Friday, December 31, 2010

A farewell to 2010, with mini quiches

It has been a good year for One Hot Stove. Here are a few highlights:

1. The summer of 2010 had me moving into a new kitchen and sharing a few pics of my new playground. Two new appliances found their way into my kitchen- an ice cream maker which kept us happy all summer (and my peeps decided that the peanut butter chocolate was their favorite flavor of all the ones I tried), and a rice cooker that I use on a daily basis, making me wonder why I lived without it for so long.

2. I discovered two brownie recipes that I absolutely love, fudgy cocoa brownies and cheesecake brownies, and I hereby declare that my brownie needs have been met (each of these recipes has been made multiple times this year) and I won't be chasing after new brownie recipes in 2011. Maybe.


3. In keeping with my goal of making basic staples at home whenever possible, I continued to make yogurt at home this year and got much better with practice. And I haven't posted it on the blog, but this year I started making ghee at home, inspired by the Back to Basics event. Taking a cue from PJ, I have been adding a curry leaf to my home-made ghee and the resulting ghee is the most wonderful thing.

4. We enjoyed local food tremendously this year, buying produce from local farmers through Summer and Fall and enjoying them in dishes such as this roasted tomato chutney with dosa.



5. I am thrilled that I finally started composting my kitchen scraps on a regular basis. I also resolved to minimize food waste, and I hope to further streamline my cooking life in 2011.

6. I had been missing the Monthly Blog Patrol event and so launched a similar event, Blog Bites in February- it has been fun (the next round will be in February- I'm taking Jan off from the event to spend some time updating the recipe index and other blog housekeeping). My favorite was this round where we used up items lurking in the pantry and fridge.

7. Thanks to the Of Chalks and Chopsticks event, I wrote two stories and have a new-found respect for fiction writers! It is fun to try something new even if you do risk making a fool of yourself in quite a public way.

8. On a whim, I live-blogged a few hours of my Thanksgiving cooking marathon and enjoyed the experience of a cozy day cooking at home while the first snow of the season silently cloaked the world outside.


9. I've said it before and I'll say it again- my favorite recipes come from other food bloggers, not from cookbooks or TV shows or any other sites. Here are just three of the recipes that I discovered this year that are part of my life now: Kanchan's soy kheema, Richa's Punjabi dal and Arundati's tomato saalan. I love you, all the wonderful bloggers out there, thank you for sharing and being my teachers.

10. Finally, I practiced the art of making pie crust at home and made this chocolate pecan pie twice this holiday season. It was probably our favorite dessert in a year of many great desserts.


Pie crust (although that time it was a store bought one) was the basis for our favorite appetizer of the year, samosa crostata, which took the familiar flavors of samosa and converted it into an easy no-fry crowd-pleaser of a recipe.

With my new-found confidence in pie crust, I made mini quiches for a lunch potluck with my knitting group last weekend. I often make crust-less quiches, but on this occasion, I wanted the works- the flaky buttery crust and the delicate savory filling.

We love caramelized onions in my home, and the recipe that inspired these quiches is here. This appetizer certainly is time-intensive and a labor of love, but the taste is terrific- the mini quiches disappeared in no time.

Caramelized Onion Mini Quiches



Step 1. I started by making the full recipe of pie crust (but only ended up using 3/4 of it, so cutting down on the amount of pie crust would be OK).

Step 2. While the pie crust was chilling in the fridge, I caramelized onions. Thinly slice 3 large red onions and saute them in 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil with a sprinkling of salt. Caramelize 30-40 minutes on medium-low heat. In the last minute of cooking, add 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar.

Step 3. Pre-bake the crusts. You need muffin pans for this recipe- I used 18 muffin cups in all (one large 12 cup pan and one 6-cup pan). Heat the oven to 350 F. Roll out pie crust, then use a cookie cutter (or a katori with an edge like I did) to cut out rounds. I then rolled each round some more into a thinner circle and eased each circle into a muffin cup. Prick the pastry all over with a fork and bake for 15-20 minutes until very slightly brown.

Step 4. While the crusts are baking, finish making the filling. Stir the following into the caramelized onions and mix well:
  • 1/2 cup light cream/ heavy cream/ half and half
  • 3 eggs (I used 2 egg whites and 1 whole egg)
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar (or other hard cheese)
  • 1 tsp. paprika
  • Large handful minced cilantro/ parsley/ chives
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Step 5. Spoon the filling into the par-baked crusts. Bake 20-25 minutes at 350 F until the filling is puffy and golden brown.

Happy New Year- 2011, here we come!

I hope 2011 brings each of you a bustling kitchen filled with the aromas of home cooking, the comfort that only a warm and full stomach can bring and friends and family who share the joy of good food.

What was your favorite food moment of 2010? Do share- I'd love to know.

34 comments:

  1. I came over to get the salaan recipe and there you have it right in the first post. I've never made a pie before, may be that's something I can try in the new year. Quiches look a.m.a.z.i.n.g.
    Wish you and your family a very Happy & healthy new year.

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  2. Happy New Year to you and your family, Nupur! Looking forward to more treats from your new kitchen in 2011. Mini quiches look sooo good :)

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  3. oops I think I just left a happy new year comment on another post - that is the joy of new year round ups that get us browsing blogs again - have a good one

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  4. Have a very happy New Year dear Nupur.

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  5. have a great new year, dear nupur.

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  6. A delightful post to wrap up 2010.

    I must thank you for the wonderful recipes and ideas tht you have shared with us all this while, and look ahead to 2011 on your blog.

    Wishes for the yer ahead.

    -Gauri

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  7. a great round up all things good in 2010. A=wish you and your family a very happy new year Nupur.

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  8. lovely roundup nupur.... am honored to have a mention on this blog... you, V and Dale have a beautiful year ahead

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  9. Happy New Year! :-)

    In our family, we add paan (betel leaf) to the ghee... try it if you get a chance.

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  10. Happy New Year! dear Nupur.

    Your blog is always an oasis of calm and common sense. Always a delight.

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  11. Happy New Year to you Nupur! OneHotStove is the blog I turn to when in need of inspiration - cooking, reading,baking, knitting and enthusiasm!!

    Ive been making your "Dal Fry under pressure" many many times and its always comes out nice.

    I wanted to end the year with a sweet note and made your "Candy is Dandy" recipe and gosh, it is amazing!! Planning to make more batches and send it out to people :)
    So, yes Candy is MY fav of 2010 :))
    M.

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  12. Nupur,

    Happy New Year !! and loved your round up.

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  13. Happy new year to u, V and Dale :)

    Nice delightful post, and honored to be mentioned here :))

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  14. Wishing you and family a happy and prosperous new year.beautiful dishes..

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  15. Happy new year dear. Love those quiches :)

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  16. Wishing you a wonderful New Year ahead dear Nupur... :)

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  17. Wishing you, V and Dale a healthful and peaceful new year, Nupur.

    Mamatha

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  18. Happy New Year, Nupur!! Those min-quiches look yummy!
    which rice cooker did you end up buying? Is it convenient to make pulaos and khichdi as well (I had one aages ago which I threw out when the non stick coating got scratches- now I think I should get one to make my life easier..:))

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  19. Hi, Nupur,

    Happy New Year to you and your family! Thank you so much for posting this recipe. They were, indeed, delicious! YUM!

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  20. love your space , been following yopu from 2006. Wish you a very happy new year dear ..

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  21. Hi there! Wishing you a very happy new year! Love caramelized onions… the quiches look really cute!

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  22. Happy new year Nupur, your blog is a big inspiration. Your enthusiasm for life drips into your writing too and that is contagious. In future I hope we will see more about your reading, I went to your reading list and read some of them, and found them great. I will also look forward to more of Marathi cuisine, simple ones but which will tell story of Maharashtra, its people and culture.
    After starting my own blog, best thing that happened is to be able to find out other places like 'one hot stove', who seems to be unknown and far away but are actually a place of warmth and closeness. Keep going and keep ushering us with your cooking, knitting, reading, living life fully tips!

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  23. hi nupur - just dropping by to let you know that I have given you an award at http://gggiraffe.blogspot.com/2011/01/awards-with-substance-and-quicklinks.html Enjoy

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  24. Happy New Year Nupur - how nice to go back to those lovely posts of yours :) And a big Thank you for the Blog Bites event - its been nice to showcase what I normally do at home - cook from other blogs!

    My fav food moment was when I cracked the Khow Suey code :)

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  25. One of my favorite food moments of 2010 was discovering the delightfully harmonic blend of sprouted moong dal and pomegranate seeds. Art on a salad plate!

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  26. Happy New Year... Nice to know your experience

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  27. Nupur, you sure had a productive year. Hope the new one's filled with all kinds of lovely things and people and food!

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  28. Happy New Year Nupur! Here's to more comforting food and happiness to all! Love your lovely goodies brimming through One Hot Stove...

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  29. Firstly, I must say...I missed reading your blog! But a vacation was much needed :) I have two favorites from 2010: [1] I cooked a lot more and enjoyed it! My favorite dish was perfecting brown rice kichidi; [2] I did a little bit of domestic and international traveling which basically concluded to tasting delicious food :D

    Happy New Year Nupur!

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  30. The quiche looks absolutely delicious, have never tried one before..this surely is on my "to do"list. Thks for sharing the recipe and wishing u and family a fabulous 2011.

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  31. Hi Napur - thanks for visiting my blog and entering my note card giveaway! Your resolution to be kinder to people is one we all need try and keep.

    Those brownies and quiches look absolutely delicious!

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  32. That looks uber delicious!!!!!

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