SIXBURGH!!
You may or may not know this, but I am a HUGE Pittsburgh Steelers fan. I was brought up on the black and gold. Last night was incredible – one of the greatest football games I’ve ever seen. Congratulations to the best team in the NFL, the first team to have SIX Lombardi trophies! Pittsburgh, Blitzburgh, Sixburgh!
Savory Snow Day: French Onion Soup
Oh, how I love french onion soup. I absolutely adore it. It’s definitely in my top five favorite soups, if not my favorite. Anyway- I finally got around to making it here in Dayton. I made a different version in the past, but I think I like this one better.
This recipe is based on a Cooking Light recipe, but I made a few changes. I love the cubed and toasted bread, and the mix of red and sweet onions. I switched the cheese from Swiss to Gruyere, the ultimate melting cheese. I also had some beef jus left over from a beef roast that I added for a deeper flavor. I’m positive that you’ll love it.
Favorite French Onion Soup
serves 8
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 4 cups sweet onions, thinly sliced
- 4 cups red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 7 cups less-sodium beef broth
- 1 cup beef jus (from a beef roast; gives a richer flavor. Use another cup of beef broth if you don’t have the jus)
- 10-15 sprigs fresh thyme, tied into a bundle or wrapped in cheese cloth
- 8 slices French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 8 oz Gruyere cheese, shredded
Preparation
Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions to pan; sauté for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in sugar, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium; cook 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Increase heat to medium-high, and sauté for 5 minutes or until onion is golden brown. Stir in wine, and cook for 1 minute. Add broth, beef jus (if using) and thyme; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1-2 hours.
Preheat broiler.
Place bread in a single layer on a baking sheet; broil 2 minutes or until toasted, turning after 1 minute.
Place 8 ovenproof bowls on a jelly-roll pan. Ladle 1 cup soup into each bowl. Divide bread evenly among bowls; top each serving with cheese to cover. Broil 3 minutes or until cheese begins to brown.
Daring Bakers: Tuiles
I’m so glad I got to participate in the January Daring Bakers challenge! This month’s challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake my Day and Zorra of 1x umruehrenn bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angelique Schmeink, Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michael Roux and Savory Tuiles from The French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller.
We had lots of options here, and I chose to make the savory tuiles from Thomas Keller. I sort of flew by the seat of my pants on this one.. I just looked at what was in my fridge and came up with a few ideas for what to pair with my little tuiles.
For my savory option, I rolled the tuiles into cigars and filled them with avocado mousse. The mousse has whipped avocado, sour cream and a few spices. It’s paired with a little Hoisin sauce on the plate, which gave some sweet balance to the bite of the sour cream.
Though I made the savory dough, I wanted to try some little desserts, so just pretend the tuiles are sweet! This is a little pomegranate whipped cream with a tuile twist and a small tuile heart.
And my last little creation- a tuile napolean with sweet whipped cream and caramel syrup. A perfect little bite for your sweetheart!
This was a fun challenge, and not as time consuming as the usual DB challenges. Can’t wait for February!
**Find all of the recipes here or here.
Opa! Greek Greens Pie and my 100th Post!
100 posts went by so fast! I’m so glad that I started this blog and I hope that it’s been enjoyable for you, too! Today’s recipe, Greek Greens and Sweet Onion Pie, comes courtesy of our new tradition- Greek night. My husband and I are planning a trip to Greece this August, and to get excited and learn more about the culture, we’re having Greek night once a month.
I found this recipe through Cooking Light. I was looking for a healthy version of Spanakopita, the classic spinach, feta and phyllo dish of Greece. This looked great, and I had most of the ingredients already, so it was the perfect choice. It’s heavy on the greens, light on the phyllo, and the suggested portions are large, so it’ll fill you up. The suggested serving is 2 slices (1/4 of the pie), which is only about 300 calories.
I’d never worked with phyllo before, but it’s fairly simple.
Phyllo Tips:
-make sure you thaw the frozen sheets completely.
-be very careful when handling the dough- it’s super fragile!
-cover up the dough you’re not using to prevent drying.
-make sure to cover the whole sheet, including the corners, with cooking spray, olive oil or butter (whichever your recipe calls for).
We enjoyed our pie with a little greek salad and some white wine- Pinot Grigio is a good match.
*Find the recipe here.
**Recipe notes: I steamed the greens instead of boiling them to cut down on moisture. I used olive oil instead of cooking spray (I was all out!)
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A Better Oven Love: I Need Your Advice!
So here’s the deal:
I want to make this the best blog possible, and that means the best experience for my readers. For that to happen, I need to know what you’d like to see. I have some questions for you..
-What do you like about Oven Love?
-What could I do better?
-Would you like to see product reviews? Step-by-step tutorials? Special event menus? More pictures? Guest blogs? Food trends/news? Chef bios? Giveaways? More interesting layout? Something else?
-Would you like to participate in a blog-along (a bunch of people trying the same recipe)?
Be brutally honest. Tell me anything, good or bad! Leave anonymous comments, whatever works. I just want to know how to maintain the blog in a way that benefits you! Any and all comments appreciated, please!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread
Hooray for Tuesdays! I love a new Dorie recipe. At first, I didn’t really feel like making gingerbread.. it felt too Christmasy, and I wasn’t in the mood. But like many Dorie recipes, I was surprised by how good it was!
I made 1/2 the recipe, and used a loaf pan instead of a 9×9. I think the little slices look cute, and they’re actually a sane portion. Those squares looked huge, Dorie!
Oh- forgot to mention my baking drama. I took the loaf out after 30 minutes, thinking it was done. Then after after 10 minutes, when I was ready to ice it, I realized it wasn’t cooked completely through. So I threw it back in the oven for another 15 minutes and it came out fine.
*Find the recipe here. Thanks, Heather- great choice!
**Tuesdays with Dorie is a group of bloggers baking through Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours.
Natalie’s Test Kitchen: POM Cupcakes
With Valentine’s Day on it’s way, my dear friend Kayleigh asked if I would test out a recipe that she wanted to make for her boyfriend: POM Cupcakes. I’m always up for a challenge, so I joyfully accepted.
The recipe is simple and straightforward. The only ingredient that’s special is the pomegranate. Unfortunately, pomegranates are no longer in season, so I turned to POM juice for help. I actually used the Cherry Pomegranate flavor- I thought it would add an interesting layer of flavor of the cupcakes.
I made 1/4 of the recipe (6 cupcakes). They baked well, and came out very moist. The icing is simple as well- I added a little bit of the POM juice to it, which turned it a light pink color. Regretfully (since poms aren’t in season), I couldn’t garnish the top with the pom arils (seeds). I think that would have given the cupcakes a more distinct pomegranate flavor. I like the way these taste, though- not too chocolatey. As my husband said, “you can tell there’s something in there besides chocolate.”
*Find the recipe here.
**Changes: I used Cherry POM juice in the cupcakes and added a dash to the icing.
Gone in 60 Seconds: Savory Beef Roast
We love a good roast in the winter time. I bought one this week, but I didn’t have a recipe for it.. so I decided just to make one up. I don’t have a picture (we basically swallowed it whole), but it comes highly recommended! Serve it with mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, polenta or even noodles. You could also add potatoes into the recipe (we didn’t have any on hand).
Pasta Creations: Cappellini with Tomatoes and Chickpeas
My husband is pretty easy to please. He loves pasta, he loves tomatoes, he loves cheese. So whenever I don’t have a dinner planned, we usually turn to one or all of these ingredients for a quick meal. This one is versatile and tasty, made with pantry essentials.
Cappellini with Tomatoes and Chickpeas
1/2 lb cappellini (or however much you want to make, just adjust the rest of the ingredients)
olive oil
3-4 shallots, chopped (or onions, whatever you have)
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 can diced or crushed tomatoes
1/2-1 can chickpeas, drained (other bean would work, too)
Italian seasoning (or other herbs of your choice)
sea salt and pepper
parmesan cheese, for serving
1. Boil the pasta according to package directions.
2. In a saucepan, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook until soft, about 3-4 minutes. Add tomatoes and chickpeas and bring to a simmer. Season with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes until the sauce cooks down a bit.
3. Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of pasta water. Add the pasta water to the sauce as a binder. Mix sauce with pasta, season to taste, and place into serving bowls. Top with parmesan cheese.
You could also add meat- shrimp, chicken, whatever – make it your own!
Tuesdays with Dorie: Berry Surprise Cake
Who doesn’t love a good surprise? I love one. And this cake was definitely in the surprise category. First surprise: sinking cake!
Everyone was warning about the “diva eggs,” and rightly so. I’m not sure what I did wrong, but they really sunk in the middle. My solution: forget the cutting, and stick the filling right into the little hole.
I filled in with a layer of filling and berries..
Then another layer of filling..
Then covered it with the whipped cream and topped it with extra berries. It looks delicious, and hopefully it will be! We’ll slice it up tonight and see how this little surprise tastes.
*Find the recipe here. Thanks, Mary Ann!
**Tuesdays with Dorie is a group of bloggers baking through Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours.
