Nature's Pride Northwest Onion Soup Brizza

I'm very excited to be attending 1st-Annual Foodbuzz Blogger Festival in San Francisco, sponsored by Foodbuzz community. Nature's Pride Bread has generously offered a scholarship to 6 deserving contestants. Here's my entry.

What is the Northwest Onion Soup Brizza? Think flavors of the traditional French Onion Soup, with Northwest Influences (Washington state onions and apples along with the Oregon cheese). Instead of a bowl of soup, however, the flavors shine and come alive on a Nature's Pride Country Buttermilk Bread. Here's where the word brizza comes in - bread + pizza - afterall, you do get the delicious melted Tillamook Swiss Cheese as a topper.

Enjoy the recipe! It easily doubles to please a crowd.

Nature's Pride Northwest Onion Soup Brizza

4 slices Nature’s Pride Country Buttermilk Bread, lightly toasted
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Butter
2 large Walla Walla onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1 tablespoon apple brandy
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Rome Beauty or Gala apple, thinly sliced
4 slices Tillamook Swiss Cheese

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Heat olive oil and butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Make sure onions do not brown.
• Add garlic, wine and brandy; continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
• Stir in fresh thyme. Season with salt and pepper to taste and continue to cook until the onions are soft and translucent and the liquid has cooked out, about 5 more minutes.
• Divide the onion mixture evenly among 4 slices of lightly toasted Nature’s Pride Country Buttermilk Bread. Top each piece with slices of apple and Tillamook Swiss Cheese.
• Bake the brizzas in the oven until toasted and the cheese has melted. Serve immediately.

So Russian

As if eating borcht and vinegret didn't bring me back to my Russian roots, today for pre-lunch (waking up at 11am will make you hungry), I had a slice of French bread, with butter (ok, so it was the fake butter - olive oil spread), and a layer of golden, orange gems. The gems? Salmon roe! Salty, pop-in-your-mouth goodness. True, black caviar is the tradition, but it's pricey, and I personally think that the salmon one is more fun to eat. Pop!

The Weekend Update

It's another quiet Saturday over here. I've come to rely on the chill time early in the morning, just reading in bed, and then making a cup of tea and going on with the day.

I've been reading Friday Nights by Joanna Trollope. Nothing extraordinary, but interesting enough. A novel about a group of women from different paths, who come together and share their lives. A few more chapters and then it's on to the next book.

Cooking
There were a few cooked beets in the refrigerator, and I decided to make the best out of them. The choice was vinegret (no, not a vinaigrette). Vinegret is a very traditional Russian salad made from beets, potatoes, carrots, green peas, eggs, and pickles. For the dressing, you can do mayonnaise or vegetable oil - I went with the combination of olive and sunflower oils.

As if this wasn't enough, I wanted to make something out of the 3-pound piece of Top Round London Broil. Why not stew? Sadly, the chunk of beef has yet to thaw out, so the stew has to wait. I did go ahead and cut the meat into chunks - actually having it half frozen was quite helpful and made cutting a bit easier.

Movies with Subtitles
I watched a French movie La Buche. I wish I spoke French. One of the characters in the movie was a Russian translator and a singer in a Russian restaurant. She sang "Ochi Cherniye (Black Eyes)," one of my favorite Russian folk songs.

Back in the Kitchen - Pork Chili

Over breakfast today, I mentioned to my mom that I've been thinking about making chili. She said that she had some ground pork in the refrigerator - would I want to use that? Sure, why not? As much as I love beef chili (ground or chunky), I thought a free pound of pork could serve as a great inspiration.

So after work, I made a pot of comforting, bubbly, delicious chili.

Pork and Vegetable Chili
1-2 tbsp oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, small dice
2 carrots, small dice
3-4 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp coriander
1 Tbsp cumin
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 pound ground lean pork
1 Large can good diced tomatoes
Kernels of 2 corn on the cob
1 can white beans

In a large pan heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. Saute for 5-7 minutes.

Add spices, and season with salt and pepper. Cook for another 10 minutes and add ground pork. Continue to cook, breaking up pork into small pieces. When pork is no longer pink inside, add tomatoes, corn, and beans. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer the chili, adding water as necessary for desired consistency. I simmered the chili for about 45 minutes.

Time to eat!