Where the Wild Things Are - Halloween 2010

 

My favorite time of year is upon us and I'm already plotting my ghoulish plan. . .
I'll be turning my home into a haunted forest with lots of spooky trees and Spanish moss, plenty of old leaves, and creepy little forest critters.  It'll be the perfect setting for me, since I'm going as an owl this year.
I really want to make my sugar cookies, but I have to be reasonable about what I can accomplish.
I'll be serving several types of snack mix because that's super easy and yummy (I have such an obsession with Cheezit Party Mix it's not even funny), and I'll probably do a spicy nut mix as well.  I had one in Mexico that had whole chiles and fried garlic that was super good and kind of creepy looking (let's just say we'll call those garlics "fingernails" or something equally gross).  Here is a decent starting point.

We're also going to do some super easy salsas and guacs as I did last year, but add a Crock Pot full of cheesy bean dip that I don't really have to worry about.  When I was in high school taking Home Ec, our teacher taught us some delicious recipe that featured canned refried beans, Velveeta, salsa, green chiles, garlic powder and green onions. . . I'm trying desperately to remember it and will probably just tweak it as I go until it's yummy.  This one looks pretty good as well.
I'm also going to get some pizza dough or flatbread and just do little flatbread slices - caramelized onions, goat cheese, maybe blue cheese, figs, prosciutto, etc., but those are the pricier fixins, so we'll see.  I'll bake the breads ahead of time, then top them, and heat them up for a few just before I serve.
Perhaps a white bean and sage dip with veggies and pita chips.
Basically stuff that I don't have to fuss with.   And to drink, I think I'm going for shandy this year instead of my typical sangria:

Apple Cider Shandy
48 ounces of lager (4 x 12 oz bottles)
1 bottle of sparkling cider

Combine and serve immediately.

I mean, it doesn't get much easier than that, right? 

Balsamic Onion Dip

 I admit - not the best photo in the world.

 For whatever reason, I got a hankering for onion dip something fierce the other day (I probably saw it on a menu somewhere).  Guess I really should go back to Phase I of South Beach to kick those cravings, but in the meantime, I decided to just try making my own, so it could be healthier.  How hard could it be right?  Well, version 1 turned out okay - yummy and definitely edible, just not as rich as I was hoping for.  I have some ideas for tweaks - onion powder, Worcestershire, etc.  I even did a little bit of reconnaissance after the fact to see if I had missed some key component that everyone else knew about and hadn't told me.  It doesn't appear so since Alton Brown's recipe looked even blander than mine (and mayo, ew).  However, I really liked the idea over here about adding tofu to the mix for more protein.  (Especially as I sit here making a meal out of baby carrots dunked in it.)  I still want to stick to the balsamic vinegar since that's a flavor profile I love, especially with onion, especially since I fell in love with these sea salt & balsamic vinegar chips in Australia (OMG SO GOOD).  I see that Kettle sells this flavor in the UK, and now I'm praying I can buy them online and have them shipped.
Maybe these ones by Boulder Canyon would be good. . . ANYWAY.  Dip.

I set my sweetie to work with the mandolin and got to caramelizing, but if you're going to chuck these in the food processor as I did, you may not need to worry about slicing quite so thinly.  Also, you can get creative with the base.  Try strained Greek Yogurt for a bit more tang, or maybe cream cheese for a cream cheese spread, or a combo of sour cream and mayo like a traditional dip.  Serve with your favorite dippables - when being healthy I go with veggies of course, but whole wheat baked pita crisps would be great as well.  If you're not a waistline watcher, just go with chips, yum!

Balsamic Onion Dip
2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2-3 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt to taste (I used about 1 1/2 tsp)
freshly ground pepper to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp)
1 16 oz container of lowfat (or non fat) sour cream

Heat up a tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium - high heat.  Caramelize the onions* in batches so you don't overcrowd your pan (I did four separate batches for this amount of onions in the pan size I had, though you could probably get away with three).  If you don't listen to me now and you chuck them all in at once you'll end up just sweating and steaming your onions and they'll go all flaccid and weird, and not caramelized at all.  We do not want this.
Once the onions are nicely caramelized, stir in the balsamic vinegar and turn off the heat.  Allow to cool, and put in the food processor for a smoother dip, with the onions more evenly dispersed, or leave whole if you want folks to hit a nice chunk of yummy onion.

As I mentioned, I think I'll tweak this a bit by adding more vinegar, and maybe some Worcestershire sauce and a bit of onion powder, maybe a kick more salt.

*It should probably be noted that I am not an official onion caramelizer.  It rarely takes me more than 10-12 minutes to "caramelize" my onions, so please don't feel like you have to let them cook for 20-40 minutes as suggested by some recipes.  If you do, they'll be incredible, of course, but I don't find it necessary to let them go that long for most of my impatient purposes.

Dips

I'm in an entertaining mood, and dips and entertaining seem to go hand in hand.  It's not superbowl season anymore, but this is still a great list to keep on hand.

I'm all about the:
fondue (duh) Rub a small pot with garlic; add 1 cup white wine and simmer. Whisk in 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with a splash of cognac, then 1/4 pound each gruyère and emmentaler cheese; add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Serve hot with apples and bread.  (I'm thinking I will do this a la Luna Park and make goat cheese fondue, obvi)
hummus variations:
Tahini Dip Puree 1/2 cup tahini (sesame paste), the juice of 2 lemons, 2 teaspoons ground cumin and 1 minced garlic clove. Drizzle in 1/2 cup hot water; puree until smooth.
Hummus Make a half batch of Tahini Dip (No. 2); puree with 1 can chickpeas, 3 tablespoons olive oil and 1/2 cup hot water.
Red Pepper Hummus Make a half batch of Tahini Dip (No. 2); puree with 1 can chickpeas, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 cup roasted red peppers and
1/2 cup hot water.
Tomato Tapenade Make Olive Tapenade (Pulse 1 cup black olives, 3 anchovies, 2 tablespoons each olive oil and capers, 1 tablespoon each lemon juice and parsley, 1 teaspoon fresh thyme and 1 garlic clove in a food processor. ) with 2 cups oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes instead of olives. Use white wine vinegar in place of the lemon juice and basil instead of thyme. Thin with water.
Romesco Dip Puree 1/2 cup toasted almonds, 2 roasted red peppers, 2 chopped seeded tomatoes, 1 garlic clove, 1 slice toast and 1 teaspoon smoked paprika. Add 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar and 1/4 cup olive oil; puree.
Slow Cooker Spinach Dip Mix 1 cup grated smoked mozzarella, 1/2 cup grated parmesan, 8 ounces cream cheese, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 box thawed frozen spinach, 1 jar artichoke hearts, and salt and pepper in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on high, 2 hours.
Pepper-Rosemary Dip Sauté 1 minced garlic clove in 1/4 cup olive oil. Puree 1/2 cup jarred piquillo peppers, 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary, 11 ounces goat cheese, half of the garlic oil, and salt and pepper; top with more garlic oil.
Onion Dip Sauté 1 each chopped yellow and red onion in olive oil over low heat until caramelized, 30 minutes; cool. Mix with 1 1/2 cups sour cream, 3/4 cup mayonnaise and chopped chives and scallions. Add Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
Roasted Garlic Bacon Dip  Cut the tops off 2 heads garlic, drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil and bake at 400 degrees until tender, 45 minutes. Make Onion Dip (above) using the roasted garlic pulp in place of the sautéed onions. Add 6 slices chopped crisp bacon.
White-Bean Dip Fry 10 sage leaves, 4 chopped garlic cloves and a pinch of red pepper flakes in 1/4 cup olive oil. Add 1 can cannellini beans and 1/3 cup water; warm through, then puree. Add a splash of lemon juice and a pinch of salt.
Queso Dip Saute 3 tablespoons minced onion in oil. Add 1 can green chiles, 2 tablespoons flour, 1/3 cup beer, 1/4 pound each grated muenster and cheddar and a handful of chopped cilantro; cook until the cheese melts, then broil until bubbly.
Chorizo Dip Make Queso Dip (above); brown 1/4 pound sliced chorizo with the onion and replace the canned chiles with 1 diced jalapeño.
Ricotta-Tomato Dip Simmer 2 cups tomato sauce in a small skillet. Add 1 cup ricotta in dollops and warm through. Garnish with basil and drizzle with olive oil.
Pizza Dip Make Ricotta-Tomato Dip (No. 49) in a small ovenproof skillet; top with diced mozzarella and pepperoni, then bake at 350 degrees until bubbling.

And of course, guacamole.
Pile 1/4 cup chopped onion, 1 to 3 chopped serrano chiles, 3/4 cup torn cilantro and a big pinch of kosher salt on a cutting board. Chop, then mash into a paste with the flat side of a large knife. Transfer to a bowl, add 3 diced avocados and mash with a wooden spoon until combined but still chunky. Stir in 1 medium diced tomato and season with salt. Top with more tomato, cilantro and onion.