Fleurie's Caramelized Onion Spread
I am always on the hunt for new appetizers. Seems like you’re always being asked to add an appetizer to the table for football games, Bunco, etc. I’ve recently grown bored with some of my standard crowd pleasers, so obviously I needed to change it up for New Year’s Eve. I tried this dip out of my What Can I Bring? Cookbook, by Anne Byrn. Oh, this is now on my short list of food fantasies. I can practically taste it as I’m writing. We had a major pile of food to get us through to midnight, but this is what had the flavor to keep bringing me back to the kitchen. No matter how very full I was, I came back for just one more cracker full of the onion spread.
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Serves 10 to 12
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
4 cups sliced yellow or red onions (3 medium-size. I used 2 yellow and 1 red for color)
(1) 8-ounce package cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
Bagel chips, sturdy crackers, or pita crisps, for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
Place butter or olive oil in large frying pan over low heat. Add onions and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon from time to time, until they caramelize and turn a golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let onions cool for about 10 minutes.
Place cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, cayenne pepper and salt in food processor fitted with steel blade. Pulse until smooth, 5 to 7 times. Scrape onions into processor, and using short pulses, combine with cream cheese mixture until onions are evenly distributed but still in small bits, 5 to 10 seconds.
Taste for seasoning, adding more if needed.
Spoon spread into serving bowl and serve with bagel chips, sturdy crackers or pita crisps.
You can refrigerate if not using right away, but allow to come to room temperature before serving.
