Caramelized Onion Dip

Ingredients
1 T oil
1 large sweet onion
8 oz cream cheese, softened
¾ C sour cream
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ t garlic salt
½ t onion powder
pinch pepper
1 scallion

Directions
Thinly slice the onion. Sauté the onion in oil until it browns (5-7 minutes). Stir in ½ cup water, gently scraping up any browned bits from the pan. Continue to cook until onion is golden brown, translucent and very soft.

While the onion is cooking, combine softened cream cheese, sour cream, Worcestershire, garlic salt, onion powder and pepper. Stir until creamy. Stir in onion. Chill until serving. Before serving, slice green part of scallion; top dip with scallion slices. Serve with chips or fresh veggies...

Apple Fries

Apparently, you can get Apple Fries at Legoland amusement park in Carlsbad, CA. This recipe was part of a collection in Food Network Magazine this past summer with recipes of amusement park favorites. 

Even with Granny Smith apples, these were a little too sweet (which is NOT usually a problem for me). Maybe not entirely too sweet, just...kind of one-note sweetness. I added a sprinkle of salt and it balanced the flavors to my liking. I'd add salt in with the cinnamon sugar next time around. I also had some cream whipped already (beyond soft peaks, as you can tell in my photo, but I wanted to use what I had rather than whipping up more); tasted fine, though a little tougher to dip in than the softer, creamier version would be.

I'd also like to play around with a SINGLE frying, instead of the twice-fried process in this recipe. (Fry first, bake second?) Mine were nicely crispy on the outside -- other than one batch where the temperature dropped in the first frying, which already starts at only 300°...definitley lower than I would typically deep fry anything. I even made sure the apples sat and came to room temp before I made these. The cornstarch should help create a seal even in the lower temp oil -- seal in the apple juices and seal OUT the oil -- but that batch of fries was greasier than the rest. I'd bump up the temp for that first frying!

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/apple-fries-6607082