Homemade Chip Dip 2

While I didn't achieve my goal of recreating Dan's uncle's chip dip during my last attempt, I did, however, get inspired to create a dip completely my own. And luckily I found success.

The first thing I did was decide what I've liked about my favor chip dips of the past. One thing that ended up at the top of my list was that I enjoyed the flavor of sour cream, but I also wanted to accentuate its tangy aspects. So, while I knew the base would mainly be sour cream, I hoped that by adding a small amount of mayo to it, it would intensify the tangy flavor without overpowering the sour cream flavor.

I tread lightly at first, beginning with 16 ounces of light sour cream -- to that I added 1/4 cup of light mayo. While that small amount of mayo added the flavor I was looking for, I didn't feel it was enough so I added another 1/4 cup of light mayo. That brought it to the level I was looking for.

Once the base was to my liking, I had to determine which onions were going to go into this creation of mine. I started with a small onion that I finely diced. I took about 3/4 of that onion and sauteed it in olive oil until it was translucent. Once cooled, I added the sauteed onions, as well the remaining raw yellow to the base. I hoped that the raw onion would add the fresh flavor of the onion to the dip without overpowering it with the harsh flavor of the raw flavor.

From there, I still wanted more onion flavor and my favorite onion is the red onion. So I took half of a large red onion, finely diced it and repeated the steps of the yellow onion.

While the red onion added the flavor I was looking for, I still felt like something was missing. Lucky for me we had some extra green onions on hand. I again finely diced 4 green onions and instead of cooking them, I added them raw to the dip.

Let me tell you, it was yummy right there, but I still wanted more. So I pulled out my stash of Penzey's Chives and added a couple of tablespoons. To top it off, I added a spice that has always kind of intrigued me. Beau Monde. Beau Monde has a unique flavor of celery and onions that I rather enjoy in dips and its unique flavor complimented the dip perfectly. I used about 1/2 teaspoon for this version of the recipe.

So there you are, the secrets behind the dip that got rave reviews when introduced at our recent housewarming party. Enjoy!