Caramelized Onion Spread

With the festive season comes... dinners! Lots of them this year. It's the time of year when we get to catch up with friends and family and for me, sample new appetizers and food. There were a few key dishes this year that caught my interest of my tastebuds.

One of them, was a caramelized onion spread. My sister's hubby made it as a Christmas Eve appetizer. Nica and I attacked it - eating so much that by the time we were suppose to eat our entree, we were stuffed. We couldn't help ourselves - this spread has roasted garlic and the Nicas LOVE garlic!

I will be honest - visually, it didn't look that appetizing. It's a caramel coloured brown and creamy. Kind of like hummus. But the taste was out of this world. The caramelized onions gave it a sweetness. The roasted garlic added lots of flavour while the cream cheese and mayo contributed the smooth and creamy texture and harmonized the onion and garlic. Served on crispy slices of toasted baguettes, the texture was a nice complement of crunchy and smooth. Yum.

Here's the recipe:

Caramelized Onion Spread

1 Tbsp olive oil

3 cups chopped yellow onions (or thinly sliced)

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup (4 oz) block-style cream cheese

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh chives

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1. Heat large skillet to medium-high. Add oil, swirl to coat bottom. Add onion and garlic. Saute 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 35 minutes or until onions are very tender and caramelized, stirring occasionally.
3. Add cream cheese, stir to combine.
4. Removed from heat. Stir in mayonnaise, chives, pepper, salt.
5. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Refrigerate up to 2 days.

- Cooking Light magazine, December 2011