French Onion Dip - Caramelized Onion Dip

French onion dip (because it starts out just like French onion soup), or caramelized onion dip, is the fresh, and in this case organic, version of that ever-popular dip made with dry onion soup mix. 

I just read the dip was invented in 1954 by an anonymous person (in California, presumably, since it is called California Dip). I'm not saying that dip doesn't taste good, but, well, I don't like packaged foods.

That said, I like potato chips with my onion dip. I know, I know, but I don't eat them very often. In fact, this week was the first time in a year or two I've had potato chips. If you're even better than that at keeping away from junk, you'd probably like this dip with raw vegetables.

Anyway ... This is the season when many people are having parties or taking something appetizer-ish to parties, so I thought it would be a good time to post an easy recipe for that sort of thing. This takes some time to caramelize the onions, but is very little work.

Just put the onions on to do their thing while you're doing other things. What's your favorite kind of dip and dipper?

French Onion Dip - Caramelized Onion Dip

(Makes 3 cups)

1 1/2 pounds (2 medium) yellow onions, quartered and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon celery seed
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1 pint (16 ounces/454 grams) sour cream
1/4 cup real mayonnaise

1 In heavy-bottomed large skillet (I use the All-Clad Stainless 12-Inch Fry Pan), cook the onions in butter and oil over low heat, covered, for 15 minutes. No need to watch them, just set the timer and walk away.

2 Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, sugar (helps with browning) and seasonings. Cook, uncovered, over moderate heat (onions should be sizzling), stirring frequently,* for about 45 minutes or more, or until onions are well caramelized, evenly brown.

* As I said in my French Onion Soup post, Who even knows what "stirring frequently" means? I've never seen a definitive answer to that question, so I'm going to say it means every 2 or 3 minutes (though maybe every minute toward the end). And you'll notice a few more helpful hints in my updated French Onion Soup post.

3 Cool completely. Put cooled onions in work bowl of food processor and pulse until finely chopped but not pureed. Every food processor is different, but I found 18 pulses to be just about right. In a 1-quart bowl, stir together onions, sour cream and mayonnaise. Taste and adjust seasoning. Refrigerate for up to 4 days.