Alton Brown's Onion Dip from Scratch

Is anyone having friends over to watch Olympic events? We might have a gathering or two for the gold medal hockey games when the time comes, so I've had my favourite snacks on the brain.

I made Alton Brown's Onion Dip from Scratch a few times last summer and at Christmas to rave results, and for good reason. Once you make this, you will never go back to purchased. Toss out the soup mix, readers, and get ready for the real thing.

This dip is not only delicious, but also extremely easy to make. Anyone who can chop an onion is already an expert. Simply saute your onion in olive oil until it's beautifully carmelized.

Then, once it's cooled, mix it with mayonnaise, sour cream, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Now, it's going to be hard, but you'll have to let it sit before digging in. The sweet flavour of the carmelized onions needs to permeate the creamy surroundings. Just walk away! You can do it.

You will be rewarded in the end. Alton Brown has created the ultimate chip dip! Caramelizing the onions brings out a sweet, deep flavour that you just won't find in a purchased dip. Also, this recipe contains the perfect ratio of mayonnaise to sour cream.  Neither too thick nor too thin, it is the ideal consistency for your favourite rippled chips, crackers, or crunchy veggies. As my friend Emilee exclaimed, "Tastes like Ruffles! But better!" Set it out in front of your pals, and watch it disappear.

Alton Brown's Onion Dip from Scratch: The Recipe
Amanda's notes: I've used both yellow (stronger) and vidalia (sweeter) onions with fine results.
White pepper is a bit less hot than black pepper. I think that the only reason it's used here is to keep the dip white in colour. Use freshly cracked black pepper if you prefer.
I like to let my dip sit overnight, but a few hours should be fine if you're pressed for time.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups diced onions
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups sour cream
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions
In a saute pan over medium heat add oil, heat and add onions and salt. Cook the onions until they are caramelized, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Mix the rest of the ingredients, and then add the cooled onions. Refrigerate and stir again before serving.

Anything Goes Chicken Salad

I'm one lucky gal, because my boyfriend makes the best chicken salad in the world. Like with his marinades, Jeff follows no recipe; he just goes with the flow and follows his instincts, and the results are always delicious. He has such a talent for these things.

Some elements never change: he always shreds his cooked chicken with two forks, rather than cubing it, which I find makes a big difference when it comes to the texture of the salad; it contrasts nicely with the chunky vegetables and fruit that he also throws in. He never uses anything other than Hellmann's mayonnaise and whole grain dijon mustard to make the dressing, and he always adds his favourite chicken salad herbs to the mix: rosemary and thyme. Kosher salt and plenty of freshly cracked pepper are also required, of course.

What makes his chicken salad different every time he makes it, are the additions. Once the base of his salad is made up, he adds in any combination of the following:

-diced celery stalks

-chopped cucumbers

-chopped green onion

-cubed apples

-cubed pears

-dried cranberries

-halved grapes

-walnuts

-cashews

The more, the better!

His big secret is to let the chicken salad sit for at least several hours, or overnight if possible. It is so hard to resist (I'll admit that I steal bites from it every time I walk by the fridge; sorry, honey!) but it allows all of the flavours to meld together beautifully.

This particular version was made from charcoal-grilled chicken breasts, and contained apples, cucumbers, celery, and walnuts.

Although delicious over spinach greens, my favourite way to eat Jeff's chicken salad is on a multi-grain baguette.

I usually eat this chicken salad sandwich open-faced, to ensure the maximal filling-to-bread ratio. It might be messy, but it's so good that I can't be bothered.

Since Jeff is mine and you can't have him, you'll have to try out this amazing culinary experience yourself. It's easy; shred up some left-over chicken, load on the dressing, then open up your fridge and see what happens with the ingredients you have on hand. I guarantee that you can't go wrong.

Just Winging It: Simple Coleslaw

Every Sunday, I do some prep work in the kitchen that will make my life easier during the coming workweek. I usually boil some eggs for my breakfasts, chop up veggies for my lunches, and sometimes I'll even create some kind of side dish to speed up dinner preparations. Recently, I have been making coleslaw as an easy and delicious complement to absolutely any main dish: chicken, roasted vegetables, sandwiches, burgers, sausage, refried beans, casserole…the possibilities are endless. I haven’t found anything with which it hasn’t paired well. It is so easy to come home from work, pick any combination of protein and vegetable, and know that I already have a third element prepared that will round out the meal. Ah, simplicity.

I used to base my coleslaw on a more complicated recipe that was delicious, but called for ingredients that I did not always have on hand (such as limes). Although I’m sure I wasn’t the first to create it, this recipe was born out of a need to improvise when the grocery store was closed. It is so simple, that I was surprised to find it tastes even better than my old recipe. I have stuck with it ever since, and have even served it alongside Jeff's roasted chicken at a dinner party. I'll never get tired of it. It is that good.

The Recipe (Sort Of):

Our coleslaw begins at the market, where a vegetable farming family sells many of its offerings all chopped up and ready to go. It is the closest thing to a convenience item that you will find at the farmers market, at least among my preferred vendors (after all, there is a sketchy man who somehow sells Oceanspray Craisins). Although some people might think that shopping at the market automatically means that they are doubling their prep time in the kitchen, these fine vendors would prove those people wrong. They are brilliant, and I let them know every Saturday how much easier they have made my life. Anyway, since I am preparing coleslaw for several suppers and a few lunches, I am making a double batch. (By the way, the purple cabbage tastes the same as the white; I just like the splash of colour. Food should be a visual experience as well as a gustatory one.)

I also like adding green onions to the mix, because they bring in a lot of flavour. I would say I use six or eight bunches for a double batch of coleslaw. As you can see, I chopped them pretty roughly because Jeff and I are both really big fans and don’t mind large pieces. However, if I were unsure of my guests’ tastes, I might chop them more finely and/or use less.

Onto the dressing. It contains only four ingredients, and you already have all of them: mayonnaise, yellow mustard, salt, and pepper. That’s it!

I only use the best, baby. None of that low-fat or miracle crap in this household! (If you ask me, the only thing that's a miracle about Miracle Whip is that some people manage to keep it down! *Rimshot*)

Er…I’m not sure that there exists a Hellmann’s of the ballpark mustard world. Grocery store brand is just fine.

I can’t specify the amounts or proportions of mayonnaise and mustard I use to make the dressing; really, I just throw some in a bowl, add salt and pepper, taste, and adjust as necessary. However, do add a lot more mayonnaise than you do mustard. You definitely do not want your dressing to be "mustardy"; the mustard should be approached as a simple flavouring agent, not as an equal to the glorious mayonnaise. Just keep tweaking until you think it tastes good, and then add in your cabbage, carrots, and green onions, and start folding.

Once everything is nicely incorporated, taste to make sure there is enough dressing. I happened to find that I underestimated how much I would need for the double batch; that's not a problem, I just threw in a bit more of the ingredients (see below, I swear it isn't an egg) and stirred again. It is impossible to ruin this coleslaw.

Although you can serve the coleslaw immediately with excellent results, I find it tastes better after it sits in the fridge for at least a couple of hours. It becomes more and more delicious as the week goes on. All you have to do is stir it a couple of times to redistribute the dressing, and, voilà, you have the perfect side dish all ready to serve!

Seriously, now: who wouldn’t want to come home to this?