I’m not sure there is anything more useful in the entertaining world than a good, go-to dip recipe. This Creamy Caramelized Onion Dip is mine. It is an old favorite I’m revisiting after our trip to Seaside. Mike and I had massage treatments on one of the rain days at the Watercolor Inn’s spa. After our services we treated ourselves to lunch at the Inn. We ordered Bloody Mary’s and a Mahi Mahi sandwich, but after the bloody mary’s came out and before the sandwich, they brought around their “snack of the day” that happened to be a caramelized onion dip served with amazing warm and toasty (maybe even fried…?) pita wedges. When I made this dip in my catering days I would usually serve it with a vegetable platter. Yes, crunchy vegetables are a great accompaniment to this dip, but I’ll tell you, toasty pita is fantastic.
This dip starts with cream cheese, just as all great dips do. Then, sweet caramelized onions and a little heat from a pinch of cayenne pepper make it so addicting.
Caramelized Onion Dip with toasted pita
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large red onion
1 block of cream cheese
1/2 cup of sour cream
4 green onions
1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of cracked pepper
Begin by caramelizing the onions in a saute pan in olive oil and butter. You do this by cooking them at a medium high heat until soft (about 3 minutes) then lowing the heat for about 10 minutes stirring every couple of minutes until the color changes to a soft brown color. Be careful not to over caramelize – they will turn black in a minute or two! You can do this step ahead of time. In a mixer (or by hand), cream together the cream cheese, sour cream, caramelized onion, cayenne, salt and pepper.
Turn on oven broiler. For pita, cut soft whole pita breads into 8 wedges. Place them on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Place them under the broiler for 2 minutes, then flip them over with a spatula and repeat on the other side. Sprinkle a little sea salt over them when they come out of the oven. Serve pita warm.
