What's In The Oven???

My latest hobby revolves around Rhea's neat little hand-me-down combination grill/microwave/convection oven. At first glance, it doesn't look particularly exciting. The display is almost dead, leaving the user to guess what settings they have entered, and the oven doesn't quite fit on the shelf, so it's propped up with a couple of stainless steel egg cups... We have a manual, with instructions in several languages, but it seems to overlook a few things, such as what the buttons actually do, and what the hieroglyphs mean. Nevertheless, I've been turning out some pretty tasty meals in this little oven.

Flammkuchen

• 1 thin, crispy pizza base
• sour cream
• finely diced soft bacon ("Speck")
  
• finely chopped onions

Spread a thin layer of sour cream over the pizza base, and scatter the onion and bacon over the top. Bake in a hot oven until the base is crisp, and the cream golden. Or better still, buy the ready-made product from the supermarket! This is a specialty from the Alsace region, and makes an excellent light meal.

For all German recipes, it's important to use the right type of bacon. German bacon comes in rashers, diced, or fillets. All cuts are available either smoked or raw. The main difference between German and Australian bacon seems to be that German bacon is softer and meatier than the dry equivalent in Australia. You can buy "speck" (German bacon) from some delicatessens in Sydney.

Rotisserie Grilled Pork Fillet with Smoky BBQ Marinade

• 1 large pork fillet
• 1 packet of smoky BBQ sauce
• 1 jam jar lid to improvise a replacement for the missing rotisserie bracket

Marinate the pork in the sauce for 24 hours. Thread the pork onto the rotisserie skewer and secure with the attached prongs. Place a baking dish half full of water under the skewer, and grill for 1 hour until the pork is cooked through. After 20 minutes, spread some more marinade on the pork. Do this every 10-15 minutes until the meat is ready. Serve with buttered baby potatoes and red capsicum lightly sauteed in olive oil.

Do not use the "Autocook" feature or microwave settings with the improvised rotisserie bracket - sparks will fly!!!

Asian Salad with rare "False Fillet" of Beef

• 1 false fillet of beef (looks like fillet, but is larger and has sinew through the middle...)
• salad greens
• finely sliced cucumber
  
• 1/4 of a red onion
• 3 tomatoes
  
• a bunch of mint
• a bunch of basil
  
• a pinch of chopped lemon grass
• 1 fresh lime
  
• chilli
  
• sea salt (coarse)

Rub the beef in sea salt and stand for a few hours. Grill in the oven on the high shelf until the juices start to appear on top. Turn and grill for another 5-10 minutes. Remove from grill and rest for 5 minutes.

Mix the salad greens in a bowl with the tomato, cucumber, and herbs. Carve the beef into fine slices and place on top of the salad. Sprinkle the onions and chilli over the beef, and squeeze the lime over the beef and salad.

Grilled Argentinian Beef Steak with Seasoning

Grill the steaks on the high shelf of the oven, turning once when the juices show. Sprinkle with Argentinian steak seasoning prior to serving.

Sonntag Broetchen (Sunday Bread Rolls)

• 1 tin of vacuum packed bread dough

This is fun - pop open the tin and 6 little dough cylinders explode out of it onto your baking paper. Roll them into some semblance of balls, score the tops with a knife, and pop them into the oven (preheat to 180C). 12 minutes later, you find 6 delicious, fresh bread rolls in the oven!!!

Of course, I'm also cooking up lots of interesting things on the stove, but I really find this little oven more challenging and therefore more interesting to use!