove from the oven and cool.

 

Mince the cooled onion mixture and transfer to a bowl; combine with sour cream, yogurt, onion powder and chives. Season with salt and pepper. 

We have more free time in the evenings after Emerson goes to bed, which is why I made the dip the night before the book club meeting. Also, allowing the dip to sit over night in the fridge helps the flavors develop.