Fallen Souffle

It’s December 31, you have just been invited to an impromptu New Year’s Eve party. Your fridge is stocked full of holiday leftovers that are on their last leg, you haven’t been to the grocery store since Christmas and you have no desire to go today. You flip through cookbook after cookbook and surf the internet for an easy but crowd pleasing appetizer but have come up with nothing. Velvetta and Rotel? Too predictable. Crockpot meatballs? Not enough time. Chips and leftover bean dip? Shame on you for even considering! Finally there is a glimmer of hope! INA! The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook ofcourse how could I neglect! The New Years Eve party is saved…and so is your dignity!

Ok so that’s kinda dramatic but I just realized yesterday that I needed to bring something to a get together tonight. I brought a dessert bread home but wanted to bring an appetizer that everyone could munch on. I am down to slim pickins in the pantry and I really don’t want to go to the store until next week. While Evan was out watching the Pack play I perused my cookbooks and found this yummy recipe from Ina’s cookbook. With a quick check of the fridge I discovered I had all of the ingredients! What luck!

I posted my adapted version because let me just tell you..this woman loves some fat. I mean not that it was a huge secret or anything but this recipe calls for 4 tablespoons of butter as well as 1/4 cup of oil. Happy New Year, here is your heart attack! I was literally ladling oil out of the pan so the onions wouldn’t be suffocated in this artery clogging pool. I kept the butter for flavor but cut down the oil to couple of tablespoons, yeah it was that much oil. Another tip, use a mandolin for the onions! My husband thought one of the dogs died on the kitchen floor with as much as I was weeping and dripping…it was not pretty.

I used all lowfat ingredients except the butter, I know so un-Ina but I would like to live to have children. The flavor comes from the onions anyways so I didn’t notice the difference. I will serve this with some toasted Farmhouse White Bread from the bakery. So good!

Pan Fried Onion Dip
adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

3 cups thinly sliced white or yellow onions (about 3 medium sized)
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons vegetable oil (add more if your onions are burning)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 ounces of room temperature cream cheese (I used the 1/3 fat)
1/2 cup sour cream (I used fat free)
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used light)

1. Heat butter and oil in large saute pan on medium heat. Add onions and spices and saute for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 20 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow onions to cool.

2. Cream together cream cheese, mayo and sour cream with a hand mixer using the paddle attachment. Add onions and mix well. Season to your taste.

I hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year! It is so hard to believe that tomorrow is 2006!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!