Vindication: Onion Dip Made in Paris

Through the years there have been times we are shamed or feel shame for enjoying and especially cooking those tried and true family recipes we grew up with during the 1950s - 1960s. These recipes were simple and often from the Betty Crocker cookbook made with ingredients such as canned cream soup or packaged dry soup. You know the recipes I am referring to such as a package of Lipton's Onion Soup Mix comes in handy when adding flavor to a pot roast, meatloaf, or dip, or used as a base to add your own addition of sauteed onions for French onion soup. 

The New York Times Cooking edition is like the gospel to me when it comes to recipes. If a recipe makes it into the New York Times, then it must be truth. So, imagine my surprise and giddiness when several months ago I discovered a Mexican-style cheese dip using Velveeta and Rotel in the Cooking column of the New York Times. It was a family favorite recipe in the 1980s and a recipe I had been shamed for by my online cooking peers.

(Ugh! Don't use Velveeta and Rotel! Milk the cow, use butter, make a roux, grow the vegetables, make sure they're organic, saute the vegetables, milk the cow, grate the cheese, blah, blah, and blah)

It was just a few weeks ago a friend and I were talking about our childhood memories of food our mothers served during the holidays and onion dip served with ruffle-style potato chips was one of those memories. My mother would make onion dip as a treat for us on New Year's Eve. He shared a similar memory. The dip was salty, and creamy, and a faint taste of onion made it extra pleasurable. It was like enjoying onions but without acknowledging the demon-onion from our childhood. 

Yuk! Are there onions in it?

My friend shared a similar memory of his mother making this childhood favorite. We also knew this recipe as "California Onion Dip." 

Enter David Lebovitz when he posted his onion dip recipe in his recent newsletter. To paint a picture of David, he is a household name in the culinary world. He is the author of ten books focused on cooking, desserts, and cocktails. While living in San Francisco, he worked for 13 years as a pastry chef for Alice Water's Chez Panisse. Today David has been living in Paris since 2004. 

Like the New York Times Cooking column, whatever David says I view it as cooking gospel. He writes about food, travel tips around Paris, and interesting and fun tidbits about the Paris locals and shops. In February he shares in his newsletter about hosting a dinner party in his Parisian apartment and shares the recipe for Onion Dip served with potato chips. 

To find the ingredients for this fabulous French onion dip you can click on the link to David's blog or look on the back of the onion soup mix box. However, if you're in the mood to slice onions, you will find my versatile recipe for Baked Onion Cheese Dip. Yes, I feel vindicated. 

Wine Recommendations: Let's make it easy. Any bubbly or white wine with just the right amount of acids to cleanse the palate. If you don't feel like wine, try a "sour" ale like a Belgian lambic or even a rustic Cidre de Normandie.