Caramelized Onion Dip

After making dye from red onion skins, I had about 12 onions that needed to be used soon-ish.  I sliced them all fairly thin (with my handy mandoline slicer) and made a giant batch of caramelized onions.  I've been using them in all kinds of things - on toast, in omelets, in soup, and so on.  Since I have all these pre-cooked onions on hand I was looking for another way to use them up, and decided to modify my artichoke dip recipe for caramelized onions.

Recipe:

For the caramelized onions
1-2 tablespoons butter
2-3 onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup white wine
Salt and pepper

For the dip
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Herbs & spices (I used sage and smoked paprika)
Chives or green onions

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions and season with salt and pepper.  Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden brown.  Add wine and cook, stirring frequently for another 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese on medium speed for 1 minute.  Add sour cream, mayonnaise, and seasoning, and mix thoroughly.  Stir in the caramelized onions and all of the juices into the cream cheese mixture.  Add more salt and pepper, if needed.

Place the dip in a serving bowl, garnish with chopped chives or green onions, and refrigerate.  Serve with pita chips, potato chips, veggies, etc.

Grilled Baby Bok Choy

I'm fairly new to bok choy.  I've had it before, certainly, but I haven't cooked it myself very often.  The other day I picked up a few baby bok choy because a) I wanted to try something new-ish, b) there's just one of me, so the baby bok choy seemed more manageable than a full-size bok choy, and c) they're super cute.

Looking around online, it was hard to find a way of cooking them that would be diet friendly, so I improvised.

Recipe:
1 baby bok choy
1-2 teaspoons Bragg's Liquid Aminos (a versatile and delicious natural alternative to soy sauce)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Sea salt

Cut the baby bok choy in half lengthwise.  Fill a bowl with cold water and place both halves in the water, soak for about 5 minutes.  Remove from water and pat dry.
Meanwhile, pre-heat an electric countertop grill or sandwich press.
Squeeze lemon juice over both sides of the bok choy halves.  Sprinkle liquid aminos over the cut side (so it goes in between the leaves).
Place on the grill, cut side down.  Cook for 8-10 minutes, until lightly browned on the bottom.  Sprinkle with a little sea salt and serve.

These still had good crunchiness, but were nicely warmed through. I paired this with a piece of steamed haddock, and the wilted leaves were very tasty with the fish.

The bok choy itself has a nice flavor, so it was really good with just the lemon juice and liquid aminos.

Parsnip Bread Pudding

Parsnip bread pudding might sound weird, but it's quite tasty.  It's a creamy, warm, savory bread pudding, with nice yeasty bread and roasted parsnips.  I'm not going to lie, I originally got this recipe from Martha Stewart.  I just made it a little less complicated.


Recipe:
1 pound parsnips, peeled and sliced
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 onion, chopped
1/3 cup white wine
2 cups heavy cream
5 eggs
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 loaf bread, cut into 1-2 inch cubes


Preheat oven to 425°.
Drizzle parsnips with oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Arrange on a rimmed baking sheet.  Roast, shaking occasionally, until caramelized and tender, about 25 minutes. Let cool. Reduce heat to 375°.
Heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat in a medium saute pan until melted. Add onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add wine, and simmer until reduced, 1 minute.  Season as desired (thyme, Italian herbs, etc.).  Stir in roasted parsnips.  Set aside.
Whisk together melted butter, heavy cream, eggs, and 3/4 cup Parmesan in a large bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add onion-parsnip mixture, then fold in bread.
Butter a 2-quart baking dish, and pour parsnip mixture into dish.  Cover loosely with parchment, then foil, and bake until golden brown, about 50 minutes.  Remove parchment and foil.  Sprinkle with remaining parmesan, and return to oven.  Bake for 10. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

This was my contribution to Christmas dinner this year.  I've made it a couple of times and I love it - it's rich, buttery, and parsnips are one of my favorite root vegetables.  It's a delicious and unique side dish, and a great alternative to stuffing.  It's also a fairly substantial vegetarian side dish, which is something to consider for a large group meal.


As far as the bread goes, the original recipe calls for brioche.  I usually use a French or sourdough bread, since a) brioche is hard to find, b) it's just bread pudding, and c) I'm not Martha Stewart.  I think any good quality bakery bread will work for this.  I look for something with some crust, a good flavor, and a little more body, so it holds up in the pudding.

Cranberry Orange Relish

Cranberry orange relish is one of my family's traditional dishes.  It's made around this time of year, and divided into lots of containers, one for Thanksgiving, one for Christmas, a few in the freezer to last through the year.  It's sweet, tangy, and will always remind me of holidays.

Recipe:

2 oranges
1 - 1.5 pounds fresh cranberries
2 medium apples
1 - 2 cups sugar (or 3 tablespoons stevia)

Remove the orange peel with a vegetable peeler.  Core the apples and chop into large pieces.
In a food processor, grind orange peel, cranberries, and apples.  Add sugar or stevia and mix well.
Cover and refrigerate.  Can be frozen.

So delicious and festive!

The recipe above is half of what we usually make, but it's still plenty.

Also, to my eternal frustration, fresh cranberries are now sold in 12 ounce packages instead of 1 pound packages.  I ended up using 2 12 ounce packages, and it was fine, but it's still annoying.  What recipe ever calls for 12 ounces of cranberries?

Coleslaw

So here's another hCG Diet friendly version of a classic side dish.  This is a great refreshing salad and pairs very well with hot and spicy things.

Recipe:
6-8 oz. Cabbage
Juice of 1/2 a Lemon
Salt, pepper, and seasoning

Slice or shred the cabbage.  Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste.  Toss to coat.  Add any desired seasonings (I like to add a little of Penzey's Mural of Flavor or Fox Point seasoning).  I also like to add a little stevia.

Yum!  This makes a nice change from lettuce salad, and it pairs very well with spicier things since it's cooler and a little bit sweet.

Parmesan Custard

This is one of my favorite things from Nourishing Traditions.  This is a savory custard, and is especially delicious as a side dish to meat and veggies.

Recipe:

4 Egg Yolks
1 1/2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
Cayenne pepper or paprika

Whisk egg yolks and gradually add whipping cream.  Stir in parmesan cheese and pour custard into individual ramekins (4-6).  Sprinkle with cayenne or paprika.
Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.  Cool 5 minutes before serving.

It's so creamy and cheesy!

This one is actually made with Romano instead of Parmesan.  You really need to use a cheese that's hard and aged, so it isn't greasy when it's melted (I once tried it with cheddar and it didn't turn out well).