When I was young, onion dip from a package was very popular. In fact, it was pretty tasty, but making onion dip from scratch is a lot tastier and not much work. This recipe is adapted from Serious Eats, and includes a couple of tricks to get the onions really browned relatively quickly. Those tricks are caramelizing some sugar and a very small amount of baking soda to the onions. The results are very dramatic.

2 tsp. sugar

3 large yellow onions

1 Tbs. butter

¼ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

½ cup water

¾ cup sour cream

½ cup mayonnaise

1 tsp. lemon juice

½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce

½ oz. finely grated Parmesan cheese

1 Tbs. chopped chives (if you have them)

Pick a skillet large enough to cook the onions. First, over medium-high heat cook the sugar until it is completely melted and is light brown, which will take about 3 minutes. Immediately add the onions and stir to coat the onions with the caramel. Add the butter, the baking soda, and the kosher salt, and some black pepper. Cook for about 6-8 minutes, shaking the pan periodically, until the onions have started browning nicely and there is a brown residue on the bottom of the pan. Several times, add a couple of tablespoons of water to deglaze the pan, and then then continue to brown the onions. After about 15 minutes of this, the onions will be reduced to a dark brown goo.

Scrape all of that goo into a mixing bowl and allow to cool. Add the sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and parmesan to the bowl. Mix well. Check for seasoning. Sprinkle with the optional chives and serve.