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.

Marinara Sauce

Here's a quick and easy, single serving marinara sauce, that is also hCG Diet friendly.  For those not on the hCG protocol, it's still a great single serving marinara sauce, that could easily be modified to your tastes -- start by browning a little ground beef or sausage, toss in some extra veggies, or however you like your sauce.

Recipe:
1 tomato, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, diced
Water or chicken broth
Basil (I also used some Italian Herb Mix)
Sea salt, pepper

Heat a skillet over medium heat and add tomatoes and garlic.  Cook for 1-2 minutes and add about 1/4 cup water or chicken broth.  Add basil and other seasonings to taste.  Simmer 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add more liquid if necessary.  Serve.

Quick and easy!  And very tasty.  I had mine over sliced baked chicken breast for a diet friendly chicken marinara.

Just as a reminder, you can now follow Uncanned Foods on Facebook!

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.