Chocolate Chip Candy Cups

The date is 12/13/14!!

Take your fave chocolate chip cookie recipe. Scoop dough into mini muffin pan. Bake. As soon as you remove from oven top with a chocolate: rolos, kisses, hugs or mini peanut butter cups. 

Caramelized Onion Dip

2 small onions, diced

2 tbsp. olive oil 

2 tsp. kosher salt

350 g. (about 1 1/2 c.) sour cream

125 g. (about 1/2 c.)  mayonnaise

1/4 tsp. white pepper

1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/4-1/2 tsp. garlic powder

dash of Cajun seasoning 

dash of Mrs. Dash

1 tbsp. parsley

Caramelize onions with olive oil and salt over medium heat. Stir occasionally. This will take 20 to 30 min. Allow to cool. 

Then, stir all ingredients together. Store in refrigerator. This dip is best the next day. I found it still a bit heavy on the mayo still. I may use even less next time. 

Great dip for veggies, chips, crackers, etc. 

Inspired by Alton Brown's Onion Dip from Scratch.

Happy New Year & Cheesy Mushroom Pull-Apart Bread

This recipe was floating around Facebook, so I gave it a shot for our New Year's Eve party. Not too bad, it had a pretty presentation, and it tasted o.k. It was very easy to make. 

I'm not sure it was all that I thought it would be. **shrug** 

I did vary it a little by sautéing some onion with the mushrooms.

My guests ate about half of it but that could have been because we had about 6 tons of food for a dozen people... as usual! 

Cheesy Mushroom Pull-Apart Bread

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

For the Mushrooms:

12 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme

For the Bread:

1 unsliced loaf sourdough bread
12 ounces Provolone cheese, thinly sliced
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup finely diced green onion
2 teaspoons poppy seeds

Instructions:

For the Mushrooms:

Heat a medium skillet on medium. Add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the mushrooms. Cook 4-5 minutes until they start to sweat. Add the thyme and continue to cook another 2-3 minutes.

Set mushrooms aside and allow to cool.

For the Bread:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the bread lengthwise and widthwise without cutting through the bottom crust. This can be a little tricky going the second way but the bread is very forgiving.

Place loaf on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Insert cheese slices between cuts. Pour the mushrooms between the cuts. Use your fingers to push the mushrooms down into the loaf.

Combine butter, onion, and poppy seeds. Drizzle over bread. Wrap in foil; place on a baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Unwrap the bread and bake 10 more minutes, or until cheese is melted.