Food for Thought - Caramelized Onion Dip

Hey guys - I know you're wondering, "where is the rest of this post?" Friends, you gotta click on the title where through the magic of the internet you will be taken to my ACTUAL BLOG! Go for it.

Ok, now that you are where you should be, welcome to my post created for Food for Thought, where books are cooked and reviewed.

If you live in New England, you are surely aware of the existence of a certain group of people, some times referred to as Yankees (nothing to do with the baseball team), Old Money, Brahmins or even the slightly derogatory WASPs. You may even be one.

These families have been in America longer than you and me and sometimes they like to remind you of that. But often they are more discreet about it, which is characteristic of this genus.

Often they have sailboats, horses and big old houses that have been in the family for generations. They belong to yacht clubs or country clubs where they can drink gin and tonics after a game of tennis with other People Like Them. 

They do not wear socks with their Topsiders. Their Lacoste shirts are faded and frayed, worn with decades-old khakis.

They generally attend private schools and then Ivy League colleges.

Food is not their strong point. In fact it is not the point at all.

This is the world of Father of the Rain by Lily King.

The story begins on Daley Amory's 11th birthday. She is the daughter of  Gardiner Amory - patriarch, serial husband, bigot, alcoholic. 

Daley's mother, fed up with his faults, has plans to leave her father the next day, taking Daley with her, leaving only a note behind. When Daley returns to the house at the end of the summer, hopeful to maintain a relationship with her father, she finds he has already moved on. The mother of a friend has moved into the house along with her family, replacing Daley and her mother, with barely an explanation.

 Daley tries to come to terms with the new order - a small apartment for her mother and her, new step-siblings, a boyfriend for Mom. The only constant is her father's habits and addiction.

Martinis with tiny onions by the pool. Steak with A1 sauce. Cigarettes. Bickering with his new wife.

Where does Daley fit in?

The second half of the book takes place in Daley's adulthood. She has accepted a teaching position at Berkeley and is ready to start the next chapter of her life when her brother calls. Gardiner is in a bad way; he's talking of killing himself; Catherine has left him. She agrees to come east to help out but "for only three days. "

Of course she is forced to change her plans. She makes a deal - in order for her to stay, he must join AA.

She becomes the dutiful daughter, he the recovering addict. 

Daley takes him to his meetings. Plays tennis with him at the club.

 And tries to teach him to cook. He requests asparagus with hollandaise, lamb chops, lima beans.

She tells her boyfriend "This is not about me. It's about him."

Oh really?

Picture the calm blueness of a backyard pool, behind a rambling, wooden New England style home. There's a small pool house with a bar, where Gardiner refreshes his martinis time and time again. Freshly cut grass  surrounds the terrace. There's a tennis court just beyond. It's late afternoon, and there's a 7 pm dinner reservation at the club.

What do you think Gardiner and Catherine are having with their cocktails?

I'm guessing onion dip with chips. A young, eager-to-please Daley was probably in the kitchen mixing together  a pack of Lipton dried onion soup and a container of sour cream.

Is that the kind of dip we would make here at Mignardise?

No. No it isn't.

We can take that lowly recipe and make something entirely more delicious out of it, with just a teeny bit more effort. No need to even put down that martini.

Caramelized Onion Dip

1 large sweet onion, such as Vidalia, cut in half then thinly sliced

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. butter

1 cup sour cream (low-fat is fine)

1 cup plain yogurt (regular, Greek, nonfat, whatever)

salt and pepper to taste

The key to caramelizing onions is this: low and slow.

Start by heating the oil and butter over medium heat in a large saute pan until the butter has melted. Add the onion slices and stir thoroughly so that all are coated with the butter/oil mixture. 

When the onions begin to brown slightly, turn the heat down to low. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft, fragrant and deep brown. Season with salt and pepper.

About half way there

Nice and golden, but not quite caramelized yet

This is no time for impatience. Pour yourself another drink and wait it out. The flavor will be worth it. This could take up to 45 minutes.

Once the onions are finished cooking, remove from the pan and allow them to cool.

When cool, chop them into a fine dice.

Mix sour cream and yogurt together, then stir in onions.

Serve with the chip of your choice.

And be sure to visit Food for Thought for more books and cooks.

Food for Thought

Truly one of the best things about blogging is making new friends.
Friends whom you might never even meet.

One of the first bloggers who befriended me is Jain at Once In a Blue Moon. There's something about her blog that caught my interest. It could be her gorgeous photos of her dreamy California property. It might be her funny, exasperating stories of her many pets, including some of the cutest dogs ever. It was definitely her words of encouragement to me, who she didn't even know, when I was getting started.

Jain loves to read and cook.
I love to read and cook. We pass book recommendations back and forth.
Then Jain had a great idea she calls "Food for Thought".
You read a book, any book you like.
While reading, think about any food involved and how it might look.
Make up a little vignette using the food, the story and anything else you think would add interest.
Take lots of pictures.
Post them on her blog.
For  examples and how-to's, click here.

Lately my book group has chosen books that I've read earlier this year.
So I used my "unassigned" reading time to catch up on some others that have been sitting on my nightstand for who knows how long.
I dug through the pile and found  Cooking for Mr. Latte by Amanda Hesser. I used to enjoy her column in the Sunday New York Times magazine. She wrote about her courtship with a man she referred to as Mr. Latte, because that's what he ordered after their first dinner together.
Not breakfast. Dinner.

If you are reading food blogs, I'm sure you know that this is simply NOT DONE. Lattes and cappuccinos, loaded with milk as they are,  are for breakfast. And breakfast only.
Amanda, as a card-carrying member of NY Foodie-ville and an actual food writer with a steady job, was horrified.

The rest of the book describes her attempt to gently show him, and get him to enjoy, the same food that she loves. Intertwined with the storytelling, there are numerous recipes for fancy French dishes, family favorites, some wonderful pastas and salads.
I've bookmarked many of them.

 And I did try two of the recipes - a soup and an almond cake. To be honest, neither came out very well.
The soup was dull. The almond, while extremely tasty, looks like wreckage from the Titanic - completely sunken. Could be my fault entirely.

Oh well.
The stories Amanda Hesser tells are nourishing enough.