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Porter Caramelized Onion and Brie Dip

Porter Caramelized Onion and Brie Dip

Porter Caramelized Onion and Brie Dip1

I have what people now refer to as a "creative brain" and what used to just be called "a behavior problem." It’s done well over the years to lead me down some fascinating rabbit holes and land me in a job that makes me more grateful than I have words for. But there is a downside that’s a bit obscure.

Creative brains weave creative dreams. Actual, at night, in bed, dreams that shake me up and stay with me through the day, and sometimes even years later. The other night I woke up in a cold sweat, terrified after my brain decided to concoct this story in the early morning hours:

I’m in Pakistan as a documentary film maker. I’m following a group of men and women who—during the week—have typical jobs, work in offices, go home to their families. But on the weekend they leave the comforts of home to fight as a small militia to bring down ISIS. I’ve decided to call the film Weekend Warriors.

The first week of filming I meet an old man, short and wide, with white eyebrows and chocolate brown eyes that remind me of my Mom’s golden retriever. He’s sweet, quiet and always wears the same tan buttoned down shirt. He’s asking me to help him find his 22-year-old daughter. She’s been captured by ISIS and is being used to smuggle documents back into the country.

They’ve sewn a plastic bag full of papers into her belly like a drug mule. "If they find her first, they will cut her open like cattle, take the papers and leave her for dead. You must find her first." My pulse starts to race, I know I need to help. I call in favors, talk to contacts, chase down tips. It all leads me to a large apartment complex at 1 am.

The corridors are silent and dimly lit. I can hear only my foot steps on the pavement as I walk past rows of doors looking for the person said to know where the girl is. Thin, bony arms garb me from behind, One hand on my mouth, another arm around my throat, I’m pulled backward into a dark apartment.

"Shut up," an older woman is in my face, hot breath pushing out a raspy whisper, "He. Will. Kill. You." She spins me around and pushes my face towards the now closed door. I can see through the peep-hole, her hand is still aggressively covering my mouth.

I see her! The daughter I’ve been looking for is walking around the complex moving closer to the apartment I’m in. I try to wriggle free to explain my excitement to my captor, her grip tightens. Behind her is a shadow moving closer, a man moving steadily towards.

He’s so silent she doesn’t know. As his face moves into the yellow light of a nearby street lamp I see that it’s her father. As I start to relax from the relief, my captor tenses. He reaches for her, still moving quickly, his outstretched hand grabs the back of her hair right at the scalp. I’m confused for a second, what is he doing? She lets out a small, sharp yelp of pain as he pulls her head closer to his face. She’s a few inches taller than he is, her knees bend to accommodate and she struggles to stay upright.

Porter Caramelized Onion and Brie Dip3

"Who owns this world?" He breathes into her ear as he puts a gun to her temple. "I DO! I own this world!" He pulls the trigger and I watch her crumple at his feet. I collapse behind the closed door.

I wake up terrified. What the hell, brain? Where did that come from? Can’t I just have those flying dreams I hear about? or even the ones where I go back to high school naked? I’d like to say dreams like this are a one-off, but this is pretty standard.

I remember my dreams every morning and more often than not they’re obscure, but not always as terrifying. I’d like to say that I dream about beer and food, but that’s just when I’m awake.

Porter Caramelized Onion and Brie Dip2

Porter Caramelized Onion and Brie Dip

Ingredients
  

  • 1 large sweet onion Maui, Walla Walla Sweet, or Vidalias
  • 1 tbs 28g unsalted butter
  • 1 tbs 12g olive oil
  • 2 tsp 6g packed brown sugar
  • ½ cup 113g porter or stout beer, divided
  • 1 tsp 2g minced fresh thyme
  • 1 tsp 1g chopped fresh chives
  • 8 wt oz 227g double cream brie, room temperature
  • 8 wt oz 227g mascarpone cheese, room temperature
  • 1 tbs 8g cornstarch
  • Baguette for serving

Instructions
 

  • Thinly slice the onion and add to a pot over medium heat with the butter, olive oil, and brown sugar. Cook until the onions start to soften, then add ¼ cup beer.
  • Cook, stirring occasionally over medium heat until onions have turned dark brown and the beer has evaporated, about 45 minutes. Add the additional beer and cook until the pan is mostly dry with only about a tablespoon of liquid left (can be made 2 days in advance, store in the fridge in an air tight container).
  • Trim the rind off the brie, cut into small cubes. In a small bowl stir together the thyme, chives, brie, mascarpone and cornstarch.
  • Add the onions in an even layer to the bottom of an oven safe baking dish, top with cheese in an even layer.
  • Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly, stir to combine. Serve warm with baguette slices.

Notes

This dip can be a bit oily, don't be concerned. Think of this like the oil served alongside bread at an Italian restaurant, it's part of the flavor of the dip.

 

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Comments


Anita January 27, 2016 um 3:28 am

What a terrifying dream!! I’m a heavy dreamer, too, but that’s super intense! Quick question – do you cut the rind off the brie? This dip looks amazing.

Reply

Jackie January 27, 2016 um 9:01 am

Thank you! And yes to the rind question! I’ve updated the instructions to make it more clear 🙂

Reply

Tracy January 27, 2016 um 4:20 am

Good gawd I love onion dip, you know, the dry onion soup mix added to sour cream. This looks like onion dip p0rn.

Reply

Michelle Lahey January 27, 2016 um 1:05 pm

This is definitely going on our SuperBowl party menu! And I always have the weirdest dreams, but yours sounds absolutely terrifying. Dreams like that can be hard to shake for hours…or even days!

Reply

The Walrus January 27, 2016 um 1:35 pm

Agree with Michelle. This is going to be made for Super Bowl!

Reply

Nathalie February 2, 2016 um 1:30 pm

This looks incredible and looks like perfect party food to offer at a table to nibble.
Thank you very much! 🙂

http://potsofsmiles.blogspot.co.uk/
xx

Reply

AnneRitchey February 4, 2016 um 11:03 am

We don’t care for mascarpone cheese. Would cream cheese be a reasonable substitute? Or Gruyere? Thanks.

Reply

Jackie February 4, 2016 um 11:21 am

Sounds like a good substitution, but I’ve never tried it. Make sure it’s room temp or it won’t mix well.

Reply

Mandy February 9, 2016 um 7:24 pm

I made this for the Super Bowl. Unfortunately the onions were super dark and made the entire dip dark. I followed the directions to cook the onions for 45 min on medium heat, and I’m pretty sure that burned them

Reply

Jackie February 10, 2016 um 8:49 am

Sounds like the heat the was too high. Onions can be on the stove caramelizing for several hours, but the heat can’t be too high or they will burn. It really depends on your stove and the settings, but err on the side of lower heat. Once you figure it out, it’s super easy to caramelize onions and they are so versatile. Keep trying!

Reply

Новая шина February 17, 2016 um 12:16 pm

After sharing this Porter Caramelized Onion Dip with some of the neighbors and getting rave reviews, it was a given that it s going on my recipe repeat list to be made again and again.

Reply

Emma March 7, 2016 um 7:06 am

Looks so tasty and juicy! I must try this recipe when my diet is over.

Oh, why all these amazing meals are not with low calories? 🙁

Reply

Molly September 25, 2016 um 1:06 pm

This is incredible. Keeping this recipe on file for sure. An absolute hit.

Reply

Kate S December 8, 2017 um 3:32 pm

I made this dip a few weeks ago for a party at our house. All the guests raved about it and the bowl was scraped clean. I sadly only got to try a spoon full but it was sooooooo good. I’m making a double batch this weekend for my friends ravioli making party. My FIL also thought it would be great as a topping on a steak!

Reply

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