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Delicious Dip
May 24, 2011 | 
Author A friend of mine posted this dip recipe on Facebook and said it was “Delicious!” So, I put it on my to-do list, and at a recent dinner party I busted out this recipe. It only takes a little extra effort than the store-bought version, and it’s so much better.
It all starts with a pan full of onions
Cook ‘em low and slow until they turn golden brown and delicious
Throw it in a food processor with a few other ingredients and blend to the desired consistency. It couldn’t get any easier or more delicious.
Caramelized Onion Dip
Adapted from A Dash of Sass
2 large yellow onions
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
6 ounces light cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2/3 cup reduced fat sour cream
2/3 cup light mayonnaise
1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
- Quarter the onion and cut into strips
- Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Combine butter and olive oil in pan.
- Add the onions, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and cayenne. Saute for about 10 minutes, until softened. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue sauteing for another 30 minutes, stiring frequently, until the onions are browned and caramelized.
- Add balsamic vinegar to the pan. Cook an additional 2 minutes
- Remove onions from pan and let cool.
- Place cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce into a food processor. Process until well-combined.
- Add the onions. Process to desired consistency (I left mine a little chunky, but you can definitely go until it’s smooth)
-Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine.
- Serve at room temperature with chips (or a spoon!).
This dip is even better the second or third day.
Here’s my ten cents, my two cents is free. For more recipes, product reviews and restaurant tips (especially in and around Memphis, TN) Please visit my food blog, Tiffany Tastes.
If you want to contact me, drop me a line at tiffany(at)tiffanytastes(dot)com
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Chocolate Dipped MMMacaroons
Ok FoodNutters, its COOOOOKie time! Want a gluten-free cookie that tastes like something you bought at a fancy cafe? Having guests over who have celiacs and don’t know what to serve for desert? Need a host gift for a foodie type who doesn’t eat wheat? Look no further, I have your solution in the form of deliciously decadent (but ridiculously easy to make!) Chocolate-Dipped MMMacaroons. I’ve had a great response from this recipe on my blog www.glutendairyfreedom.net, and I wanted to share it with you, the food-nuts-foodies, so you can proudly place your stamp on something that looks store-bought and fancy-schmancy! And if you’re curious, the extra M’s in “MMMacaroons” are for Ummmmmmmm, mmmmmmm, good.
Ingredients:
No, you didn't buy them!
- 5 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
- 2/3 cup rice syrup or honey
- 4 egg whites
- 6 tablespoons rice flour
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Bittersweet chocolate (optional)
What do I do?
- Preheat the oven to 350′F
- Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix all ingredients (except chocolate) quite well until entire mixture is wet and the same consistency.
- Form into balls and flatten slightly on cookie sheets with a bit of space in between.
- Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until edges are golden.
- Remove from oven and let cool on pan to set.
- When set, transfer to parchment lined tray and if you are doing the chocolate dip, refrigerate for at least one hour.
- For chocolate dip, melt chocolate in a small pot on very low heat, stirring constantly.
- Tilt the pot to the side, and dip half the cookies one at a time and lay back on parchment lined tray.
- Refrigerate again until set.
These look really fancy and appear much more difficult then they actually are. They are sure to impress when served to guests or as a host gift when wrapped in a white box with some ribbon, or on a plate with some cellophane and tied with a bow. People will think you went to a fancy bakery. Let them think that, then slip in that you made them yourself! You’re such a pro!
Posted in Blogging, Dessert, Foodies, Fun Stuff, Gluten-free | 
Tags: cookies, macaroons | 
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Homemade HuMMMus!
I originally posted this on my blog
www.glutendairyfreedom.net in honour of my good friend Christine’s birthday as she is a vegetarian and hummus just so happens to be vegan-tastic! But I wanted to share this with the Food-Nutters because I know you’ll appreciate a great foodie-DIY! Creamy, zesty, mouth-watering, smooth, delicious HuMMMus. Sure you can buy it, but you can also customize your own: more lemon? less garlic? less salt? more creamy? Its totally up to you when you take the hummus reins into your own hands. Once you’ve gone homemade, you won’t want to go back! My mouth is watering just thinking about how good this is, and there’s a whole bowl of it in my kitchen right now, just waiting for me to dive into!
Ingredients:
- Chick Peas, canned or re-hydrated. If they are canned, rinse them well. If you’re using dried, soak them for 24 hours and simmer for 2 hours until tender.
- Tahini
- Olive Oil
- Lemon Juice
- Roasted or raw garlic. To roast, coat a bulb in olive oil and wrap in foil and bake until tender. (Tip: bake along side another meal to conserve energy and save $ on your electric bill!)
- Salt
What do I do?
- In a food processor, blend Chick peas with enough tahini, lemon juice and olive oil to make your desired consistency/taste. Experiment: use a little at first and see what you would like more of as you go.
- Add garlic and salt and continue to blend until smooth.
- Taste. If it needs more garlic/lemon/salt, make adjustments.
Store what you plan to use in the next 3/4 days in a covered container in the fridge and freeze the rest for later use. Spread on crackers, dip veggies, spoon onto chicken GO (food) NUTS! Full disclosure: I have been known to eat it right out of the container. ITS THAT GOOD! Just sayin…
Wishing you health and happiness,
Victoria
***Bonus Tip! If you’re using recently boiled re-hydrated chick peas, the final product will be warm and is so divine if served right away! However, if you are using canned chick peas, you can imitate this effect by boiling them for 2 minutes before you blend. Warm hummus is close to heaven for me, try it and I hope you’ll agree! (Didn’t mean that to rhyme, but kinda glad that it did!) Enjoy!
Posted in Blogging, Foodies, Gluten-free, Recipes | Tags: dairy-free, vegan, vegetarian | 3 Comments »
My Go-To Soup
For my inaugural FoodNuts post, I’ve decided to share one of my favorite soup recipes. I almost always have all of the ingredients on hand, it’s a one-pot wonder, and it comes together in a matter of minutes.
Rustic Italian Soup
Adapted for my tastes. You can find the original recipe here.
8 oz. turkey sausage (spicy or mild) casings removed
1 medium onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini
1 package (6 ounces) fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2-1/4 teaspoons minced fresh basil
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional if using spicy sausage)
salt and pepper to taste
- Crumble sausage into a Dutch oven; add onion. Cook and stir over medium heat until meat is no longer pink.
- Add garlic; cook and stir 2 minutes longer.
- Add the broth, wine (make sure you use a wine that you’d actually drink), tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder and garlic powder. Bring to a boil.
- Stir in tortellini; return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5-8 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally.
- Add the spinach, oregano, thyme, basil, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper; cook 2-3 minutes longer or until spinach is wilted.
This recipe makes 2 quarts, which is about 6 generous portions.
I just happened to have about 3 tablespoons of heavy cream that I threw into the pot at the last minute just to get it out of my refrigerator, which explains the creamy color of the soup (If you’re cutting calories, feel free to omit). To finish it off, I top it with some freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Add a crusty roll and a side salad, and you’ve got dinner!
Here’s my ten cents, my two cents is free. For more recipes, product reviews and restaurant tips (especially in and around Memphis, TN) Please visit my food blog, Tiffany Tastes.
If you want to contact me, drop me a line at tiffany(at)tiffanytastes(dot)com
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No Cake at a Wedding? Say It Ain’t So!!!
A good friend of mine, Cindy, attended a wedding recently. She shocked me with some astounding news, so it’s a good thing I was already seated or I might have keeled over and knocked a tooth out when I collapsed onto my desk: There was no wedding cake.
C’mon, join me — clutch at your chest as your eyes bug out, gasping for breath as though all the air has been punched out of your lungs.
No … cake? No cake! It’s a sacrilege! There has to be cake at a wedding! Guests ooh and ahh over it, vie for the best pieces, hope to get some of the edible decorations. Brides and grooms indelicately shove some into each other’s mouth. Cake at a wedding is a tradition!
But perhaps not so anymore? Cindy said that people she spoke with that evening told her that there hadn’t been cakes at other weddings they’d attended recently, either.
I’m sufficiently ancient and decrepit that my friends and relatives have either been married for 30 years or they’re divorced, and our children aren’t yet old enough — please, God, make sure they’re aware of that! — to get married. So I admit that I’m not an authority on this subject.
I hadn’t been to a wedding in years until attending one in July, and thankfully there was a cake. (Who knew it was now possibly considered optional?) It was really good, too, with luscious creamy white frosting … But I digress.
I’ve known of people who offered tiers of cupcakes that were arranged to resemble a cake. I’ve known people who offered an array of treats and sweets in addition to the cake, but the cake was still a major attraction.
Cindy said that other desserts were available at the wedding. There just wasn’t a cake, and from what she can gather, having no cake is becoming a trend. So, in horror, I started to do some remedial and less-than-scientific research.
Here is an assortment of quotes and responses gathered when I tossed this life-altering notion out into cyberspace and sought comments via Facebook and Twitter (so excuse grammatical/spelling quirks inherent in trying to type on a phone or cram a message into 140 tidbits!):
What else would the bride shove up the grooms nose? 
Seriously, yes…cake, of some sort, is a MUST!
What are people going to do, cut into a cupcake or a cookie? Sheesh!
That is ridiculous! If anything I have heard people turning to options but not getting rid of cake entirely! Thumbs down!
Haven’t heard this in the UK, though some friends had tiers of cheese instead.
I don’t know if I want to go to a wedding that doesn’t have cake. It’s a travesty!
We had cupcakes as our cake and then an ice cream sundae bar with cookies and brownies and no one ate the cake! We had like 100 cupcakes left over. Maybe it’s true 
Shut up!
Some things are just wrong, this is one! weddings=cake
Not any weddings I’ve been to.. no.. wait.. there wasn’t a wedding cake at the most recent one. Probably because the bride and groom didn’t want to spend $1,000 on a cake.
Plus, you have to save the top of the cake for your first anniversary! I have such fond memories of our wedding cake — made at a Swedish bakery in Minnesota with lemon filling… and it’s been almost 36 years!
So, there you have it — I’m apparently not alone in feeling weak and dizzy at the notion of not getting my cake fix at the end of the festivities. Deep sigh of relief.
I also did a search and found a website called Exquisite Events Seattle that addresses the cake-less issue:
“Cake has dominated the wedding industry for years. However, right now there is a growing trend to skip the cake all together. Maybe cake is not your thing. For many people cake is okay, but they have a dessert that they simply swoon over. So, why not have that dessert at your wedding?”
Why not? Because people expect a cake and want a cake! And they won’t leave your ceremony talking about how beautiful the bride was, but instead will leave talking about how deprived they felt at being denied cake!
I am fully aware that there are more earth-shattering and life-altering situations taking place in the world than not serving cake at a wedding, just in case anyone was wondering. However, this clearly struck quite a nerve for many of us.
In my obsessive compulsion to learn more about this issue, I’ve discussed it with many people who are in their 20s and 30s, those on “the wedding circuit,” in other words. Almost universally, there has been cake at the receptions they’ve attended. One of my co-workers told me that she’s never been to a wedding that didn’t serve cake.
Cindy (who may regret, at this point, ever having mentioned this to me!) brought up the issue of the Jewish dietary laws, and having to serve a non-dairy cake — which is very often inferior — with a meat meal.
In that instance, settling either for the lesser cake or for a vegetarian meal wouldn’t make for an optimal situation. The better dinner served without a cake might easily take precedence over the butter-less dessert.
So finally, as my brain was starting to hurt from all of this contemplation, I consulted a true expert: my favorite baker, Bryant Stuckey of Ann Arbor’s Decadent Delight. Here’s his professional opinion:
“I don’t know if I would say it’s a trend, but I have had many instances in the last couple years where couples have forgone the wedding cake … I think this is to stay within their budget. It seems a shame to me… I just can’t see a wedding without a wedding cake. The wedding cake is another character in the wedding. It’s symbolic to an idea of a ‘sweet life’ together.”
I think the notion of cake playing a role and symbolizing a sweet life together is absolutely perfect. And I think that symbol should be enjoyed with all the loved ones who’ve joined the happy couple on their special day, literally and figuratively sharing that sweet life with all of those who have been — and will continue to be — integral to it.
So skimp on the rose petals that flower girls toss along the aisle; they’re just going to get ground into the rug or the runner anyway. Do away with having 14 bridesmaids and save money by not ordering so many bouquets. Don’t bother with an ice sculpture that will just melt. There are so many non-essentials at weddings.
But cake — cake is an absolute! It’s a classic that never goes out of style. Change the shape, the colors, the flavors, and even the doohickeys that go on top.
But never, ever shun the cake! And if you do, please know that I will not be offended if you leave me off the invitation list.
“floo·zie \ˈflü-zē\: a usually young woman of loose morals.” Thus a Food Floozie is not a woman who can be seduced by virtually any man, but rather a woman who can be seduced by virtually any food (other than sushi).
For more blathering about recipes, restaurants, beverages, ingredients, and anything else even tangentially related to food, please come visit me Monday through Friday at Food Floozie or check out my mostly-regular Tuesday posts on AnnArbor.com.