Onion Souffle Dip

 I was reminiscing about a place I loved in Elizabethtown KY called the Back Home Restaurant that started out 40 years ago as a crafts and antique emporium, and then they added a cafe so the husbands could have something to do while their wives shopped.   The cuisine is homestyle comfort food, and I was hoping they wrote a cookbook I could get.   I didn't find one, but noticed they had something called "Sweet Onion Souffle Dip", which sounded really interesting.    A quick googling resulted in my learning that the original came from a Memphis Junior League Cookbook, and it sounded so delicious, I had to try it!  I found a recipe in a food blog I like, but I tweaked it a bit to my taste.   I forgot to take a picture of it, so I will borrow this one from that food blog and include the link to it

photo courtesy of White on Rice Couple blog

  

This dip tastes just like French onion soup.   So delicious!  The traditional southern treatment is to serve it with Fritos, but since I always have homemade sourdough on hand, I served it with thin slices of bread like the WoR couple suggested.   Here's how I made it:

Sweet Onion Souffle Dip

8 ounces cream cheese 

1/2 cup mayo (I only use Helmans) 

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 

1 1/2  cup diced sweet onion like Vidalia or Walla Walla

2 teaspoons  freshly cracked black pepper 

Preheat the oven to 350°F 

In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan, onion, and black pepper and until everything is thoroughly combined. Pour and gently spread the mixture into a 8" cast iron fry pan 

Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 50 minutes to one hour, or until everything is melted together the crust is a deep brown. When the top crust is brown and almost burnt-looking, the dip is ready. The darker brown the crust becomes, the better the flavors are.

They also suggested make big batches, and then just dish out the un-baked dip into baking containers and then bake it whenever you need to serve it, so this would be a great idea to whip up a big batch during the holiday season and it can be your dish to pass wherever you go.   I think that is a great idea! 

Sloppy Joes

 

Just getting caught up on some recipes I wanted to save.   Here is a great recipe I got for sloppy joes from a friend.   It's even better than Manwich!

Sloppy Joes

serves 10-12 

2 lb ground beef
1 onion, minced
12 oz. ketchup
6 oz chili sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar

1 T. dry mustard

Brown and drain ground beef.   Add onion and saute until soft.   Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 mins. 

Strawberry Jam 2024

 

I've barely posted anything this year, but I wanted to remember a few things about my jam making this year.  First of all, the Ferber method of jam making once again didn't work for me.  I am never going to try one of her recipes ever again.   I am going to stick to my tried and true method for making it.   Just for record keeping's sake, 1 flat of strawberries were 24 c halved and hulled berries.     I paid $48 for a flat.   The yield was 18 half pints of strawberry jam.    I haven't made any other jams yet but am freezing berries for fall canning.