Hot Caramelized Onion Dip with Bacon & Gruyere, The New Face of Healthy

Hot Caramelized Onion Dip with Bacon & Gruyere, The New Face of Healthy

Yooouuuu are soooo gullible!

That was just too easy!

Healthy cheese dip.

(And for my next trick (I mean, post), a cocktail that makes you skinny!)

Oh, jeez Bethenny Frankel beat me to the punch.  (Damn her!)

Truth be told, cheese dip is not (and will never be) considered a health food, BUT I do have some theories on how to skew this viewpoint. Hear me out.

My belief (which is firmly rooted) is that there are health benefits to anything that makes you happy.

Bacon, happy!

Gruyere, happy!

Caramelized onions, give it to me harder! (Settle down!)

If the idea of making oozing hot cheese dip leads you to the supermarket, causing you to bump into some friends, which then leads you to invite them over, which puts you in your kitchen doing a happy dance around the cheese, which fills your home with laughter and love and yummy-delummy food which MAKES EVERYONE HAPPY…that has got to be good for you!  I mean, can I be any more clear?  This dip is practically curing cancer!

I know, that was very If You Give A Mouse A Cookie– but I think those books are on to something, too. If You Give A Gal Some Cheese Dip– it has a nice ring to it!

If that explanation didn’t work for you, you’re in luck!  I have one more.

Apples.

What?

Apples.

I’m listening. 

Instead of using bread as the vessel of mouth destruction you substitute apples for the bread.

Go home, you’re drunk.

You heard me!  And now it’s not only healthy, but it tastes even better than before! Yes, better than bread.

Bethenny, what do you say to that?

Roger that!  Without further ado…

This recipe was created by Christin Mahrlig of Spicy Southern Kitchen. There’s basically nothing that needs to be changed. Oh, apples! Except for apples. Thinly sliced, they make the perfect ‘healthy’ cracker.

Ingredients

• 4 bacon strips (5 doesn’t hurt)
• 2 sweet onions halved and thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon dry sherry
• 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (I used dried)
• 1 cup shredded Gruyere Cheese 
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup mayo
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to cool. Crumble.
3. Add onions, sugar, and salt to bacon fat in the skillet and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until onions turn a deep golden brown color. This can take as long as 20 minutes. If onions start to burn, turn heat down to medium-low.
4. Add sherry and cook 1 minute. Stir in thyme and Tabasco. Remove from heat.
5. Mix together sour cream and mayo in a medium bowl. Add crumbled bacon, cheese, onion mixture, and black pepper. Mix together well and transfer to a 2-cup baking dish.
6. Bake 20 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown on top.