Showing posts with label onions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label onions. Show all posts

11/30/12

Foodie Friday -- Tian de légumes a la Provençale


First things first, don’t let the title scare you. This recipe is from my French sister-in-law. She made it for this Thanksgiving AND the day after when the fam got together for leftovers. The veggies disappeared both days--yes, it’s that good. It’s a pretty dish without all the cream soups, canned fried onions or cheese sauce that cover up the fact that you’re eating vegetables.

Françoise did give me permission to change up the recipe since I have a tendency to do that, but I won’t. Why mess with a good thing?

During this past year, I became a firm believer in keeping it simple when it comes to vegetables. Enhance without covering it up. Overcooking or covering up veggies simply negates the health benefits, which is also why you won’t find a whole lot of vegetable recipes on this blog.   

Tian de légumes a la Provençale


2-3 tomatoes
2-3 zucchini
2-3 yellow squash
1 onion
Herbes de Provence
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Preheat the oven to 355 F.
Slice and sauté the onion in about 2 tbsp of olive oil until they are soft. Set aside.
Cut the zucchini/ squash/tomatoes evenly into ¼ -inch slices.  
Spread the onion on the bottom of a 9 by 13 oven dish. On top of the onion, make rows of vegetables (alternate one row of zucchini, one row of squash, one row of tomato) along the short side of the baking dish.
Drizzle with a couple tbsp of olive oil. Generously sprinkle with herbes de Provence. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cook for 25 minutes in the oven at 355, reduce heat to 300 F and cook for another 25 minutes.

Disclaimer: I’ve never actually made this dish so my suggestions are purely observations.

Hints & Suggestions:

·         Instead of drizzling olive oil, use olive oil spray to cut the calories, but not the flavor.
·         I’m sure the 355 degree oven could be changed to 350F . . . the 355 temp is probably a conversion from Celsius.
·         Use a large onion or two smaller ones since they will sweat down and you need to cover the bottom of a large pan.
·         My SIL used regular tomatoes and sliced them in half, but you can use Roma tomatoes, which are about the same diameter as the squash.
·         If you have a mandolin use it, but don’t slice your fingers along with the veggies.
·         Slice one of each veggie first, then start layering to figure out how tightly you want to pack them, then slice as needed. Or slice all of it and nosh on the leftovers that don't fit in the dish!
 
Enjoy!  Later, Peeps!

10/12/12

Foodie Friday -- Skillet Hash

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I had leftover meat and not a whole lot of options. Well, when I was looking for a recipe, I remembered this one for Skillet Hash. It's originally from a Betty Crocker cookbook and I've used this recipe numerous times when I've had left over roast beef.

Skillet Hash
2 cups chopped cooked beef
4 small potatoes, cooked and diced (about 2 cups)
1 med. onion, chopped (@1/2 cup)
1 Tbls. snipped parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup shortening

Mix beef, potatoes, onion, parsley, salt and pepper. Heat shortening in large skillet over medium heat until melted. Spread beef mixture evenly in skillet. Fry, turning frequently, until browned. 10-15 minutes.

 
Hints & suggestions:

·         Oven Hash--Omit shortening. Spread mixture evenly in greased 8 x 8 baking dish. Cook uncovered on 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
·         My beef is already seasoned, so I will taste it before adding the additional salt and pepper.
·         Can easily double the recipe, but you might need two skillets to cook them in or work in batches.
Enjoy!

8/17/12

Foodie Friday -- French Onion Soup


UPDATE: I flelt this amount of sherry made the soup too sweet. It needs to be reduced to 1/3 cup. I also added 2 tsp. of Better than Boullion beef base to enrich the purchased beef broth.

Okay, I'm a little late today, but I have managed to link all the appropriate blogs to their respective pages! YAY! Yes, I managed to let it slide for three months. Hopefully, I'll keep to a regular monthly schedule . . . starting October 1. ;-P

 "Onward, Teb!"

Today's Foodie Friday is French Onion Soup. I'll confess upfront that I haven't made this recipe--yet. I'm actually planning to make it on Sunday.

And this is a recipe that my kidlet wanted me to make. It turns out my 11-year-old likes French Onion Soup. We discovered it when we were in France--EPCOT'S France, not France France--and were eating at the French pavilion.


For the most part, this soup isn't rocket science. It's very simple to make . . . especially if you like cwying onion tears. I chose this particular recipe because of the dry sherry that is to be added to the stock. Dry sherry--NOT cooking sherry or cream sherry--adds another dimension to many casseroles and soups. The key is not to use so much that it overpowers instead of enhancing.

I don't have a French baguette, but I do have some leftover Tuscan bread. And I have left over Gruyere cheese, not enough, so I'm adding some Swiss that I happen to have.


French Onion Soup

4 Tbls. butter
2 pounds yellow onions, sliced into 1/4-inch circles
1 tsp. sugar
1 Tbls. flour
1/2 cup dry sherry
6 cups beef stock
1 tsp. thyme
Coarse salt and pepper
1 small baguette, sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
8 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated (large holes on box grater), about 3 cups

Melt butter in large heavy pot on medium-low heat. Add the onions and spread out in as thin a layer as possible. Sprinkle with sugar; cook, stirring as needed to keep from sticking, until onions are soft, golden brown and beginning to caramelize, about 1 hour.

Sprinkle the flour over the onions; stir to coat. Add the sherry, beef stock and thyme and bring to a simmer. Cook, partly covered, for about 30 minutes to let the flavors combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat broiler. Lightly toast the bread under broiler, set aside. Ladle the hot soup into 6 ovenproof bowls. Arrange the bowls on a baking pan. Place 1 or 2 slices of toasted bread over each bowl of soup. Sprinkle 1/2 cup grated cheese over the bread in each bowl, and place under the broiler until the cheese is melted and turning brown around the edges. Serve hot.

Enjoy!