French Onion Dip (top left)

You will never make dip from a packet again! beyond delicious!)

*makes 2 cups dip

• 4 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• pinch kosher salt
• pinch sugar
• 1/4 cup dry white wine/Sherry/Madeira
• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 8 oz. sour cream
• sea salt to taste
• fresh ground pepper to taste
• pinch cayenne pepper

1. Melt butter in a large sauté pan. Add onions as you slice. Cook over medium-high heat until translucent. Add salt, sugar and garlic. Turn heat to medium-low and cook until caramelized, about 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and scrape all bits from the bottom of the pan. Allow to cool slightly.
2. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, mix cream cheese and sour cream until creamy. Stir in cooled onion mixture and season with salt, pepper and cayenne.
3. Serve with veggie sticks or chips

Baked Beans (bottom right)

Serves 18

• 8 slices bacon, cut in half
• 1 red onion, small diced
• 1 green bell pepper, small diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, minced
• 3/4 cup barbecue sauce
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 3 cans (28 oz. each) Pork and Beans

1. Preheat oven to 325^°F.
2. Render bacon slices in a large sauté pan or cast iron big enough to hold all 3 cans of beans. Cook bacon until half-way cooked, not quite crispy. Remove from pan and leave drippings.
3. Add onions and peppers and cook until softened and slightly caramelized.
4. Mix barbecue sauce, brown sugar, vinegar and mustard until combined. Add beans and mixed sauce into the onion-pepper mixture. Bring to a simmer and layer the bacon slices on top, transfer to oven or put beans in an oven-safe casserole dish and bake for 2 hours, until bacon is crisp and beans are a thick consistency

Brick Chicken (bottom left)

• 1 small chicken, 3-4 pounds
• olive oil
• salt/pepper
• fresh herbs: thyme, rosemary, oregano
• 1 lemon

1. Rinse your chicken and dry it very well. Spatchcock the chicken (top right image), which involves cutting out the backbone (not the breastbone) with a sharp knife or heavy kitchen scissors. Once the backbone is removed, turn the chicken over and press down on the breastbone gently until the chicken flattens out (you might hear some cracking). Alternatively, your butcher would be happy to do this for you.
2. Salt the chicken liberally and press the herbs and lemon zest onto its skin. Heat an oven-safe heavy skillet (it must be a heavy skillet—cast iron is perfect, non-stick won’t work) over medium-high heat with a decent coating of oil. When the oil is almost smoking, carefully lay the chicken into the skillet so that it fits snugly. Tuck the legs in if possible. Weight it using either bricks wrapped in tin foil, or a second skillet filled with cans.
3. The second skillet must have a large bottom so that all of the chicken skin is pressed against the hot surface; otherwise, you’ll have super-crispy skin only in the center.
4. Turn the heat to medium-low (there should be an insistent popping noise throughout) and cook for about 20 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 375^°F. After 20 minutes, check on the chicken skin: it should be bronze and golden. Be careful that it doesn’t all stick to the pan when you do: a wooden spoon scraping can help you lift it from the pan still attached to the chicken. If not crispy, increase the heat and cook another 5-10 minutes until it is.
5. Flip the chicken over so that it’s skin-side up and cook in the oven an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the juices run clear or the thigh meat is a safe temperature. I like to make a quick sauce in the skillet after removing the chicken to rest with the juice of one lemon.

Chef Ellie Fergon